Gopika Varma started learning Mohiniyattam Gopika Varma at the age of 10 from Smt. Girija and Smt. Chandrika Kurup, both senior students of Smt. Kalyani Kuttyamma whose student she continued to be for 10 years. Later she specialised in the art form under the able guidance of Smt. Kalyani Kuttyamma herself and her daughter Sreedevi Rajan. She was also fortunate to learn Abhinaya which is the quintessence of Mohiniyattam from Sri. Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, the doyen of the Kathakali stage. Presently Gopika is running a Mohiniyattam school named 'Dasya' at Adayar, Chennai.

Gopika has performed extensively at various art festivals, sabhas and temples all over India and she has won laurels abroad when ICCR chose her to represent India. Love for this graceful and gentle dance of soft rhythm has enabled Gopika to transmit through movements and expressions that at times sigh with nostalgia, purity and sanctity which translate as her own personal worship of the Divine.

Kalamandalam Hymavathy represented Kerala in many National dance festivals, excellence in facial expressions, well disciplined in karanas and innovations in her approach to art. Hymavathy reflects at large the strength of tradition and grace of classical simplicity in Mohiniyattam.

She won the "Kaladarpanam" award in recognition of her contribution to the growth of Mohiniyattam 1998. She is rare senior artist in Mohiniyattam having a host of talented disciples both in India and abroad.

She visited all over India and abroad. Now she is engaged in composing new Items in classical style. She composed several padams and varnams with her own lyrics "NalananyeNathanilla" based by Nala and Damayanthy. "Sumathy Madhu Mozhi Chithralek" based of Usha and Chithralekha and the another one "Smarathy Nee Noonam" based of "Vikramorvasheeyam" and "Veerapurushothama" based on Urvasi Sapam and the other "MohanaRupiniMohini" based of different Mohiniees. Her famous Master piece Item. "Omana thingal kidavo" (Lullaby) is written by our great poet Erayemanthambi. In this Thrattu she presenting a good mother and a child. She also composed "Achanum Makalum" Vallathole’s great poem.

Kalamandalam Radhika took to dancing at the tender age of three, under the expert tutelage of Guru Rajan. In her quest to learn the different aspects of dance she learnt mridhangam vaitharis from Guru Ponniah pillai to attain mastery over the techniques of rhythm. She then learnt Kathakali from Muttar Sri. Narayana Panicker to hone her skills and talent.

She later specialised in Mohiniattam having studied under the all time Great Gurus like Late ChinnammuAmma and Kalamandalam Sathyabhama . She was also under the tutelage of Late Kalamandalam Kalyani Kutty Amma for a short period. Her training under Kalamandalam Padmanabha Ashan in kathakali polished her Abhinayam to a great extent.

She has to her credit more than 2000 performances and workshops in India and abroad. Radhika’s speciality is the ability to interact with the audience and take them along with her on an emotive trip.

Radhika has performed both at the National and International Levels.She has performed for diginitaries like the SAARC delegates, WHO delegates, Soviet Representatives, Diplomats and others.

Keralakalamandalam is the premier Center of excellence in Indian Performing Arts emphasizing especially on the traditions that developed in the State of Kerala, in the south west coast of India. Established in 1930, this unique institution, devoted to classical performing arts, is situated near the majestic river Bharathapuzha, celebrated in literature as Nila, in the village of Cheruthuruthy in Trissur district in the State of Kerala in the south west part of India.

The Kerala Sahitya Akademi is an autonomous institution established for the promotion and development of Malayalam language and literature. Formally inaugurated by the then Raja Pramukh late Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma Raja of Travancore at Kanakakunnu Palace, Thiruvananthapuram on 15th October, 1956, the Akademi started functioning in the Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram and later on was shifted to a room in the Thrissur Museum Bungalow. In September, 1957 it was again shifted to the present beautiful building near the Thrissur Town Hall.

The Akademi was registered according to the Tiruvitamkur-Kochi Societies Registration Act of 1955 and is functioning with grant given by the Government of Kerala.

Aruvacode is a small village near Nilambur in North Kerala which has been famous for its potters. With the influx of cheap industrial substitutes, these villagers had all but lost their traditional skills, when a small movement led by activist-designer K B Jinan, rekindled their hope. Together, they explored the possibilities of terra-cotta suited for the modern context and Kumbham was born. Today Kumbham is hailed as a rare instance of a traditional artisan community rehabilitating itself through the very craft they have been alienated from.

