Kalamandalam Appukutty Poduval Biography 
Kalamandalam Appukutty Poduval was a legendary maddalam artist who accompanied Kathakali performers in the 20th century. He along with his friend Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Poduval performed together in many Kathakali concerts and earned fame as a duo. The duo frequently accompanied the legendary Kathakali artist Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair for many of his performances during his glorious era in the profession. He along with Krishnankutty Poduval ushered in a new spring in the acoustics of Chenda, and achieved a celebrity status in the percussion instrument of Chenda. Old-timers still rave about the percussion magic of the Poduvals. Appukutty Poduval lived during the period, 1924–2008.
The master percussionist hailed from the temple town Thiruvilwamala in Thrissur district of present-day Kerala. He was born in the year 1924 as the son of Ramachandra Iyer and Kunjammalu Poduvalasyar. Poduval was trained in maddalam by Thiruvilwala Venkichan Swamy. Poduval redefined maddalam-playing with an apt blend of classicism and innovation. His musical partnership with chenda maestro Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Poduval was considered one of the greatest in the history of Kathakali. Kalamadalam Gopi described Poduval as the “perfect maddalam player” Kathakali had ever seen. This artist elevated the status of maddalam on the Kathakali stage.
He joined Kalamandalam as a student in 1930. He served as a tutor of Chenda at Kerala Kalamandalam for many years and trained many disciples till his retirement in 1986. Kalamandalam Sankara Warrier, Paloor Achuthan Nair, Eachara Varrier, Nelluvaya Narayanan Nair, Kalamandalam Narayanan Nambisan etc are among his students who made a mark in this field later. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2000. Poduval passed away on 27 January 2008. He was 84 years old. He was ailing with age related diseases for a while.
Published: September 08, 2018
Updated: September 08, 2018
