Born in a Poypallilkulam family of
Thakazhi village of
Kuttanad in present-day
Alappuzha district, Kurup was initiated into
Kathakali at the age of 13 by his uncles Kochappi Panikker and Rama Panikker. He later joined the famous Kaliyogam (repertory) of
Mathur Kunhu Pillai Panikker, and subsequently had tutelage under gurus Champakulam Sankara Pillai and
Thottam Sankaran Namboodiri. His grooming later under Vechur Ayyappa Kurup paved the way for his entry into the
Kochi and
Malabar belts. Kunju Kurup's marriage with a relative of Palayil Karunakara Menon, a Kathakali exponent living near
Palakkad in 1910, cemented his ties with central Kerala. Soon, he was made a tutor at the famous
Kerala Kalamandalam following an invitation from its co-founder, poet
Vallathol Narayana Menon. He later had brief stints as a Kathakali guru in
Bangalore (1943) and
Madras (or
Chennai, in 1914, during which
Mrinalini Sarabhai was his student), and later (1948–52) at Chembakassery Natana Kalamandalam in
Ambalappuzha, his home territory. Kurup was awarded the
Padma Bhushan award of 1971. He tutord
Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair. He succeeded in creating the fresh
aesthetics of Kathakali
acting-
dancing through a sublime presentation of rasa and bhava
abhinaya. Kurup was renowned for his varied roles like
Nala, Hamsam (swan),
Rugmangada,
Arjuna and
Krishna besides minukku veshams such as Kuchelan, Brahmanan and Sundara Brahmanan. He also excelled in anti-hero roles like
Ravana and
Keechaka, besides the black-bearded Kaatalan. Kurup was honoured with the
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Kathakali in 1956 for his unique contributions to the four-century old classical dance-drama from the southern Indian state. He also won the
Central Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowship in 1969. ==References==