• Source: Appunni Tharakan

Nambiarath Appunni Tharakan is a Kathakali artist from Kerala, India. He work as Uduthukettal (Make up, dressing and costume of Kathakali performer) expert at aniyara (behind the curtains) of Kathakali. He received several awards including Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award, Kerala Kalamandalam Award for Best Kathakali Aniyara Artist and Kerala Kalamandalam Mukundaraja Award.




Biography


Nambiarath Appunni Tharakan was born on August 3, 1928, at Mangod near Cherpulassery in present-day Palakkad district, to Kunjan Tharakan and Kutty Pennamma. He dropped out his education halfway and went to the Vazhengada temple to earn a living. He learned the Uduthukettal from well known Kathakali artist Pambath Sankaran, also known as Kollankode Sankaran, the husband of her sister Kunjimalu Amma. He started his career at the Olappamanna Mana at the age of fourteen. He began working independently at the age of eighteen.
He became a permanent employee of the Kerala Kalamandalam at the age of 50 and retired in 1984. He got a job as Aniyarakkaran (behind the curtain artist) in Kalamandalam with the help of poet Olappamanna Subramanian Namboodiripad who was the president of Kalamandalam that time. Until then, the post of Aniyarakkaran was not in the Kalamandalam. He was also main Aniyara artist of the Kottayam PSV Natyasangham, the Iringalakuda Unnai Warrier Memorial Kalanilayam and the Perur Sadanam Kathakali Academy. Since the inception of the Kerala State School Kalothsavam in 1953, Appunni Tharakan has been preparing school children for 55 consecutive years.




= Personal life

=
He and his wife Parvathy have 3 children.




Awards and recognitions


Kerala Kalamandalam Award for Best Kathakali Aniyara Artist, 2021
Kerala Kalamandalam Mukundaraja Award
Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair Award
Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award
Veerasrimgala from Mangod desham
Vellinezhi Olappamanna Mana Special Award
Award from Kozhikode Thodayam
He was honored at the International Kathakali and Koodiyattam Festival in Dubai.




Family


He and his wife Parvathy have four children, Unnikrishnan, Sivaraman, Mohanan and late Sankaranarayanan. Sivaraman is a teacher at the Kerala Kalamandalam. His youngest son Mohanan is an Uduthorukkal artist.




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Appunni Tharakan
• Cherpulassery
• Benyamin (writer)
• Malayalam literature
• Kalabhavan Mani
• Janardhanan (actor)
• Innocent (actor)
• T. P. Madhavan
• Marthandavarma (novel)
• Adoor Bhasi