This is the third part of my imaginary interview of Guru Gopinath, the answers of which have been taken from his autobiography in Malayalam translated for me by Babita Nair, a Bharatanatyam aspirant. In the previous two parts of the series, I wrote about Guru Gopinath's meeting with American dancer Esther Luella Sherman/Ragini Devi, with whose initiative Kathakali was presented for the first time outside Kerala in Bombay, where he created an audience for Kathakali. I wrote about his intense self training to learn English to converse with Ragini Devi and read newspaper reviews and reports. I touched upon his hearing of the beautiful maiden Thangamani who was the first student of Mohiniattam under the first teacher on the subject in Kalamandalam. I also elaborated on his connect with the royal family of Travancore and his receiving the Veera Srinkhala award from the Maharaja.
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Very interesting story indeed. Quite similar to mine & Shanta. Looking for the next parts.
ReplyDeleteDhananjayan