Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon (1880–1948) was a pivotal figure in the history of

Kathakali ''Kathakali'' (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Kathakaḷi ) is a traditional form of Indian Classical Dance, and one of the most complex forms of Theatre of India, Indian theatre. It is a play of verses. These vers ...

, having played a crucial role in remoulding and refining its grammar in the famed Kalluvazhi tradition of the classical dance-drama from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

in south

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He was trained in the art form at a culture-patronising

Namboodiri The Nambudiri (), also transliterated as Nampoothiri, Nambūdiri, Namboodiri, Namboothiri, Namboodri, Namboori, and Nampūtiri, are a Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state of Kerala, India, where they constituted part of th ...

mansion in

Vellinezhi Vellinezhi is a small yet culturally crucial village located in the Palakkad district of Kerala in southern India. Geography The sylvan, rugged land is located on the banks of the Kunti, a slender rivulet that forms tributary to the broad, we ...

near his home.

Early life

Young Ravunni, a native of Chethallur in present-day Palakkad district, was groomed in Kathakali by the Kalluvazhi Kuyilthodi Ittirarissa Menon at Olappamanna Mana with Kariyattil Koppan Nair and Malankattil Sankunni Nair as his co-students. Ittiraricha Menon's demise led to Ravunni Menon becoming the chief tutor at Olappamanna, since when he started handling lead roles (Aadyavasana vesham) on Kathakali stages. He was initially associated with the

Manjeri Manjeri () is a major town and municipality in Malappuram district, Kerala, India. It is the fourth-most populous List of cities and towns in Kerala, municipality in the state. It is situated southeast of Calicut International Airport, Karipur ...

Kaliyogam (Kathakali institution-cum-troupe). Menon, who was till then said to be focused solely on the body movement aspect of Kathakali, acquired a major asset in his profession when he imbibed the essence of emotive acting ( rasabhinaya) under Kunjunni Thampuran. It gave birth to a new chapter in the Kalluvazhi style, noted for its economy of space while moving the body, well-defined hand gestures, their clinical synchronisation with the musical beats and percussion accompaniment. This quantum improvement later helped him earn quite a few epoch-defining Kathakali disciples when he joined

Kerala Kalamandalam Kerala Kalamandalam, a deemed-to-be-University of Art and Culture by the Government of India, is a major centre for learning Indian performing arts, especially those that developed in the country's southern states, with special emphasis on tho ...

in 1933 and worked there for a decade. Prominent among the pupils are Thekkinkattil Ramunni Nair,

Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair, also spelt Kunju Nair, (1909-1981) was an Indian Kathakali dancer. Life He mainly served in PSV Natya Sangham, Kottakkal, since 1946, and from 1960 to 1972 at Kerala Kalamandalam. He was the first principal of Kerala Kal ...

Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair (27 March 1914 – 15 August 1990) was a Kathakali dancer from Kerala in India. Life He is a recipient of Padma Shri, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award, and Kerala Sangeetha Nat ...

Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair (1916–2007) was a Kathakali artist from Kerala, India. Endowed and equipped with a life profile that also showed him to several traditional Indian performing arts other than Kathakali, his stage presentation infused a f ...

Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair (25 May 1925 – 11 March 2013) was a performer of Kathakali, who practiced the Kerala art form for more than seven decades. Biography His guru was Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon, his only teacher in his entire ...

and Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair (who was also his son). He was also teacher to Mampuzha Madhava Panikkar, Kavungal Sankarankutty Panikkar, Kariyattil Kumaran, Kunhunni Nair,

Guru Gopinath Perumanoor Gopinathan Pillai, more popularly known as Guru Gopinath (24 June 1908 – 9 October 1987) was a well known Indian actor-cum-dancer. He is well regarded as the greatest preserver of the dance tradition. He is a recipient of the San ...

, Madhavan,

Guru Kelu Nair Guru Kelu Nair was a renowned Kathakali dance artist and teacher. He trained in Kathakali from Kerala Kalamandalam under gurus like Pattikkantodi Ravunni Menon and Guru Kunchu Kurup. He pursued higher studies in Rasa-abhinaya from Rasa-abhinaya ...

, Sivaraman, Sivasankaran, Krishnan, Kattissery Raman, Balakrishnan and Krishnankutty Varrier.

On stage

On the stage, Menon was celebrated for his lead roles in the four Kottayam Thampuran plays: Kalakeyavadham,

Kirmeeravadham Kirmeeravadham (The Slaying of Kirmeera) is a Kathakali play (Aattakatha (performance), Aattakatha) written by Kottayam Thampuran (also known as Kottayathu Thampuran) in Malayalam. Based on the Mahabharatha, the story concerns itself with events ...

, Bakavadham and Kalyanasougandhikam. His masterpieces also included Dakshan,

Nala Nala () is a legendary king of ancient Nishadha kingdom and the central protagonist of the '' Nalopakhyana'', a sub-narrative within the Indian epic '' Mahabharata'', found in its third book, '' Vana Parva'' (Book of the Forest). He is renown ...

n in Nalacharitan Randaam Divasam,

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

n in Subhadraharanam, Cheriya Narkasuran and

Ravan Ravan, Raavan or Ravanan, may refer to: Religion * Ravana, Ravan or Ravanan, the prime antagonist in the ancient Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' Film and TV * ''Raavan'' (1984 film), an Indian Hindi-language film * ''Ravanan'' (1994 film), a 1994 Indi ...

an in Balivijayam, Ravanolbhavam, Kartaveerarjunavijayam and Balivadham besides minukku roles like Bhrahmanan in Santanagopalam and Rukminiswayamvaram, and Durvassavu in Ambareeshacharitam. He was known to be particular for using his own set of costume paraphernalia (kalikkoppu) all the time. Menon's notes on the aesthetics of Kathakali have been published in a book, which has also formed material for art research scholars.

References

He Redefined Kathakali

External links

*Websit
Sri Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair Smaraka Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menon, Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Kathakali exponents Male actors from Kerala 1880 births 1949 deaths People from Palakkad district Dancers from Kerala 20th-century Indian dancers 19th-century Indian dancers Indian male dancers Dancers from British India