Thankamani Gopinath

🪔 About

Mangat Mulaykkal Thankamani, known by her married name Thankamani Gopinath (1918–1990), was a pioneering Indian Mohiniyattam dancer and influential dance teacher from Kerala. Born on March 27, 1918, in Kunnamkulam, Thrissur district, she became the first student of Mohiniyattam at Kerala Kalamandalam, an institution founded by poet Vallathol Narayana Menon. This was a significant step, as learning and performing dance was considered socially unacceptable for girls from respectable families in Kerala at the time. She received her training in Mohiniyattam under Mangara Kalyani Amma. In September 1936, Thankamani married the renowned Kathakali artist Guru Gopinath. After her marriage, she left Kalamandalam in 1935 and became her husband's co-dancer and partner. Together, they developed and popularized an innovative dance style known as Kerala Natanam (originally Kathakali Natanam), which blended elements of Kathakali and Mohiniyattam. The Gopinath-Thankamani duo became one of India's most popular dance pairs during the 1940s and 1950s. Thankamani Gopinath was instrumental in the teaching and management of their dance troupe. She taught at Sree Chitrodaya Dance College, the first dance school in Travancore, where she also oversaw the students' overall well-being. Her teaching legacy includes students like Lalitha, Padmini, Ragini, Bhavani Chellappan, Mangala, and Lakshmi. She also made her cinematic debut as Kayathu and sang a song in the 1941 Malayalam movie "Prahlada," starring alongside Guru Gopinath. Thankamani gradually withdrew from performing Mohiniyattam after her marriage and formally retired from dance by 1960 to focus on her family. In her later years, she served as a member of the Vishwa Kala Kendram Bharana Samiti in Thiruvananthapuram. She passed away on December 28, 1990.