Kalamandalam Sugandhi is a Mohiniyattam dancer, choreographer and dance teacher from

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, India. She received several awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award,

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award is an award given by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultur ...

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship The Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship is an honour presented by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Depa ...

, Kerala Konkani Sahitya Academy Award and Kerala Kalamandalam Award.

Biography

Kalamandalam Sugandhi was born on 1950 December 2, in a Konkani family at Valamgalam near Thuravoor in Alappuzha district to G. Sreenivasa Kamath and Anandi Kamath. The family had given her considerable support in making her a dancer. She started learning

Bharathanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

at the age of seven from Sathidevi, a graduate of

Thrippunithura Thrippunithura or Tripunithura (), is a prominent historical and residential region in the City of Kochi in Kerala, India. Located about 7 km (4 mi) from the city centre, Tripunithura was the capital of the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin ...

RLV College of Music and Fine Arts Radha Lakshmi Vilasam "RLV" College of Music and Fine Arts is an academic institution situated in Thripunithura, Kochi in the state of Kerala, India. It is affiliated to the Mahatma Gandhi University and offers graduate and postgraduate courses ...

. After two years, she trained Bharathanatyam under Palluruthy Surendranath. At the suggestion of K. N. Pisharody, Guru Gopinath, Tripunithura Madhava Menon and Kavalam Narayana Panicker, her father added Sugandhi to study in the Kerala Kalamandalam. At the time of joining, her basic interest was on Bharathanatyam. In Kalamandalam she studied under

Kalamandalam Satyabhama Kalamandalam V. Satyabhama (4 November 1937 – 13 September 2015) was an Indian classical dancer, teacher and choreographer, known for her performances and scholarship in mohiniyattam. She was awarded the Padma Shri, in 2014, for her contributi ...

, Kalamandalam Chandrika and A. B. R. Bhaskar. She studied Mohinayattam in 1968, as part of the last phase of the Bharathanatyam diploma course. After compleating the course in 1969, at the age of 19,

M. K. K. Nair Meppally Keshava Pillai Krishnankutty Nair (1920–1987), commonly identified as M. K. K. Nair, was an Indian bureaucrat, art connoisseur and Indian Administrative Service officer from Kerala. Besides his services in the setting up of Bhilai Ste ...

the then chairman of Kalamandalam, who was also the chairman of FACT, appointed her as Mohiniyattam teacher in the art department of FACT. That is how she gets closer to Mohiniyattayam. Realizing Sugandhi's fascination with classical dance forms, Nair sent her to Vedanta Prahlad Sharma to study

Kuchipudi Kuchipudi () ( Telugu: ) is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sa ...

. Sugandhi met Bharathanatyam exponent Padma Subramaniam at a dance event in FACT and their relationship turned into a deep friendship. Later, in her 50s, she studied B.A in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

from

University of Calicut The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a State ownership, state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to ...

, and M.A in Mohiniyattam from Kerala Kalamandalam. At the age of 71, Sugandhi done her Doctorate in "Development of Pedagogy for Mohiniyattam Based on Natya Sastra" from Thanjavur Sastra University under Padma Subramaniam. Currently she is working as the Academic Dean in Kerala Kalamandalam.

Personal life

Sugandhi and her husband K. R. Damodara Prabhu have two children, Nanditha Prabhu, who is the founder of Mythri Centre for Arts, Chennai, and Naveen D. Prabhu who is a colonel in

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. Prabhu was an employee of FACT where she first joined as a Mohiniyattam teacher. They resides in Vidyanagar, near Cochin University campus in

Ernakulam district Ernakulam, ; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'', in Malayalam: എറണാകുളം), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, that takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part o ...

Noted performances

Some of her performances include a full-length Mohiniyattam concert based on works of

Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma ( ml, സ്വാതി തിരുനാള്‍ രാമവർമ്മ) (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He is also considered as a brilliant music composer and is credited with over 40 ...

, ''Radha Madhavam'' based on

Ashtapadi ''Ashtapadis'' or ''Ashtapadi'' refers to the Sanskrit hymns of the ''Gita Govinda'', composed by Jayadeva in the 12th Century. The ''ashtapadis'', which describe the beauty of Lord Krishna and the love between Krishna and the '' gopis'', are co ...

and ''Chithrangam'', a dance Self-composed and taught to over a thousand dancers, on the occasion of the arrival of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to Kerala.

Notable disciples

Her disciples include

Neena Prasad Neena Prasad is an Indian dancer. She is an exponent in the field of Mohiniyattam. She is the founder and principal of Bharthanjali Academy of Indian Dances in Thiruvananthapuram and Sougandika Centre for Mohinyattam in Chennai. Early life and ...

Gopika Varma Gopika Varma is a Kerala born Mohiniyattam dancer and dance teacher who is settled in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. She received several awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award and Kalaimamani. Biography ...

, Pallavi Krishnan, Swetha Mangalath, Priya Nair.

Books written

*Bharata Kala Lakshanam (Malayalam translation of

Padma Subrahmanyam Padma Subrahmanyam (born 4 February 1943, in Madras), is an Indian classical Bharata Natyam dancer. She is also a research scholar, choreographer, teacher, Indologist and author. She is famous in India as well as abroad; several films and docume ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

book ''Bharata Kalai Kotpadu'') *Natyavedu-Panchovo Vedu (in Konkani) *Now she is writing a book ''Hasta Ratnakaram'' which deals with hand gestures in Mohiniyattam

Awards and honours

*Kerala State Schools Youth Festival 1962, First in Bharathanatyam *First in Kerala Kalamandakam Bharathanatyam competition 1962 *Pundareenath Bhuvanendra Award of the Kerala Konkani Sahitya Academy 1971 *

1985 *ITC Golden Greats Award 1990 *Senior Fellowship from Human Resource Development Ministry, Govt of India 1990 *Pundareenath Bhuvanendra Puraskar from Kerala Konkini Sahithya Academy 1997 *Award from Tapasya Sahithya Vedi and New Delhi Samskrita Bharati 1997 *Kerala Kalamandalam Award 1999 *Senior Fellowship from Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India 2003 *Dr.T.M.A Pai Foundation Award 2003 *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

2004 *

2011 *Kalaratna award from Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugandhi, Kalamandalam 1950 births Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Indian female classical dancers Performers of Indian classical dance Mohiniyattam exponents Living people Dancers from Kerala Women artists from Kerala 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian women artists Indian dance teachers Indian classical choreographers Indian women choreographers Konkani people People from Alappuzha district Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award