Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair, also spelt Kunju Nair, (1909-1981) was an Indian Kathakali dancer.

Life

He mainly served in PSV Natya Sangham,

Kottakkal Kottakkal (literally-''Land of the Fort'') is a municipal town in Malappuram district in Kerala, southern India having 32 wards. it is a part of Malappuram metropolitan area and a growing city in Kerala. The town is best known for the Arya V ...

, since 1946, and from 1960 to 1972 at Kerala Kalamandalam. He was the first principal of

Kerala Kalamandalam Kerala Kalamandalam, deemed to be University of Art and Culture by the Government of India, is a major center for learning Indian performing arts, especially those that developed in the Southern states of India, with the special emphasis on K ...

, the premier performing arts institute of

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 ...

in south

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. A

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee , Kunchu Nair was a student of Pattikkamthodi Ramunni Menon, and was noted for his subdued portrayal of lead Kathakali roles like Nalan,

Rukmangada Rukmangada () is a king of the Solar dynasty featured in Hindu literature. He is the husband of Sandhyavali and later the apsara Mohini, and the father of Dharmangada. He appears in a legend where he expresses a willingness to kill his own son rat ...

n, Dharmaputrar, Bhiman, Arjunan, Brahmanan (in the storyplay Santanagopalam) and

Parasurama Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Veerarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. He is believed to be one of the ''Chiranjeevis'' (Immortals), who will appear ...

n (Sitaswayamvaram) besides in anti-hero slots like

Ravanan Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He a ...

and

Duryodhan Duryodhana ( sa, दुर्योधन, ) also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He was the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra and his queen Gandhari. Being ...

an.Kathakali Encyclopedia (Vijnanakosam), page 319 Nair died on 19 February 1981 after prolonged illness.

References

Dancers from Kerala 1909 births 1981 deaths Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Kathakali exponents Malayali people Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award People from Malappuram district 20th-century Indian dancers Indian male dancers Teachers of Indian classical dance Indian dance teachers 20th-century Indian educators Educators from Kerala {{India-culture-stub