Kathakali was above all religious and casteist considerations and hence no one could object to its staging at a public place, veteran Kathakali artiste Kalamandalam Gopi has said.
Mr. Gopi was inaugurating the 10-day Kathakali festival, ‘Kathakali Mela-2020’, of the Pathanamthitta District Kathakali Club at Cherukolpuzha, near Ayroor, on Monday.
The District Kathakali Club was inaugurated wayback in 1995 by Mr. Gopi and the late Malayalam poet Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan.
District Collector P.B. Noohu inaugurated the year-long silver jubilee celebrations of the Kathakali Club on the occasion.
Mr. Noohu said setting up Kathakali clubs in schools was desirable to promote this dance-drama.
V.N. Unni, club president, presided.
Natyabharati Award
This year’s Natyabharati Award instituted by the District Kathakali Club was presented to renowned Chenda exponent Kalabharati Unnikrishnan.
Literary critic P.K. Rajashekharan was presented with the Prof. S. Guptan Nair Award, instituted by the Ayroor Natyabharati Library, at the inaugural function.
Jose Parakkadavil delivered the T.N. Upendranatha Kurup commemoration speech. Prasad Kailath, Dileep Ayroor, P.P. Ramachandran Pillai and T.R. Harikrishnan, club office-bearers, spoke. ‘Nalacharitham - first day’ Kathakali was staged later in the evening.
Raman Pillai award
Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan will inaugurate the valedictory meet on January 15. The Ayroor Raman Pillai Memorial Award for Kathakali literature will be presented to Manoj Kuroor, writer and Associate Professor of Malayalam, at Changanassery NSS Hindu College, at the function.
The Ayroor Sadasivan Award for best Kathakali music will be presented to Rajesh Menon on the occasion.
Kathakali will be staged in the evening on all days of the festival.
The 10-day festival will come to a close with the staging of ‘Daksha-yagom’ Kathakali.
P.S. Nair, Ayroor-Cherukolpuzha Hindumatha Maha Mandalam president, will preside over the valedictory function.
