Snippets of Information
Dance - Kerala Natanam
* 13 Dec 2021
Guru Gopinath was born in 1908 in a family of Kathakali
artistes exponents of Kaplingaadan style of Kathakali with a two
hundred-year-old history in the form and nothern (Kalluvazhi) style
(chitta) of Kathakali. The great Kathakali artist Champakkulam
Paachu Pillai is his elder brother.
Gopinathan had received training in Kathakali under stalwarts like
Chambakulam Paramu Pillai, Mathoor Kunjupillai Paniker, Guru Kunchu
Kurup and Chengannur Raman Pillai for seven or eight years before
joining Kerala Kalamandalam. He belonged to the first batch of students
at Kalamandalam which was opened by the great poet Vallathol Narayana
Menon in 1930. His class mates included Krishnan Nair (later,
Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair), Sivaraman (Ananda Sivaram), Madhavan
(Kalamandalam Madhavan) and Kelu Nair. Great artistes like Guru Kunchu
Kurup, Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon and Vellinezhi Nanu Nair were among
the teachers at Kalamandalam then.
Source: Guru Gopinath and Kerala Natanam by G.Venu, narthaki.com, August 28, 2020
With Esther Luella Sherman, popularly known as Ragini Devi, he gave his
first performance in Bombay in 1932 of a form he had developed into a
contemporary style, which was classical in technique and popular in
appeal. Their performance took the world by storm and was the first ever
exposition of Kathakali outside Kerala.
He is considered one of the epic personalities of Bharatanaatyam (a
comprehensive term for the entire Bhaarateeya Naatya traditions) in the
20th century like Uday Shankar. He extended the boundaries of Kathakali
by teaching this male dominated 'naatya' form to women too. His
choreographic works dealt with subjects apart from stories from
Bhaarat's epics and mythology - Sree Yeesunaadha, Sister Nibedita,
Chandala Bhiksukhi, Kerala Piravi and the Ramlila of New Delhi are a few
examples. During the centenary celebrations of Rabindranath Tagore, he
choreographed Natir Puja in which his prime disciple Tapati Chowdurie
had taken the lead role. His path breaking form came to be known as Kerala Natanam.
Once a palace dancer and principal of the naatya institution of the
royal family of Travancore, he founded Natana Niketan in Madras,
International Kathakali Centre in New Delhi and Viswa Kala Kendra in
Thiruvananthapuram.
Source: Guru Gopinath-An epic personality by VP.Dhananjayan, narthaki.com, August 22, 2021
The very first institution to teach Kerala Natanam was 'Sree Chithrodaya
Narthakaalayam' at Poojappura, Trivandrum established in March 1934.The
Maharaja of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma appointed Guru
Gopinath as Palace dancer and gave him facilities and grant for running
the institution.
In 1946, when Guru Gopinath moved to Chennai, he started a dance school
called 'Natana Nikethan' at Gopalapuram. In 1959, 'Kerala Kala Kendra
was established in New Delhi (which is now known as International Centre
for Kathakali). In 1962, Viswa Kala Kendra was founded in Ravipuram,
Kochi and later shifted to Vattiyoorkkavu, Trivandrum.
Source: Seventy years of Kerala Natanam by G Vinodini, narthaki.com, Dec 2002
It was well appreciated that instead of trying to reform Kathakali and
thereby contaminating its originality and purity, Guruji developed his
own style, that was appealing to the masses who were then devoid of art
and dance, without compromising on the classical background. It was he
who brought Kathakali out from the courtyards of palaces and temple to
the masses. Ordinary people in India, who had no training knowledge in
understanding classical dance started enjoying it and appreciating it,
only after they had the opportunity of watching Gopinath perform.
Guru Gopinath is respected as a great acharya who was able to develop a
shorter syllabus and duration of training for the 12 years long and
rigorous Kathakali course, without compromising its essence and without
deviating from its classical tradition. Kathakali and dancing were made
popular, which was comprehensive to the layman and connoisseur alike. He
carved out a style classical in form but popular in appeal through
which the fame of Kathakali spread far and wide. In fact his was a
signal service to Kathakali and Kerala.
Kathakali style of dancing and training was a male monopoly. It was Guru
Gopinath who showed that girls can perform Kathakali and Kathakali
style of dancing.
The great Mohiniyattam and Kerala Natanam exponent Mulakkal Thankamani
Amma was his wife. Thankamani was the first student of Mohiniyattam at
Kerala Kalamandalam in early 30s, when Poet Vallathol Narayana Menon and
Manakkulam Mukunda Raja started a course to revive this dying art form.
After marriage she became co-dancer and partner of Gopinath. There is
no denying the fact that the force behind Guru Gopinath's achievement
was the relentless support and rigorous training offered to students by
Thankamani.
Source: Guru Gopinath and Kerala Natanam by T.Sasi Mohan, narthaki.com, Apr 2002
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