Date:27/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/27/stories/2007072752530400.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

VS mourns maestro

Special Correspondent

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and many of his cabinet colleagues have condoled the demise of the Kathakali maestro Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair.

The Chief Minister said that the role played by him in making Kathakali a people’s art form would always be remembered.

Cultural Affairs Minister M.A. Baby stated that he was equally proficient in other dance forms, such as Bharathanatyam, Odissi and Kathak. In Kathakali, he left his imprint in whichever role he donned. He was a synonym of selflessness. His guru, Pattikamthodi Ravunni Menon, had described him as the most intelligent of his disciples.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala described him as a person who had left an imprint of his own in the field of Kathakali.