Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma

Who was Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma?

Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma was an epoch-making Mohiniyattam danseuse from Kerala in southern India. She is considered as the "Mother of Mohiniyattam". A native of Thirunavaya in Malappuram district of the state, she was instrumental in resurrecting Mohiniyattam from a dismal, near-extinct state into a mainstream Indian classical dance, rendering it formal structure and ornamentation.

Kalyanikutty Amma, one of the early-batch students of Kerala Kalamandalam, was married to the late Kathakali maestro Padma Shri Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair.

Of the two books Kalyanikutty Amma has authored, "Mohiniyattam - History and Dance Structure" is considered as an elaborate and only authentic documentation on Mohiniyattam. Noted among her disciples are her daughters Sreedevi Rajan and Kala Vijayan and Mrinalini Sarabhai and Deepti Omchery Bhalla.

A winner of both the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy and Kendra Sangeet Natak Akademi awards, Kalyanikutty Amma died on May 12, 1999 in Tripunithura at the age of 84. Her son Kalasala Babu is a cinema and television actor, while her granddaughter Smitha Rajan is a noted Mohiniyattam artiste.