Interview - Dr. Mohan Gopinath: I have lived with Kathakali in my life for many decades

What made you compare Shakespeare and Kathakali?

MG: I have lived with Kathakali in my life for many decades - too many perhaps. My father brainwashed me (willingly and when I was four years old) into Kathakali. My nostalgic memory takes me back to my childhood days in Kerala watching the overnight Kathakali performances. My father knew most of the performers and we used to go to the aniyara (green room) and talk to them. I am trained in Kathakali singing and my arangetram (first appearance on stage) was when I was studying in St. Stephen's College. My teacher then was Sadanam Sethu Madhavan (Sethu), the singer at the International Center for Kathakali in Delhi, who painstakingly took me through the rigors of swarams, geethams, and varnams, and also taught me the fundamentals of the rhythms. I also had the privilege of singing with Sethu many times for various performances. My wife Chinnam had a love for the dance form and she used to come for the performances along with me.

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