Kudamaloor Karunakaran Nair (1916-2000) was a pioneering Kathakali

Kathakali

Kathakali is a highly stylized classical Indian dance-drama noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion...

 artiste who brought to prominence female characters in the classical dance-drama from Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 in south India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

Kathakali gained a lot through Karunakaran Nair's artistic contributions as his professional career coincided with that of the legendary Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair

Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair

Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair was one of the most renowned Kathakali artists of any time, and arguably the greatest in the history of the four-century-old classical dance-drama from Kerala in southern India...

. With his charming face and graceful feminine movements on the stage, Kudamaloor, as he was simply known (by his place of birth), gained name as the ideal heroine opposite Krishnan Nair's protagonists. Kudamaloor's prominent roles like Damayanti

Damayanti

Damayanti , a character in Hindu mythology, was the princess of Vidarbha Kingdom, who married king Nala, of Nishadha Kingdom, and their story is told in the Mahabharata.-The story:...

, Lalita, Kunti, Mohini, Rukmini

Rukmini

In Hinduism, Rukmini is the principal wife and queen of Krishna at his city of Dwarka. Krishna heroically kidnaps her from an un-wanted marriage at her request . Of Krishna's 16,108 queens, Rukmini is the first and most prominent...

, Devayani

Devayani

Devayani is an Indian film actress. She starred in numerous Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, along with a few Hindi films and one Bengali film. She received the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for her performances in the films Kadhal Kottai and Surya Vamsam...

, Sairandhri

Sairandhri

Sairandhri is a place in Kerala, South India at about . It is the entrance point and visitors center for Silent Valley National Park. Sairandhri is the site of a controversial hydroelectric dam that was proposed in 1958 and finally rejected in 1984....

 and Draupadi

Draupadi

In the epic Mahābhārata, Draupadi, also known as ' is the "emerged" daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes the queen of Indraprastha...

 complemented Krishnan Nair's lead roles like Nala

Nala

Nala , a character in Hindu mythology, is the king of Nishadha Kingdom, son of Virasena. Nala is known for his skill with horses and culinary expertise. He marries princess Damayanti, of Vidarbha Kingdom, and their story is told in the Mahabharata. His main weakness is gambling...

n, Karna

Karna

Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...

n, Rugmangadan and Keechakan.

Born in Kudamaloor village of Kottayam

Kottayam

Kottayam is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative capital of the Kottayam district. Kottayam Kottayam (Malayalam: കോട്ടയം) is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative...

 district, Karunakaran Nair was initiated to Kathakali by guru Kurichi Rama Panikkar. Later, he had his higher studies from Kurichi Kunhan Panikkar, Thottam Sankaran Namboodiri and Kochappi-Raman brothers. He later gained eminence in the northern school of Kathakali from the late Kavalappara Narayanan Nair

Kavalappara Narayanan Nair

Kavalappara Narayanan Nair was a prominent 20th-century Kathakali artiste and tutor who specialised in the Hanuman roles of the classical dance-drama from Kerala in south India....

. Kudamaloor also donned male roles like Kuchelan (Sudama) in the storyplay Kuchelavrittam and Narada

Narada

Narada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...

n in Balivijayam.

Kudamaloor had worked as a tutor at the FACT Kathakali School off Kochi, and later at the Kudamaloor Kala Kendram in his native place. Karunakaran Nair was a forerunner of Kottakkal Sivaraman

Kottakkal Sivaraman

Kottakkal Sivaraman was an acclaimed performing artiste who revolutionised the portrayal of female roles in Kathakali, the classical dance-drama from Kerala in southern India...

, who further made female roles an important slot in Kathakali.

A winner of the awards by the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi

Sangeet Natak Akademi

Sangeet Natak Akademi is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India.-History:...

and that of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy, Kudamaloor died on October 17, 2000.