The jackfruit tree is used to make veenas because of the particular resonant quality of the wood. It is also a popular wood for percussion instruments because the deeply interlocked grain of the wood resists cracking. So the mridangam, tavil, kanjira, jamidika and Kerala’s famous chenda drums are all made from jackfruit tree wood. The jackfruit tree’s wood has made music for hundreds of years not just in India, but all over Asia in a fabulous variety of string and percussion instruments. In Philipines, it is used to make the famous Cebu guitars, considered some of the finest in the world.
(‘Chakka laka baby’ by Ratna Rajaiah, The New Sunday Exps, June 4, 2006)

Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardees, Kathakali (*Fellows)
*Guru Thakazhi Kunju Kurup - 1956
*Thottam Chandu Panicker -1958
*Thekkinkattil Ramunni Nair -1961
*Guru Chengannur Raman Pillai -1963
*Guru Gopinath -1965
*Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair -1967
*Kurichi Kunjan Panicker -1968
*Vazhenkada Kunju Nair -1969
*Mankulam Vishnu Nambuthiri -1970
*Kudamaloor Karunakaran Nair -1971
*Guru M.Madhava Panicker -1972
*Vellinezhi Nanu Nair -1973
Kavungal Chatunni Panicker -1973
Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair -1974
Kavungal Sankaran Kutty Panicker -1975
Champakkulam Pachu Pillai -1983
Mankombu Sivasankara Pillai -1985
Kalamandalam Krishnan Kutty - Pothuval -1986
Kalamandalam Gopi -1987
Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair -1988
Oyoor Kochu Govinda Pillai -1989
Chennithala Chellappan Pillai -1991
Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair -1993
Kottakkal Krishnan Kutty Nair -1996
Madavur Vasudevan Nair -1997
Kottakkal Sivaraman -1998
Nelliyodu Vasudevan Nambuthiri -1999
Sadanam Balakrishnan - 2003
Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody -2004
Mathur Govindan Kutty -2005
(Info collected by C Ambujakshan Nair: canair1954@yahoo.co.in).


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