Chenda exponent Kalabharati Unnikrishnan has been selected for this year’s Natyabharati Award of the Pathanamthitta district Kathakali Club, according to Dilip Ayroor, media convener.
The award, comprising a purse of ₹25,000, citation and memento, will be presented to Mr. Unnikrishnan at the inaugural function of the week-long Kathakali Mela at Cherukolpuzha on January 6. Mr. Unnikrishnan is the son of renowned Chenda exponent Ayamkudy Kuttappa Marar.
He is also recipient of the Varanasi Puraskar.
The Ayroor Raman Pillai Memorial Award for Kathakali literature will be presented to Manoj Kuroor, writer and Associate Professor in Malayalam at Changanassery NSS Hindu College.
Dr. Kuroor is the son of Kuroor Vasudevan Namboodiri, Kathakali Chenda exponent. The award comprises ₹10,000, a citation and a memento.
He said the Ayroor Sadasivan Award, a cash prize of ₹10,000, for best Kathakali music would be given to Rajesh Menon, Kathakali music teacher attached to Viswabharati University, Santhiniketan.
Guptan Nair Award
Prof. S. Guptan Nair Award for literary criticism, comprising ₹11,111, would be presented to literary critic P.K. Rajashekharan on January 26, Mr. Dileep said.
