Noted Malayalam theatre artist Kavalam Narayana Panicker passes away

June 27, 2016

Noted Malayalam theatre doyen Kavalam Narayana Panicker passed away due age-related ailments in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was 88.
He was dramatist, theatre director and poet. He had written over 26 Malayalam plays and had played a pioneering role in bringing idiom into Malayalam theatre.

About Kavalam Narayana Panicker

Born on 28 April 1928 in Kavalam, Kerala. He had started his career as a lawyer in 1955 for six years but later devoted himself to art and literature.
In his long career, he had written over 26 Malayalam plays. Many of these were adapted from classical Sanskrit drama and Shakespeare.
His notable works include Madhyamavyayogam (1979), Kalidasa’s Vikramorvasiyam (1981), Shakuntalam (1982), Karnabharam (1984), Bhasa’s Uru Bhangam (1988), Swapnavasavadattam and Dootavakyam (1996).
He also had directed two movies Parvati Viraham (1993) in Kuttiyattam form (a form of Sanskrit theatre) and Mani Madhava Chakyar: The Master at Work (1994).
He is the founder-director of theatre troupe, Sopanam. He was nominated as Secretary of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi in 1961.
Awards and Honours: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Direction (1983), Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (2002), Padma Bhushan (2007).
Erin B. Mee had directed his play Ottayan in New York City in 1993.