Like Krishanan Nair, Neelakanthan Nambisan is one of the oldest offsprings of
Kalamandalam. He was the first student to learn Kathakali Music from Mundaya
Venkitakrishna Bhagavathar, then teacher at Kalamandalam. It was Venkitakrishna
Bhagavathar who revolutionized Kathakali vocal music by restructuring its mode
of rendition and introducing appropriate ragas for the evocation of the many
moods of characters and for contextual emotions. The Bhagavathar passed his
style and knowledge to his intimate disciple Neelakanthan Nambisan. Nambisan
with a missionary zeal developed the music of his Guru and popularized it far
and near. Nambisan was not only a celebrated vocalist but he was also a highly
disciplined teacher. The most favored voices in the field of contemporary Kathakali
Music have their source in Nambisan. He retired as Principal of Kalamandalam
in the early eighties and was the hero of Kathakali Music till his passing away
in 1985.
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