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Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair (1916–2007) was aKathakali artist fromKerala, India.[1] Endowed and equipped with a life profile that also showed him to several traditional Indianperforming arts other than Kathakali, his stage presentation infused a fresh breath into the four-century-old art form, thanks also to his broad and deep view about thePuranas (Indian mythology) that spurred from a constant pursuit of knowledge through reading books and engaging in talks with scholars.[1]
Kumaran Nair was one of the few Kathakali artists to have directly interacted with allied art forms likeBharatanatyam from southern India,Kathak from Northern India, andOdissi from the Eastern Belt. This was besides a brush he had withTamil cinema in his youthful days inMadras (Chennai). All these never conspired to shed the element of classicism in Kumaran Nair's Kathakali performances, instead helped his acting-dancing techniques acquire a certain grand eclecticism that won him fans across Kerala and elsewhere. In short, Kumaran Nair's style was a mix of intellect, imagination, and signature body language that took care not to breach or dilute the pure grammar of Kathakali all the same.[2]
A native ofVellinezhi, one of Kathakali's nerve centers in the Palakkad district, Kumaran Nair was primarily trained, from as early as the age of five, in the highly evolvedKalluvazhi style byPattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon. His classmates atKerala Kalamandalam included the legendaryKalamandalam Krishnan Nair (1914–1990). Upon completion of his studies, Kumaran Nair found the conditions in Kerala did not exactly promise a bright future for him as a Kathakali artiste.
Much to the sorrow of his guru Pattikkamthodi, Kumaran Nair shifted base to Madras, where he became a master of choreography by teaching dance (for songs) to Tamil cinema star Ranjan. During this span, Kumaran Nair also worked closely with actor and later Chief Minister of Tamil NaduM. G. Ramachandran.
He soon returned to Kalamandalam as a teacher, where circumstances forced him to work with the dance section. An unhappy Kumaran Nair quit his alma mater. He later worked with several Kathakali schools like PSV Natyasangham,Kottakkal; Kalasadanam,Chunangad and Varanakkottu Kaliyogam, Payyannur; but his longest stints were inGandhi Seva Sadan (Sadanam Kathakali and Classical Arts Academy) at Peroor in Palakkad district and the International Centre for Kathakali inNew Delhi. Kumaran Nair is a recipient of thePadma Shri award (2004),[3] the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi award, theKerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award (1976),[4] theKerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship (1996) and the Kalamandalam award, among others.
Kumaran Nair retired from stage in 2004, three years before his death in 2007. After retirement, he led a reclusive life in a quiet, northern corner of his native Vellinezhi.[5]
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