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{{Short description|Indian actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair.jpg
| caption = Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair at an event
| honorific_prefix = [[Padma Shri]]
| name = Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair
| birth_date = 26 June 1916
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2021|03|15|1916|06|26}}<ref name="newindianexpress">{{Cite web |title=Kathakali maestro Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair dies at 105 |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2021/mar/15/kathakali-maestro-chemancheri-kunhiraman-nair-dies-at-105-2276804.html |access-date=15 March 2021 |website=The New Indian Express}}</ref>
| death_place = Cheliya, Kozhikode district, Kerala, India
| birth_place = Cheliya, [[Malabar District]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]] (present-day [[Kozhikode district]], [[Kerala]], India)
| alma_mater =
| years_active = 1945–2021
| nationality = Indian
| known_for = [[Kathakali]] performer and teacher
| children =
}}
'''Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair''', also known as '''[[Guru]] Chemancheri''' (26 June 1916 – 15 March 2021) was a noted Indian [[Kathakali]] actor. He spent over eighty years learning and teaching and performing Kathakali, a major form of [[classical Indian dance]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Century of Passion: Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair |url=https://www.keralatourism.org/kerala-article/2015/chemancheri-kunhiraman-nair/555 |website=keralatourism.org/}}</ref> The [[Government of India]] awarded him the fourth highest [[Orders, decorations, and medals of India|civilian honor]], [[Padma Shri]] in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Padma Awards 2017 announced - Press Information Bureau Government of India Ministry of Home Affairs |url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=157675 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127123228/http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=157675 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-01-27 |access-date=25 January 2017 |website=pib.nic.in}}</ref><ref name="TI">{{Cite news |date=26 January 2017 |title=Padma awards: Moment of glory for Kerala |publisher=timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/padma-awards-moment-of-glory-for-kerala/articleshow/56788969.cms}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Kunhiraman Nair was raised in the village of Cheliya, near [[Koyilandy]], [[Kozhikode district]].<ref name = HT/> <ref name=TI/> His mother died when he was only three years old, and then, at the age of thirteen, he lost his father. He had an early interest in the performances presented by visiting drama troupes, and at the age of fifteen, left his home to begin training at a Kathikali centre, some 25 km away.<ref name=TI/><ref name="HT">{{Cite news |title=Meet the 100-year-old Kathakali dancer Kunhiraman Nair |publisher=hindustantimes.com |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/morefromlifestyle/meet-the-100-year-old-kathakali-dancer-kunhiraman-nair/story-6wjhZH2a0edhkbQMJz9pFO.html |access-date=24 July 2015}}</ref>

Later, he came to live in [[Kannur]], and at the age of 31, he met his life partner, Janaki. After six years of marriage, the couple lost their first-born child, a girl. Janaki died a year later, leaving Nair to raise their one-year-old son.<ref name = HT/>

== Education==
Nair received Kathakali training under [[Guru]]s (teachers/mentors) Karunakara Menon, Ambu Panicker, Katathanad Ramunni Nair and Matasseri Kochugovindan Nair. He studied [[Bharatanatyam]] under Kalamandalam Madhavan Nair, Salem Rajaratnam Pillai and Balachandra Bhai of [[Madras Presidency|Madras]].<ref name=TI/> Within the art of Kathakali, he was attracted to the Kallatikkotan of the Kaplingatan [[Sampradaya|sampradayam]] and came to specialize in it.<ref name="san">{{Cite news |title=Chemencerri Kuniraman Nair |publisher=sangeetnatak.gov. |url=https://sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/citation_popup.php?id=233&at=3}}</ref>

== Career and teaching ==
After many years as a performer, Nair eventually became a teacher of [[Kathakali]].<ref name=KT/> Nonetheless, he continued as a stage performer for selected roles including the [[Krishna|Srikrishna]] Vesham in Santhanagopalam and several dance-dramas seen in [[India]]. He also choreographed various dance-dramas.<ref name= san/> He said that the role of [[Krishna]] is his favorite.<ref name=TI/>
[[File:Guru Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair.jpg|thumb|Guru Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair]]
He established an institution named Bharateeya Natya Kalalayam at Kannur in 1945.<ref name=KT/> Beginning in 1947, he served as Principal of the Bharatheeya Natya Kalalayam at [[Thalassery|Tellicherry]].<ref name= san/>

