Gandhi Seva Sadan is a Kathakali institution located in Perur village, some 12 kilometres east of Ottapalam in Palakkad district of north-central Kerala in southern India.
Located in a green, silent locality on the banks of the river Bharatapuzha, Sadanam has groomed several artistes who have gained acclaim in the field as actor-dancers, musicians, percussionists, make-up men and greenroom assistants.
Not far away from its main campus, the academy has an impressive indoor-cum-outdoor auditorium that plays the venue for Sadanam's functions during special occasions like anniversary celebrations and the Pattikkamthodi Jayanti (28 September).
Its long-standing reputation and contributions to the traditional art form has also earned it recognition as an institution of higher learning by the Government of India.
Heeding to Mahatma Gandhi's call to youngsters to live and die in the villages of India, Kumaran set forth and put in the place the first modest steps for what was to become a big institution in his Perur.
With the help of a small sum donated by few village elders he bought 12 charkhas (cotton-spinning machines which were at that time the symbol of the aspirations of an independent India).
The stalwarts of yesteryear include Guru Kunchu Kurup for Kathakali and Kutiyattam maestro Natyacharya Mani Madhava Chakyar for Rasaabhinaya and Netraabhinaya (both Padma Shri awardees).