Sadanam P. V. Balakrishnan

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Sadanam P. V. Balakrishnan
A portrait of Shri Sadanam P.V. Balakrishnan who will be presented with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Kathakali Dance by the President Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam in New Delhi on October 26, 2004.jpg
Sadanam P. V. Balakrishnan
Born1944 (age 80–81)
Taliparamba, Malabar district, British India
NationalityIndian
OccupationKathakali exponent
Parent(s)A. V. Krishnan, Umayamma
Awards

Sadanam Puthiya Veettil Balakrishnan popularly known as Sadanam Balakrishnan is an exponent of Kathakali, a form of Indian classical dance, from Kerala, India. He has received several notable awards, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2003, Kerala state Kathakali award in 2020, and Kerala Kalamandalam fellowship in 2017. Balakrishnan taught Kathakali at the International Center for Kathakali in Delhi from 1974 to 2006 and became the Principal of Perur Gandhi Seva Sadanam in 1980. He has written four books. In 2024, he received Padma Shri the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India.

Contents

Biography

Puthiya Veettil Balakrishnan was born in 1944 in Taliparamba, Kannur district to A. V. Krishnan and Umayamma. [1] [2] His Kathakali training began at the age of eleven, when he was a seventh-grade student at Kurumathur School. [3] His first teacher was Kondiveetil Narayanan Nair. [4]

Kurumathur Narayanan Namboothiripad, the manager of the school where he studied and the landlord of his native place, played a major role in encouraging and nurturing him from the very beginning. [3] From the age of 12, Narayanan Namboothiripad arranged his accommodation at his own house, along with food, and facilities for Kathakali training. [3] Even the dakshina given to the Guru for his debut was given by Namboodiripad. [3] It was Namboodiripad who later forced him to send in applications for admission to the Perur Gandhi Seva Sadan Kathakali School and Kerala Kalamandalam and ensured the expenses for him to attend the interviews. [3]

Although he passed the interview at Kalamandalam, he decided to study at Sadanam since he had been admitted to the institution the day before. [3] He underwent intensive training for 10 years at the Gandhi Seva Sadan Kathakali Academy under Thekkinkattil Ravunni Nair and Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair, with a Central Government Scholarship. [4] [5]

Personal life

Balakrishnan is married to Janaki. [6] They have two son, Prasad and Pradeep. [4] A native of Kannur, he now lives in Kochi with his son. [6]

Career

Balakrishnan is specialized in the Kalluvazhi style of Kathakali performance. [7] He has worked as an artist and teacher at institutions like Parassinikkadavu Muthappan Kathakali Yogam, Gandhi Seva Sadan Kathakali Academy, Perur. [4]

Balakrishnan has adapted stories from many languages, including Greek, English, French, Hindi, and Tamil, into Aattakatha form and performed according to that. [3] He has done Aattakatha adaptation of French writer Pierre Corneille's famous tragic play Le Cid, under the title 'Maharathi', and performed as Kathakali. [3] Psyché, written by Corneille and Molière, was adapted and presented under the title 'Sumana'. [3] He has also adapted and performed William Shakespeare's 'Othello' and 'Macbeth' as well as Euripides' Greek plays 'Alcistes' and 'Helen'. [3]

He has collaborated with the organization SPIC MACAY for over forty years in conducting Kathakali and lecture demonstrations across India and abroad, and has worked for many years for the promotion and promotion of Kathakali through central government institutions such as CCRT and ICCR. [3]

Balakrishnan joined as a teacher in Kathakali at the International Center for Kathakali in Delhi in 1974, took charge as its Principal and Chief Artiste in 1980 and retired in 2006. [7] After the retirement of Keezpadam Kumaran Nair in 1980, he became the Principal of Perur Gandhi Seva Sadanam. [2] He proved his mettle in all disciplines of Kathakali including acting, choreography, direction and teaching. [8]

Books written

Balakrishnan has also written four books. Among the published books, Kathakali (Balakrishnan, Sadanam (2004). Kathakali. Wisdom Tree. ISBN   978-81-86685-13-6.) is part of a series on the six classical Indian dances, published by Wisdom Tree and another Kathakali: A Practitioner’s Perspective was published by Poorna Publications. [1] Two books are about to publish soon. One is a compilation of 14 Aattakatha texts and other is about his Guru Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair. [5]

Awards and honors

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "A MAN OF COMMITMENT FROM GOD'S OWN COUNTRY". THE DANCE INDIA. 14 November 2020. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 "സദനം ബാലകൃഷ്ണന്‍". kathakali.info. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Ramesh, Babu P. (17 April 2024). "ജീവശ്വാസംകൊണ്ട് അഭിനയിക്കുന്നയാള്‍". Samakalika Malayalam (in Malayalam). The New Indian Express.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "പത്മശ്രീ എത്തിച്ചത് കഥകളിയിലെ വൈഭവം". പത്മശ്രീ എത്തിച്ചത് കഥകളിയിലെ വൈഭവം (in Malayalam).
  5. 1 2 Keshavdas, Sanjana (20 July 2019). "Sadanam Balakrishnan looks back on his career". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  6. 1 2 "67 വർഷത്തെ കഥകളി ജീവിതത്തിനുള്ള അംഗീകാരം; പത്മശ്രീ നിറവില്‍ സദനം". Manoramanews. 26 January 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 "SADANAM P.V: BALAKRISHNAN" (PDF). Sangeet Natak Akademi. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  8. ↑ Admin, Super. "Sadanam P.V. Balakrishnan". CCRT. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  9. ↑ "വാഴേങ്കട വിജയനും സദനം ബാലകൃഷ്ണനും സംസ്ഥാന കഥകളി പുരസ്കാരം". ManoramaOnline (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  10. ↑ "സദനം ബാലകൃഷ്ണന് കലാമണ്ഡലം ഫെലോഷിപ്". ManoramaOnline. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "കഥകളി ആചാര്യൻ സദനം കൃഷ്ണൻ കുട്ടിക്ക് നാട്യാചാര". Kairali News. 12 December 2021. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "പത്മശ്രീ എത്തിച്ചത് കഥകളിയിലെ വൈഭവം". പത്മശ്രീ എത്തിച്ചത് കഥകളിയിലെ വൈഭവം (in Malayalam). Retrieved 27 July 2025.
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