Kathakali maestro Kottakal Sivaraman Passes away

Palakkad: Noted Kathakali maestro Kottakkal Sivaraman passed away. He was 74. He was an acclaimed performing artiste who revolutionised the portrayal of female roles in Kathakali. Sivaraman indisputably took female roles to unimaginable prominence.

Sivaraman, born in 1936 was a disciple of his uncle-guru Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair at the PSV Natyasangham in Kottakkal. By the 1960s, he had experimented those ideas on stage with success, much to the appreciation of aesthetes not only in his native Valluvanad, which has been the homestead for the refined Kalluvazhi style of Kathakali. His Karalmanna village, thus further affixed its name on the Kathakali map.

Sivaraman has acted with actors of several generations across north and south Kerala, but it was with Kalamandalam Gopi that he teamed up well to gain repute as a phenomenal pair on the Kathakali stage. Together they acted, with Sivaraman as Damayanti and Gopi as Nalan, as Kunti-Karnan, as Mohini-Rukmangadan. Sivaraman's portrayal of Sairandhri (Draupadi in disguise as a maid) in Keechakavadham opposite Padma Bhushan Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair (as Keechaka) also earned him lots of stages and fame. Sivaraman was one among the rare leading Kathakali artistes of modern times to have not taught in any leading performing-art institutions.

In the evening of his life, Sivaraman also carved a cast in male roles, where the magic of make-up would help him hide his advancing age. He continued to do female roles, but was also seen performing as Krishna (Kuchelavrittam) or Pushkara (Nalacharitam). He had choreographed a new storyplay (aattakkatha), Pingala, which is based on the 11th canto of the epic Bhagavatham. In its inaugural show, he enacted the lead role of the protagonist.

An artiste with keen interest in reading books, ranging from the Puranas to the latest works in his native Malayalam literature, Sivaraman was known as a garrulous talker even while being a deep-sighted thinker of his art form. Filmmaker M.R. Rajan has made a documentary on the master, Nokku, which bagged national award in 2007.

He is succeeded by wife Bhavani and three children.







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