P. K. Medini is a revolutionary singer, musician, stage artist, one of the few living freedom fighters of India, a participant of the historical Punnapra-Vayalar uprising, a leader of Communist party of India and a renowned social activist of Kerala. [1] [2]
Medini is a recipient of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award (1999). [3]
Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi is located in Thrissur city, of Kerala, in India.
P. K. Venukuttan Nair was an Indian theatre personality and Malayalam film actor. He was the vice-president of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi and member of the Kendra Sangeet Natak Academy. He received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 1995 and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship in 1998. He won many awards at state-level competitions for professional theatre, including the P. J. Antony Award in March 2002.
Neyyattinkara Vasudevan was a Carnatic music vocalist from Kerala in south India. The Padmasree-winning Carnatic vocalist and disciple of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Ramnad Krishnan, he combined tradition and innovation in his widely acclaimed career. Vasudevan is famous as being one of the first from the Dalit community to excel in the field which was previously the preserve of the upper castes.
K. T. Mohammed, popularly known as KT, was a Malayalam playwright and screenwriter. He had scripted about 40 stage plays, including Idhu Bhumiyanu, considered to be his masterpiece. He had also written screenplay for about 20 films, including Kandam Becha Kottu, Thurakkatha Vathil, Moodupadam, and Kadalpalam. K. T. was a recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
Trichur V. Ramachandran(born 1940) is a Carnatic music vocalist. He received the most prestigious award of Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2012 from the Madras Music Academy.
Tripunithura Viswanathan Gopalakrishnan, known as TVG, is a Carnatic and Hindustani musician from Cochin, Kerala, India. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2014.
Perumbavoor G. Raveendranath is an Indian musician from Kerala. He is well known as a carnatic musician as well as a composer. He lives in Thiruvananthapuram now, though hails from Perumbavoor, Ernakulam. His works always have the deep-rooted carnatic touch in it.
Maliyekkal Kochukunju Arjunan was an Indian film and theatre composer, known for his works in Malayalam cinema and the theatre of Kerala. He was fondly referred to as Arjunan Master.
Mavelikkara Krishnankutty Nair was a Carnatic Mridangam player. He received his training from Alleppey Venkappan Pillai and Veechur Krishna Iyer. He considered Palani Subramaniam Pillai as his 'Manasa Guru'. He received the Padma Shri from the President of India. He received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award in 1971 and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship in 1980. Krishnankutty Nair was also an artiste for All India Radio in Trivandrum.
K. S. Narayanaswamy, was a Carnatic veena exponent of the Thanjavur style, in which nuances and subtleties are given more importance over rhythm based acrobatics. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1979.
Kalamandalam Kshemavathy is a Mohiniyattam dancer from Thrissur, Kerala. She is an alumna of the Kerala Kalamandalam. She joined the institute when she was ten. After completion of the course, she undertook advanced training in Bharata Natyam under Muthuswamy Pillai and Chitra Visweswaran, and in Kuchipudi under Vempati Chinna Satyam, but chose to remain within the Mohiniyattam tradition.
Sajitha Madathil is an Indian film and theatre actor. Her performance in Joy Mathew's feature film Shutter (2012) won her the Kerala State film award for second best actress. She is the head of the department of Acting at the K. R. Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts (KRNNIVSA), an autonomous institute established by the Government of Kerala. She had been the Deputy Secretary of the Sangeet Natak Akademi New Delhi(Academy of Music and Dance, India), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. She appeared in the feature films Shutter in 2012, in Adimadhyantham in 2011, and in Shalini Usha Nair's feature film Akam in 2011.
Kizhakke Potta Udayabhanu was an Indian playback singer and music director, mainly in Malayalam films. In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour.
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.
A. Santha Kumar was an Indian Malayalam language playwright and screenplay writer from Kerala state, South India. He won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama in 2010 for the work Maram Peyyunnu.
C. M. Pappukutty Bhagavathar was an Indian singer and actor in Malayalam cinema.
Kadakkavoor Pachan Brahmanandan was a South Indian playback singer from Kerala.
The Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship is an honour presented by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala. Instituted in 1972, the fellowships are given to outstanding artistes who have contributed to the performing arts in the state. The awardees are decided after a general body meeting conducted by the Akademi panel members and are presented by the Governor of Kerala.
Parassala B. Ponnammal was an Indian Carnatic musician from the south Indian state of Kerala. She was a classical carnatic vocalist in the lineage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Muthiah Bhagavathar, and Papanasam Sivan. She was the first woman to perform at the Navaratri Mandapam in Thiruvananthapuram as a part of the Navaratri Celebrations of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala.
Chakkalakal Lonappan Jose, is an Indian playwright of Malayalam literature. One of the pioneers of popular Malayalam theatre and a former chairman of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, Jose is the author of 36 plays, 75 one-act plays, one children's play and Ormakalkku Urakkamilla, his autobiography. He is a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship and S. L. Puram Sadanandan Puraskaram of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi.
