Kottakal Nandakumaran Nair is a well known Kathakali dancer and he is famous for his ‘Kathi’ Veshas. He also shows excellent skill in enacting ‘Pacha’ and ‘Minukku’ veshas. As a panel artist enlisted by The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) he had opportunity to perform Kathakali on international stages in Poland, France, China, Korea, Indonesia, Malasia, Singapore, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Brazil, Netherlands, Spain and Arab Countries. Paris Theater Festival, Gothenburg Theater Festival, Ramayana Festival Indonesia, Shakespearean Festival Germany and Portugal, Traditional Theater Festival Brazil and International Theatre Festival of Kerala (IFFK) are some of the major festivals where he performed Kathakali.
The Dancer
The Demonstrator
The Resource Person
Nandakumaran Nair was born in 1948 to Kovurath Mundathu Parukutti Amma and Karuthedath Govindan Nair. After completing primary education in his native place Desamangalam in Thrissur district, he joined Kerala Kalamandalam to learn Thullal. He completed the course under the tutelage of Kalamandalam Divakaran Nair and Malabar Kannan Nair. Proximity to the Kathakali classes nurtured Nandakumaran’s innate inclination for classical style. Following the instructions of late Kathakali legend Padmashree Vazhenkada Kunju Nair, he joined P. S. V. Natyasangam of Kottakkal Aryavaidyasala in 1962 and began his lessons in Kathakali. Sixteen years of regular training under Guru Kottakkal Krishnankutty Nair shaped Nandakumaran into a complete Kathakali dancer.
Kottakkal Nandakumaran Nair has received Senior Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and the Government of Kerala honoured him with the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy Award for the year 2010. He is presently Chief Instructor in Chuduvalathur Janabheri Kathakali Kendram, Shornur, and Guest Faculty at Salabhanjika Studio for Arts and Performance, Thrissur.
Kathakali has become a performance tradition, which has been passed through different gurus, where years of strenuous practice and dedication ignite the flame of ‘kalivilakku’ (traditional oil lamp).
The training period is a minimum eight years; from 3AM to 8PM every day, with two or three breaks in between. During the earlier part of a day, footwork, specific body movements, and exercise for the facial structure (with stress on eye movements) are the major items. As the day tapers to late evening the stress shifts to the study of textual contents and character sketches.
Kottakkal Nandakumaran Nair is highly sought as resource person and demonstrator in Kathakali all over the world. His services were made use by Warsaw University (Poland), Lordz University (Poland), Rio de Jeniero University (Brazil), Moscow University (Russia) and Universities, Colleges and Schools all over India.
Kathakali demands precise and well defined kinesic abilities. Presentation & portrayal of different characters in the different categories demand specific inherent potentials and trained skills. These become more significant if themes are chosen from cultural sectors outside Kerala. Nandakumar encompasses all these requisites. His intellectual and Terpsichorean inputs are quite unique. Configuring scenes from King Lear & Kannaki as well as portraying rarely presented characters like Jaambavan are perfect examples of the said high level of efficiency.