Kalamandalam Sivan Namboodiri is an Indian classical theatre performer, the first person from outside

chakyar Chakyar ( ml, ചാക്യാർ; ; ; also spelled Cakyar, Chakkiar, Chakiar, etc.) is an intermediate priestly caste coming under the Ambalavasi community of Hindus in the Kerala state of India. The women in this caste are called ''Illo ...

community to practice Koodiyattam, from Kerala. He was awarded the

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 ...

, in 2012, for his contributions to the art of Koodiyattam, by the Government of India.

Biography

Sivan Namboodiri was born in 1950 to Ammankotu Manakkal Madhavan Namboodiri, a farmer and Devaki Antharjanam, as the youngest of their three sons, at

Shornur Shornur is a town and a municipality located in the Palakkad district, in the Indian state of Kerala, located on the banks of the Bharathapuzha River. The town covers an area of 32.28 km2. Geography Shornur is located at . It has an av ...

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated munici ...

, in the south Indian state of Kerala. He had his early schooling at Kanayam and Vadanamkurissi, but, being a poor student, had to drop out of school at Grade 7. He joined

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 ...

, in 1965, at the age of 14, to learn

Kathakali Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...

. During that period, the renowned Koodiyattam maestro,

Painkulam Raman Chakyar Late Shri Guru Painkulam Raman Chakyar was a Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam performer. He won the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award in 1980. He was also a teacher of Vachika Abhinaya in both Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam. Life Starting in 1925 ...

, was in the process of setting up the Koodiyattam department at Kalamandalam and, on the insistence of

Vallathol Narayana Menon Vallathol Narayana Menon (Malayalam: വള്ളത്തോൾ നാരായണ മേനോൻ) (16 October 1878 – 13 March 1958) was a Malayalam poet and one of the triumvirate of modern Malayalam poetry, along with Asan and Ulloor ...

, the founder of the institute, and K. N. Pisharody, Sivan changed his course to study Koodiyattam, as one of the two students of the first batch of Koodiyattam. Sivan was fortunate to learn the art from the masters such as Painkulam Raman Chakyar,

Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair (25 May 1925 – 11 March 2013) was a performer of Kathakali, who practiced the Kerala art form for more than seven decades. Biography His guru was Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon, his only teacher in his entire ...

(Kathakali thespian), and Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Poduval (Chenda exponent). After the initial study of 6 years, Sivan enrolled for the post graduate course of 2 years at Kalamandalam. This was followed by an advanced course in New Delhi, with the help of a scholarship from the Department of Culture, Government of India. In 1975, he joined Kerala Kalamandalam as an instructor in the Faculty of Koodiyattam and, at present, is the most experienced teacher there. In 1980,

University of Calicut The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a 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 be set up in ...

invited him to be a part of the School of Drama where is working as a visiting professor since then. Sivan Namboodiri is married to Indira,

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

teacher at a local school and the couple has two children. The family lives in Palakkad.

Career highlights

The highlight of Sivan Namboodiri's career came in Paris, when he performed two acts, ''Kailasoddhaaranam'' (

Ravana 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 ...

lifting Mount Kailasa) and ''Parvathiviraham'' (

Goddess Parvathi Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in ...

's separation from

Lord Siva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hind ...

), before a UNESCO jury to select art forms to be considered for inclusion in UNESCO's

Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and th ...

. The jury approved the inclusion of Koodiyattam subsequent to the show. He also performed in Germany at the Cologne Festival in 1980.

Legacy

Sivan Namboodiri was the first artist from outside the

community to perform Koodiyattam. He is also considered as the first person to learn Koodiyattam in an institutional way; till his entry, Koodiyattam was taught under the

gurukula A or ( sa, गुरुकुल, gurukul) is a type of education system in ancient India with ('students' or 'disciples') living near or with the guru, in the same house. The guru-shishya tradition is a sacred one in Hinduism and possibly ...

system. Another first attributed to Sivan Namboodiri is that he was the first male to perform

Nangyar Koothu ''Nangiar koothu'' or ''Nangyar Koothu'' is an allied traditional art of Kutiyattam, an age-old Sanskrit drama tradition of India. It is performed traditionally by the women of the Ambalavasi Nambiar community of Kerala, known as ''Nangyaramma' ...

which was the domain of nangiars, the ladies from

Nambiar Nambiar may refer to: *Nambiar (Ambalavasi caste), a Hindu caste in Kerala *Nambiar (Nair subcaste), an Indian caste from North Malabar People *A. C. N. Nambiar (1896–1986), Indian nationalist and first Indian ambassador to Germany *Aneil Namb ...

community. He is also credited with revolutionizing the Koodiyattam costumes and accompanying music.

Awards and recognitions

- 2012 * Margi Gold Medal for Best Young Koodiyattam Performer - 1970 * Margi Gold Medal for Best Young Koodiyattam Performer - 1971 * Margi Gold Medal for Best Young Koodiyattam Performer - 1972 * Natyakala Ratnam Award of Calcutta Malayalee Association - 1992 * Junior Fellowship - the

Ministry of Human Resource Development The Ministry of Education ( MoE; formerly the Ministry of Human Resource Development from 1985 to 2020) is a Union Government ministries of India, ministry of the Government of India, responsible for the implementation of the National Policy on ...

, Department of Culture, New Delhi - 1995 *

Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy is located in Thrissur city, of Kerala, in India. It was established on 26 April 1958, inaugurated by then Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The academy started a cultural centre at the Bahrain Kerala ...

Award for Koodiyattam - 1998 *

Mrinalini Sarabhai Mrinalini Vikram Sarabhai (11 May 1918 – 21 January 2016) was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. She was the founder and director of the Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, an institute for imparting training in dance, ...

Award for Classical excellence - 1999 (he is the first recipient of the award) * Certificate of appreciation from the Smithsonian Institution, Washington

Works

Invis Multimedia has brought out an almost hour-long video on the performance of Sivan Namboodiri. *

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Namboodiri, Kalamandalam Sivan Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Malayali people Arts of Kerala 1950 births Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Dancers from Kerala People from Thrissur district Koodiyattam exponents 20th-century Indian dancers