Padmanabhan Nair Biography 
Padmanabhan Nair was a great Kathakali exponent from Palakkad, Kerala. He lived during the period, 7 October 1928 - 3 April 2007. He is the son of the Kathakali guru Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon, Kathakali exponent. Padmanabhan’s wife Padma Shri Kalamandalam Satyabhama was also a legendary artist from Kerala, best known as a classical dancer of Mohiniyattam. Padmanabhan Nair was also a guru, widely regarded as one among the greatest gurus of Kathakali and he has authored many books related to Indian dance forms. He studied at the prestigious Kerala Kalamandalam, later joined as teacher and retired as its principal in 1990.
Padmanabhan Nair was born on 7 October 1928 in present-day Palakkad of Kerala. His native village Vellinezhi was then a part of Malabar district, Madras Presidency in British India. He joined Kalamandalam when he was ten years old. Before that he completed his primary education from his village. He was born into a family of Kathakali artists, with his father Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon being a legendary figure associated with Kathakali. So Padmanabhan received early training from his father, and later followed his path as well.
His first performance on stage was as Lord Krishna for Subhadraharanam. While he was at Kerala Kalamandalam, he also received training under PSV Natyasangham Kottakal before he completed his studies and joined there as teacher in 1951. Later he became the principal of this great cultural institution and served this position till his retirement in 1990. He completed four decades in this institution serving as a Kathakali teacher as well as administrator. Kathakali Vesham and Cholliyattam are among his published books, apart from a biography on his father "Natyachariante Jeevithamudrakal" which he co-authored with Nhayath Balan.
He was a recipient of numerous honours including Kendra Sangeet Natak Akademi award (1994), Kerala government's Kathakali Purasakaram (2006) and Odakkuzhal award (2004). He earned the prestigious Odakkuzhal award for the book, "Natyachariante Jeevithamudrakal".
Published: September 08, 2018
Updated: September 08, 2018
