M. P. S. Namboodiri

🪔 About

Kalamandalam M. P. S. Namboodiri is a highly esteemed Kathakali exponent, academic, performer, and educator from Kerala, India. Born on July 1, 1943, in Karikad, Malabar District (present-day Malappuram district), Namboodiri began his rigorous Kathakali training at Kerala Kalamandalam in 1958 at the age of 15. He received instruction from legendary gurus including Kalamandalam Gopi Asan, Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair, Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, and Vazhenkada Kunju Nair. His extensive career at Kerala Kalamandalam began in 1968 when he joined the faculty as a teacher and performer. He steadily rose through the ranks, eventually serving as the Principal of the institution until his retirement in 1998. Following Kalamandalam's upgrade to a Deemed University in 2007, Namboodiri was reappointed as the Dean of the Department of Kathakali. He also served for eight years as the Director of the Nila Campus, which offers postgraduate courses. Beyond his contributions in India, he has been a visiting professor at the University of California (UCLA) and the University of Wisconsin in the United States. Namboodiri has toured extensively with Kalamandalam troupes to numerous countries, including the USA, England, France, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, and Singapore, and has collaborated on theatre productions with renowned directors Eugenio Barba and Phillip Zarrilli. As a scholar, Namboodiri has published several articles on Kathakali in both English and Malayalam. He co-authored the seminal book "Kathakaliyude Rangapathacharithram" (The History of Kathakali's Stage Language) with Killimangalam Vasudevan Namboodirippad, published in 2007. This work earned him the Kerala Kalamandalam Award for best scholarly work and a shared endowment for art literature in the same year. In 2013, he was honored with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his contributions to Kathakali. He also received the Kerala Kalamandalam Mukundaraja Smruthi Award in 2019. As of November 2023, he is working on a new book aimed at introducing Kathakali to younger generations and holds a senior fellowship from the Union government for a project on traditional Kathakali teaching methodologies. Awards & Honours: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2013), Kerala Kalamandalam Mukundaraja Smruthi Award (2019), Kerala Kalamandalam Award for best scholarly work on Kathakali (2007), Kerala Kalamandalam endowment for art literature (2007).