Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody Biography 
Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody is a Kathakali exponent and guru from Palakkad, Kerala. He is known for his memorable portrayal of some of the mythological characters of Hindu epics such as Nalan, Bahukan, Arjunan, Bhiman, Dharmaputrar, Rugmangadan, Narakaasuran, Ravanan, Parashuraman and Brahmana. He has also served as a faculty in Kerala Kalamandalam, where he studied before. He got opportunity to learn under some of the doyens such as Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair and Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair.
Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody, simply called Vasu Pisharody hails from Kongad in Palakkad district. He was born on August 15, 1943. He completed his primary school education from his village. As a student he took Kathakali lessons for the first time under Balakrishnan Nair at the dance institute, Kerala Kalalayam in Ottapalam. Later he studied in PSV Natyasangham in Kottakkal for three years before taking admission in Kerala Kalamandalam. He underwent studies for 7 years here before starting his career in this field as a Kathakali performer. While at Kerala Kalamandalam, he got opportunity to learn the art from some of the great performers of the era, who also served as faculty of Kathakali.
He has been a disciple of Kunchu Nair, Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair and Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair. He joined there as faculty after the completion of studies, but left soon. Later he worked at Kathakali classroom run by the Guruvayur Kathakali Club. He rejoined Kerala Kalamandalam only in 1979. After spending 2 decades there, he retired as Vice-principal in 1999. He is a recipient of numerous honours including Kendra Sangeet Natak Akademi award, Kerala Kalamandalam Award and Fellowship, Olappamanna Devi Puraskar, Kalamandalam Krishnan Kutty Podhuval Puraskar and many more.
Published: September 08, 2018
Updated: September 08, 2018
