Kalamandalam M. P. S. Namboodiri

🪔 About

Kalamandalam M. P. S. Namboodiri, born on July 1, 1943, in Karikkad, Malappuram district, Kerala, India, is a distinguished Kathakali exponent and academic. He commenced his rigorous Kathakali training at Kerala Kalamandalam, where he was mentored by eminent gurus such as Kalamandalam Gopi, Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair, Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, and Vazhenkada Kunju Nair. He also received foundational training from V. P. Ramakrishnan. Upon completing his studies, Namboodiri joined the faculty of Kerala Kalamandalam in 1968, serving as a teacher and performer for three decades. He retired as the institution's Principal in 1998. Following this, he was reappointed as the Dean of the Department of Kathakali when Kerala Kalamandalam was upgraded to a Deemed University in 2007. He also served as the Director of the Nila Campus, which offers postgraduate courses, for eight years and is currently a Visiting Professor there. Namboodiri has extensively toured numerous countries, including the USA, England, France, Mexico, Peru, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Indonesia, as part of the Kalamandalam troupe. He has also served as a Visiting Professor at the University of California (UCLA) and the University of Wisconsin (Madison) in the United States. He has collaborated with renowned theatre directors like Eugenio Barba and Dr. Phillip Zarrilli. A prolific writer, he has contributed articles in both English and Malayalam and co-authored the book "Kathakaliyude Rangapathacharithram" (2007) with Killimangalam Vasudevan Namboodirippad, which is now a reference book for postgraduate courses at Kalamandalam. He is currently working on a book to popularize Kathakali among children. Awards & Honours: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2013), Kalamandalam award for the best scholarly work on Kathakali (for "Kathakaliyude Rangapadha Charithram") (2007), Kerala Kalamandalam Mukundaraja Smruthi Award (2019).