Later, he established another school, Cheliya Kathakali Vidyalayam, in 1983, in Cheliya.<ref name="KT">{{Cite web |title=Kathakali meastro - Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair |url=https://www.keralatourism.org/kerala-article/2015/chemancheri-kunhiraman-nair/555 |website=Kerala Tourism}}</ref>

In addition to Kathakali, he also supported other dance-drama forms, including Ashtapadi Attam, based on the verses of [[Gita Govinda|Gitagovindam]], by the medieval poet [[Jayadeva]]. Nair, in collaboration with another dance master, [[Guru Gopinath]], formulated [[Kerala Natanam]], which is based on Kathakali and [[Mohiniyattam]], and became a government-recognised dance form in [[Kerala]].<ref name= HT/>

During the celebrations for his 100th birthday, [[actor]] and [[dancer]] [[Vineeth]], performed a [[Indian classical dance|classical dance]] as a tribute to Nair, in the name of ‘Krishnaparvam’.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Guru Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair celebrates 100th birthday |publisher=deccanchronicle.com/ |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/150713/nation-current-affairs/article/guru-chemancheri-kunhiraman-nair-celebrates-100th-birthday}}</ref>

== Death ==
Nair died on 15 March 2021 at his residence at Cheliya village near [[Koyilandy]] at the age of 104.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 March 2021 |title=Kathali maestro Guru Chemancheri passes away at 105 |url=https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/kathali-maestro-guru-chemancheri-passes-away-at-105-1.5517525 |access-date=15 March 2021 |website=[[Mathrubhumi]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ഗുരു ചേമഞ്ചേരി അന്തരിച്ചു; അരങ്ങൊഴി‍ഞ്ഞത് 9 പതിറ്റാണ്ടിലേറെ നീണ്ട കലാസപര്യയ്ക്കുശേഷം |url=https://www.manoramanews.com/news/breaking-news/2021/03/15/kathakali-mastero-guru-chemancheri-passess-away.html |access-date=15 March 2021 |website=Manoramanews |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 March 2021 |title=ഗുരു ചേമഞ്ചേരി അരങ്ങൊഴിഞ്ഞു |url=https://www.kairalinewsonline.com/2021/03/15/385886.html |access-date=15 March 2021 |website=Kairali News {{!}} Kairali News Live l Latest Malayalam News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=ലേഖകൻ |first=മാധ്യമം |date=15 March 2021 |title=ഗുരു ചേമഞ്ചേരി കുഞ്ഞിരാമൻ നായർ അരങ്ങൊഴിഞ്ഞു {{!}} Madhyamam |url=https://www.madhyamam.com/kerala/chemanchery-kunhiraman-nair-passed-away-776975 |access-date=15 March 2021 |website=www.madhyamam.com |language=en}}</ref>

== Awards and honors ==
* 1979 [[Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi|Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi]] award recognized him for his contributions.<ref name=KT/>
* 1999 [[Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi|Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi]] Fellowship of the Academy<ref name=KT/>
* 2001 [[Kerala Kalamandalam]] granted an award for special contributions to art.<ref name=KT/>
* 2002 Darpanam Natyakulapathi award <ref name=KT/>
* 2002 Kerala Kalamandalam Visishta Kala Seva Award<ref name =san/>
* 2009 Kalaratnam Award of Kerala Kalamandalam<ref name =san/>
* 2017 [[Padma Shri]] awarded by the [[Government of India]]<ref name= TI/>
* Mayilpeeli award <ref name =san/>
* Sangeet Natak Academi Tagore Award for contributions to Kathakali<ref name =san/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, Chemancheri Kunhiraman}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian centenarians]]
[[Category:Indian male dancers]]
[[Category:Indian dance teachers]]
[[Category:Performers of Indian classical dance]]
[[Category:Kathakali exponents]]
[[Category:Artists from Kozhikode]]
[[Category:Dancers from Kerala]]
[[Category:Teachers of Indian classical dance]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dancers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educators]]
[[Category:Educators from Kerala]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri]]
[[Category:Men centenarians]]

Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair - Revision history

UpdateBot at 18:06, 30 April 2022