Peruvanam Kuttan Marar | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | M Sankara Narayanan |
Born | Peruvanam, Thrissur, Kerala, India | 25 November 1953
Occupation | Percussion Artist |
Instrument | Chenda |
Years active | 1963–present |
Peruvanam Kuttan Marar is a chenda artist. He leads several popular traditional orchestra performances in Kerala. He received Padma Shri, India's third highest civilian award, in 2011 for his contributions in the field of art. [1]
Peruvanam Kuttan Marar was born to a family of chenda artists in Peruvanam, Thrissur, Kerala. His grandfather, Peruvanam Narayana Marar and his father, Peruvanam Appu Marar were also well-known chenda artists. His teachers include his father, Kumarapuram Appu Marar and Sreenarayanapuram Appu Marar. [2] He made his debut with Chenda at the age of 10. He performed at festivals in nearby temples including Peruvanam Mahadeva Temple. [3] He also joined as a clerk in C N N Boys' High School, Cherpu at the age of 20.[ citation needed ]
Kuttan Marar features in prominent temple festivals of Kerala including Thrissur Pooram, Peruvanam pooram, Kollam Pooram and those at Guruvayur Temple. [3] [4] [5] He leads the famous Ilanjithara Melam of Thrissur Pooram. [3] [6] Kuttan Marar started performing at the Ilanjithara Melam from 1977 and has been its Pramani since 1999. [7]
(Partial) listing of temples where Peruvanam Kuttan Marar has performed :
(Partial) listing of artists who perform with Peruvanam Kuttan Marar on a regular basis :
C. Venugopal and K. Ramachandran produced a 45-minute documentary on Kuttan Marar, named Pranathi. [8]