Heike Moser | |
|---|---|
 Moser in 2013 | |
| Born | Heike Moser Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Koodiyattam dancer |
Heike Moser is a German Koodiyattam artist and teacher. She is the first foreign women to learn and make debut in Koodiyattam, a traditional art performing in Kerala, India. [1]
Moser became interested in India after seeing a Bharatnatyam dance performed by Caroline Gerbert Khan in Germany . Moser who was a disciple of Carol used to come to Chennai every year to study Bharatanatyam under Carol's teacher Savitri Jagannatharao. Later she became fascinated with Indology. At Cheruthuruthy, Kerala, she also started learning Koodiyattam from Kalamandalam Girija and Kalamandalam Rama Chakyar at Kerala Kalamandalam. from 1995 to 1998. She received her doctorate from the University of Tübingen in Nangyarkoot. Moser also learned Sanskrit from Killimangalam Vasudevan Namboothiripad. [2]
Moser regularly visits Kerala to participate in the Koodiyattam held near Moozhikulam Lakshmanaswami temple. She was a part of the project of establishing a Malayalam chair in the name of Herman Gundert at the University of Tübingen. [3]
Koodiyattam is a traditional performing art form in the state of Kerala, India. It is a combination of ancient Sanskrit theatre with elements of Koothu, an ancient performing art from the Sangam era. It is officially recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Hermann Gundert was a German missionary, scholar, and linguist, as well as the maternal grandfather of German novelist and Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse. Gundert is chiefly known for his contributions as an Indologist, and compiled a Malayalam grammar book, Malayalabhaasha Vyakaranam (1859), in which he developed and constricted the grammar spoken by the Malayalis, nowadays; a Malayalam-English dictionary (1872), and contributed to work on Bible translations into Malayalam. He worked primarily at Tellicherry on the Malabar coast, in present day Kerala, India. Gundert also contributed to the fields of history, geography and astronomy.
Perumanoor Gopinathan Pillai, more popularly known as Guru Gopinath was a well known actor-cum-dancer. He is well regarded as the greatest preserver of the dance tradition. He is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship, and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award.
Mani Damodara Chakyar is a Kutiyattam and Chakyar Koothu artist in Kerala state of south India. He is a nephew and disciple of legendary guru Nātyāchārya Vidūshakaratnam Padma Shri Māni Mādhava Chākyār. He belongs to the great Mani Chakyar tradition of Koodiyattam and Chakyar koothu.
Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar (15 February 1899 – 14 January 1990) was a celebrated master performance artist and Sanskrit scholar from Kerala, India, considered to be the greatest Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam artist and authority of modern times. He was considered as the authority of Abhinaya and Nātyaśāstra.
The Indian state Kerala is well known for its diverse forms of performing arts. The various communities in Kerala contribute to its rich and colourful culture. The most important traditional art forms of Kerala are Kathakali, Kalaripayattu,Mayilpeeli Thookkam, Koodiyattam, Theyyam, Mohiniyattam, Thullal, Padayani, Pulikali, Thiruvathirakali, Chakyarkoothu,Chavittunadakam, etc.
Vadakke Manalath Govindan Nair popularly known as Kalamandalam Gopi, is an Indian dancer who is an exponent of the classical dance-drama style known as Kathakali.
Vimala Menon, known popularly as Kalamandalam Vimala Menon is an Indian dance teacher and Mohiniyattam exponent from Kerala. She is the founder and Director of Kerala Natya Academy in Thiruvananthapuram.
Paanivadathilakan P. K. Narayanan Nambiar was an Indian musician, known for his virtuosity in Mizhavu, a traditional percussion instrument and his scholarship in the art of Koodiyattom. He is considered to be one of the masters of Koodiyattom. In 2008, he was awarded Padmashri by Government of India for his services to the art.
Kalamandalam V. Satyabhama was an Indian classical dancer, teacher and choreographer, known for her performances and scholarship in mohiniyattam. She was awarded the Padma Shri, in 2014, for her contributions to the art and culture, by the Government of India.
Kalamandalam Sivan Namboodiri is an Indian classical theatre performer, the first person from outside chakyar community to practice Koodiyattam, from Kerala. He was awarded the Padma Shri, in 2012, for his contributions to the art of Koodiyattam, by the Government of India.
Kalamandalam Girija is an Indian Kutiyattam dancer who is a recipient of Indian Government Award by Sangeet Natak Academy for the 2021https://indiaartreview.com/stories/kalamandalam-girija-koodiyattam-painkulam-rama-chakyar/https://indiaculture.gov.in/sites/default/files/events/Kutiyattam%20Card%2020072016.pdfhttps://www.thenewsminute.com/article/breaking-through-koodiyattams-caste-barriers-kalamandalam-girijas-revolutionary-journeyhttps://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2023/feb/doc2023223162001.pdf. She was trained by Natyakalasarvabhowman Guru Painkulam Rama Chakyar, who played a key role in the renaissance of this genre of Indian Sanskrit Theatre & Dance. Girija was chosen by her Guru to be the first non-Nangiar student to learn Kutiyattam and she became the part of the history as the first Kutiyattam actress to perform the art outside the temple premises. She is an empanelled artist of the ICCR.
Margi Sathi was an exponent of Nangiǎr Kūthu which is a form of performing art derived from Koodiyattam and which is traditionally performed by the female members of the Chakkyar community of Kerala. She was also an accomplished expert in enacting the female characters in Koodiyattam. She has performed extensively within India and abroad. A notable performance was at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris in October 2001 as part of a programme to mark UNESCO's proclamation of Kutiyattam as a "masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity". Sathi had written the attaprakaram for several Nangiǎr Kūthu performance. The attaprakaram for Sreeramacharitham has been published as a book in 1999. She has also appeared in a few Malayalam movies.
Nambiarath Appunni Tharakan is a Kathakali artist from Kerala, India. He work as Uduthukettal expert at aniyara of Kathakali. He received several awards including Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award, Kerala Kalamandalam Award for Best Kathakali Aniyara Artist and Kerala Kalamandalam Mukundaraja Award.
Kalamandalam Rama Chakyar is a Koodiyattam artist from Kerala, India.
Jose Punnamparambil is a senior European journalist and translator from Kerala, India. He has been translating Malayalam works into German for 52 years. In 2018, he received Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for overall contributions to the Malayalam literature.
Kalamandalam Sugandhi is a Mohiniyattam dancer, choreographer and dance teacher from Kerala, India. She received several awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship, Kerala Konkani Sahitya Academy Award and Kerala Kalamandalam Award.
V. K. Hymavathy popularly known as Kalamandalam Hymavathy is a Mohiniyattam dancer and dance teacher from Kerala, India. She received several awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Gurupooja Award and Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award.
Mangat Mulaykkal Thankamani, known by her married name Thankamani Gopinath was a prominent Indian Mohiniyattam dancer and dance teacher from Kerala. The wife and co-dancer of Guru Gopinath, she was the first student of Mohiniyattam from Kalamandalam. Thankamani is considered as one of the important icons in the history of women's progress in Kerala, who learned Mohiniyattam at a time when learning and performing dance was considered unethical for girls in Kerala. She has also starred and sung a song in the 1941 Malayalam movie Prahlada.
Kalamandalam Sindhu is an Indian Koodiyattam-Nangiar koothu artist from Kerala. An ICCR empaneled artiste, she is the recipient of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 2019.