Appunni Tharakan

Nambiarath Appunni Tharakan was born on 3 August 1928, at Mangod near Cherpulassery in present-day Palakkad district, to Kunjan Tharakan and Kutty Pennamma.^[1] He dropped out of his education halfway and went to the Vazhengada temple to earn a living.^[2] He learned the Uduthukettal from well known Kathakali artist Pambath Sankaran, also known as Kollankode Sankaran, the husband of his sister Kunjimalu Amma.^[1] He started his career at the Olappamanna Mana at the age of fourteen.^[1] He began working independently at the age of eighteen.^[2]

He became a permanent employee of the Kerala Kalamandalam at the age of 50 and retired in 1984.^[1] He got a job as Aniyarakkaran (behind the curtain artist) in Kalamandalam with the help of poet Olappamanna Subramanian Namboodiripad who was the president of Kalamandalam at that time.^[3] Until then, the post of Aniyarakkaran was not in the Kalamandalam.^[3] He was also main Aniyara artist of the Kottayam PSV Natyasangham, the Iringalakuda Unnai Warrier Memorial Kalanilayam and the Perur Sadanam Kathakali Academy.^[1] Since the inception of the Kerala State School Kalothsavam in 1953, Appunni Tharakan has been preparing school children for 55 consecutive years.^[3][4]

Tharakan and his wife, Parvathy, had four children; Unnikrishnan, Sivaraman, Mohanan and the late Sankaranarayanan.^[3] Sivaraman is a teacher at the Kerala Kalamandalam.^[2] His youngest son Mohanan is an Uduthorukkal artist.^[2]

Tharakan died on 23 January 2025, at the age of 96.^[5]

• Kerala Kalamandalam Award for Best Kathakali Aniyara Artist, 2021^[1]
• Kerala Kalamandalam Mukundaraja Award^[2]
• Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair Award^[1]
• Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award^[2]
• Veerasrimgala from Mangod desham^[2]
• Vellinezhi Olappamanna Mana Special Award^[1]
• Award from Kozhikode Thodayam^[1]
• He was honored at the International Kathakali and Koodiyattam Festival in Dubai.^[3]