Kalamandalam to get deemed varsity status soon

Cheruthuruthy, Kerala, July 5 (UNI) One of the ancient schools of art and culture in the country, the Kerala Kalamandalam here is all set to gain recognition as a deemed university to enable students perform research and take up post-graduate courses.

The 75-year-old institution has etched a name for itself on the cultural map of the world and attracted students from all over the globe to learn the nuances of traditional forms of art such as Kathakali, Koodiyattam, Mohiniyattam, Ottanthullal and Panchavaadyam.

Kalamandalam Secretary Balachandran Vadakkedath told UNI that the process for getting autonomous status for the centre had been initiated and Kalamandalam would become a deemed university before the next academic year.

The State Government, which had been playing a major role in maintaining the centre by providing a non-plan grant of around Rs 75 lakh, had started the process, he said, adding that the Centre had declared Kalamandalam a National Cultural Centre. Besides, it had also got recognition from UNESCO, which provided some grants for preserving and promoting Koodiyattam. The South Zone cultural centre in Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu was also providing financial aid.

Mr Vadakkedath said the deemed university status would enable Kalamandalam to take up post-graduate courses, apart from offering research projects to students from both within the country and abroad. The three-year bachelor degree course was being certified by the Sreeshankaracharya Sanskrit University at Kalady.

Kalamandalam Vice-Principal Rajasekharan told UNI that once the centre got deemed university status, there would be some changes in the curriculum.

Currently, over 450 students were registered in Kalamandalam, which had 30 faculties and provided practical and theoretical training in classical arts of Kerala. It also attracted a stream of foreign students, mostly from the western world, for crash courses ranging from six months to two years.

MORE UNI VK GD The centre has also been getting valuable contribution through its Cultural Tourism project, 'A Day with the Masters', under which a foreign visitor is allowed to spend a day at the centre for a payment of 20 US dollars, Mr Vadakkedath said.

The centre was a beehive of activity when this UNI correspondent visited Kalamandalam to witness a Kathakali performance 'Dussasana Vadhom' (killing of Dussasana), a segment taken out of the epic Mahabharatha. The nearly one and a half hour performance by the senior faculty of the centre, including its Vice-Principal who donned the role of Draupadi, was composed by Vayaskkara Moosathu.

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