He carved out a contemporary style of dancing, classical in form but popular in appeal, through which the fame of Kathakali spread far and wide in the beginning of the 1930s.

He brought to my mind glimpses of the great past when dancing was one of the most treasured arts in India and not as today, a mere device of whetting up the jaded appetite of the idle rich.

His presence in our midst was a great lesson and now that dancing is again coming into vogue amongst us, his style should give us a correct lead, for in want of it, we are yet groping in the dark."

He died on stage, as he wished, with makeup, attire and anklets while enacting the role of King Dasharatha in his famous ballet Ramayana on 9 October 1987 at Fine Arts Hall Eranakulam.

He was born on 24 June 1908, as the second son of Madhavi Amma and Kaippilli Sankara Pillai, in Champakulam, Kuttanad now in Alappuzha district of Kerala.

The show was on and at midnight suddenly uncle came to the sleeping boy and did some minimum make up to him to look like a maharshi – a hermit – and asked him to sit on a chair on the stage.

Kavalappara Narayanan Nair was his main teacher at 'Kerala Kalamandalam' where he was asked to join as a special student for higher studies in northern style, which gives importance to gestures movements and footsteps.

Family Guru Gopinath was married to Mulakkal Thankamani Amma, a great Mohiniyattam dancer and exponent of Kerala Natanam.

She was the first student of Mohiniyattam at Kerala Kalamandalam in early 30s, when Poet Vallathol Narayana Menon and Manakkulam Mukunda Raja started a course to revive this dying art form.

The youngest daughter Vinodini Sasimohan was a child artist in Malayalam movies in the 60s and she is now the Chief Administrative Officer of Viswa Kala Kendra, Trivandrum.

He was instrumental to bring Kathakali out from the courtyards of upper class Brahmins and Nairs and rajas and dance chambers of temples to the masses.

He carved out a contemporary style of dancing, classical in form but popular in appeal, through which the fame of Kathakali spread far and wide in the beginning of the 1930s.

He brought to my mind glimpses of the great past when dancing was one of the most treasured arts in India and not as today, a mere device of whetting up the jaded appetite of the idle rich.

His presence in our midst was a great lesson and now that dancing is again coming into vogue amongst us, his style should give us a correct lead, for in want of it, we are yet groping in the dark."

He died on stage, as he wished, with makeup, attire and anklets while enacting the role of King Dasharatha in his famous ballet Ramayana on 9 October 1987 at Fine Arts Hall Eranakulam.

He was born on 24 June 1908, as the second son of Madhavi Amma and Kaippilli Sankara Pillai, in Champakulam, Kuttanad now in Alappuzha district of Kerala.

The show was on and at midnight suddenly uncle came to the sleeping boy and did some minimum make up to him to look like a maharshi – a hermit – and asked him to sit on a chair on the stage.

Kavalappara Narayanan Nair was his main teacher at 'Kerala Kalamandalam' where he was asked to join as a special student for higher studies in northern style, which gives importance to gestures movements and footsteps.

Family Guru Gopinath was married to Mulakkal Thankamani Amma, a great Mohiniyattam dancer and exponent of Kerala Natanam.

She was the first student of Mohiniyattam at Kerala Kalamandalam in early 30s, when Poet Vallathol Narayana Menon and Manakkulam Mukunda Raja started a course to revive this dying art form.

The youngest daughter Vinodini Sasimohan was a child artist in Malayalam movies in the 60s and she is now the Chief Administrative Officer of Viswa Kala Kendra, Trivandrum.

He was instrumental to bring Kathakali out from the courtyards of upper class Brahmins and Nairs and rajas and dance chambers of temples to the masses.

She was the teacher of most of the early students who learned Kerala Natanam like Lalitha, Padmini, Ragini, Bhavani Chellappan, Mangala and Lakshmi.

Thangamani, who left the dance stage in the late 1960s became a member of the Vishwa Kala Kendram Bharana Samiti in Vattiyoorkavu, Thiruvananthapuram.

In 1943, on an invitation from the government, he took his troupe to Alexandria, Egypt; the Middle East; and Italy for military entertainment as the Indian Army was engaged in World War II.

In the late forties, at the insistence of some of his friends, he composed and presented the 'Voice of Travancore,' a political theme in dance form, which depicted the autocratic rule of the Dewan, Sir CP Ramaswamy Iyer and people's movement of resistance thereon.

"I am delighted to witness the performance of a dance drama based on National Integration presented by Pratibha Nrithakala Kendra, Trivandrum, and directed by the famous and distinguished dancer Chandrasekharan.

It is a most thought provoking play and one who attends this show will feel enthused and inspired and would strengthen his spirit of patriotism and love of sacrifice for his country.

His book on Bharatanatyam titled Natiya Nirishanam is a masterpiece: the culmination of a research work done with a Fellowship Award from the Cultural Department, government of India.

Chandrasekharan married Mohanavalli Amma of Kalappurakkal family, Alangad Paravur, daughter of Gopala Panicker, assistant superintendent of police of former Travancore State.