MalayalaSangeetham.info is a one-stop shop on the internet, to get historical information on songs compiled for malayalam movies. There are several sites on the internet where you can listen to streaming malayalam music for free, download them for a fee or check out new movie releases before you buy the CD. However when it comes to historical information regarding themusic itself, there are very few well maintained sites that provides insights into times and works of the creators of this great genre of music. MalayalaSangeetham.info is a non-profit effort to address this specific issue.

Margi was registered in 1970, as a Society under the Travancore Cochin Literary Scientific and Charitable Societies Regn. Act XII of 1955, with chief founders, D. Appukuttan Nair, T.N.N.Bhattathiripad, and K.V.Kochaniyan. The name ‘Margi’ in Sanskrit means pursuit of aesthetic values which are universal and everlasting as distinguished from ‘Desi’ in Sanskrit meaning ‘limited to a particular region'.

Born on 16th February 1916 at a village named Anakkara in Palakkad District of south India in Kerala , Njeralath Ramapothuval is the eldest son of Koodallur Kurinjikaavil Marath Sankunni Maaraar and Janakipothuvalsyar. Most of his childhood stage was spend in his ancestral house of Njeralath beside lord Sree Rama temple. He inherited the art of playing Idaykka from his uncle Njeralathu Karunakara Pothuval and later on scaled new heights to establish an indelible mark in this field. It was an art which was unique of its kind in the world of music. Sopanasangeetham is the genre he popularized - a genre which is exclusively belongs to the state of Kerala in south India. This genre is also known as Kottipaadiseva or serving the gods and goddesses by singing songs , praising them.Njeralathu Raama Pothuvaal, a renowned artist, who rejuvenated Sopaana Sangeetham-the traditional temple music of kerala -enthralled the music lovers of kerala for a decade. He brought out this art from the walls of the temple and made this art popular among the people There are six different documentary films based on his life and music. 'Sopaanam' is his biography which also implemented has a study materials for the University students . He received more than 10 different awards and fellowships from both govt. and NGOS within his 80 years of life. In 1996 august 13 Raama Pothuvaal died leaving a great art form in his name.

(Thanks sunil for the link!!)

Open Eyed Dreams is an art promotion venture started in 2002 to promote art and artists in India. This venture was started with 8 of the prominent kerala artists. Now we represent more than 40 artists of national and international repute. Tony Joseph, a reputed architect and Dilip Narayanan jointly started this venture and now Open Eyed Dreams has emerged as the premier organization in this field. This year onwards we have instituted "young artist of the year award," for the best artist from Kerala. We have already conducted 5 exhibitions in Kerala, the first one in Thrissur and later in cochin and Calicut.

www.pachakam.com has over 500 recipes from all over the world that goes with your taste buds. Compiled by a dedicated team who views the internet from the users perspective and eliminates the frustration of searching sites for long hours and ultimate disappointment.We provide you with quick and easy access to many recipes that you are looking for.A simple and easy solution to good cooking.

Black pepper, the most widely used spice in the world, is native to my home state of Kerala, located at the southwestern tip of India. Centuries ago black pepper attracted many foreign traders to our shores. This long history of foreign trade had considerable impact on our agriculture, cuisine and to a certain extent even on our language. Both the Nayars (hereditary warriors) and the Royalty of Kerala still continue to observe the ceremonial aspects of the ancient matrilineal system. Let me introduce you through this web site to our ancient cultural traditions, fascinating food history and our delicious and simple cuisine.

Her tryst with Odissi began at the behest of the legendary Protima Gauri Bedi in 1991 at Nrityagram- the dance village in Bangalore, India. There she studied under the tutelage of Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra and finished her training under the guidance of Guru Ramani Ranjan Jenna. Her pursuit of Odissi did not stop her from the allure of Mohiniyattam. Initiated by the eminent Guru Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma she continued her classical dance training with Mohiniyattam style and technique by renowned Guru Bharati Shivaji. She then mastered the nuances of abhinaya or facial expression from extensive training under Guru Kalanidhi Narayan and Ms. Usha Nangyar.

Her belief in a holistic approach to dance has led her to learn various ancillary skills that have enriched her performing style a great deal.She has learnt ballet from The Eugene Ballet Co. of USA , Trappies from Zoe & Anne Dufour of France and Tango from Anne Marie & Rigardo Of USA, all artists of great repute. She has imbibed the aesthetics of creative dance from accomplished teachers like Ranjabati Sircar, Robert Mc Williams & sandra Chatterejee(USA). In her endeavour for perfection she has trained in Shorinji Kempo under sensei Kirti and has also dabbled in Aikido with guidance of Julius Aib(Australia). As an avid learner she has attended several workshops ranging from abhinaya to sculpture and mime to Kutiyatam hosted by experts like Daksha Seth, John Devraj, Gracious Devaraj, Sajjan Gurukkal, Jayachandran, Koothupatrai and Anita Rathnam among others.

An accomplished artiste of both Mohiniattam & Odissi, she has performed extensively all over India, Europe and South East Asia with innumerable performances at major cultural programs. Backed by her professional experience of over a decade now, she has composed and choreographed dance items for distinguished national and international events. She is also an endearing teacher herself, and has taught and participated in several dance workshops. She is the recipient of National Scholarship For Young Artistes awarded by the department of HRD, govt. of India in 2000. Incidentally she is an exponent of the Indian martial art Kalaripayattu and actively practices Yoga as well. She also plays the Indian Classical instrument Veena with much enthusiasm.

An online portal selling Malayalam / English Books and CDs.

Smitha Rajan is a renowned, leading Mohiniyattam dancer who has to her distinction, among others, of having completed over a thousand stage performances before she turned thirty.

Smitha Rajan's grandparents are the legendary couple - the great Kathakali dancer Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair and the acclaimed Mohiniattam guru Kalamandalam Kalyanikuttiamma.

Shobana is an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer who runs a dance school and has worked on collaborative ventures with the likes of tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, Vikku Vinayakram and Mandolin Srinivas.. Her recitals abroad include those at the World Malayalee convention, in the United States in 1985 and 1995, in Kuala Lumpur before the King and Queen of Malaysia, numerous cities in the United States, Europe, South East Asia and Australia.

Shobana has performed in several Music and Dance Festivals in India. She has had the distinction of inaugurating the dance and music season in Madras in 1992 at the Music Academy - the bastion of classical art. She has also performed at the nationally acclaimed Surya Festival in Trivandrum, Kerala in 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997.As a Bhartanatyam dancer, Shobana is renowned for her fine dedication to the classical art form. She is known to possess an exquisite understanding of the Abhinaya, a clarity of line and a strong rhythmic command of the idiom.In 1994, Shobana founded Kalarpana with the objective of committing herself to the propagation of the classical arts. The aim of Kalarpana is to organize annual festivals throughout India. This will include performances of nationally and globally known artistes to help raise funds that will be ploughed back into training talented artistes who are financially insecure. Under its umbrella, Kalarpana would like to extend its support to the handicapped and the environmental movement. This work was initiated in 1994 by organizing a remarkably successfully evening of classical music and dance under the title of 'Bharatam'.

Soorya Singapore - singapore chapter of soorya dance and music. Our mission:

“Dissemination of the rich Indian art & culture and achieving integration through culture” – Soorya strives towards presenting the finest in the diverse art forms of India to the art lovers of Singapore in a multi-cultural, multi-racial milieu.

Vastly gifted with an attractive demeanour suitable for this form of dancing, Sunanda indeed casts a spell on her onlookers while performing. She exudes vitality, warmth and endows her dance with an added dimension, and she enchants the initiated and the uninitiated alike. It is her ability to infuse beauty in whatever she creates and give joyousness to her movements and expressions that set her apart from other practitioners. The movements are full of life and endowed with sensitive lyricism. Sunanda is the disciple of the noted Mohini Attam exponent Padmashree Dr.(Smt)Kanak Rele, who is renowned for her contribution to the revival and popularisation of this classical dance style.

She has the proud privilege of being the first student to earn a Master's degree in Mohini Attam from Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalay affiliated to the University of Mumbai. Sunanda has prepared for her vocation both as a professional dancer and a teacher of dance, through rich and multifaceted experiences in higher academics, stage performances, classroom instruction and choreography

A painter from Kerala, India, who left us early in life leaving behind a remarkable collection of paintings. These paintings are either exhibited in the galleries of Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, Kochi and Thrissur, National Gallery of Modern Art, Madras, Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad and at her ancestral home in Kadancheri, Ponani, Kerala, apart from private collections in India and abroad.