Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody
Kathakali maestro Kalamandalam Vasu PisharodyThe 79-year-old passed away at his home in Kongad on Wednesday night. He was undergoing treatment for heart related ailment.
Pisharody, a former deputy head of Kerala Kalamandalam, headed the Vesam department there. After his retirement from Kalamandalam in 1999, he continued his strong presence in the field of Kathakali, playing both hero and anti-hero roles with grace and gusto, performing in 20 foreign countries.
In 2005 he was forced to take a long break from performing due to illness.
life on stage
Born in 1943 at Kongad near Palakkad, Pisharody learned Kathakali under Balakrishnan Nair at the Kerala Kalanilayam in Ottapalam. For three years, he trained at PSV Natyasangham, Kottakkal.
A prominent disciple of Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair, Pisharody joined his guru in Kerala Kalamandalam. In Kalamandalam, he trained under Ramankutty Nair and Padmanabhan Nair. From 1979, for 20 years, he served as a teacher in Kalamandalam.
Pisharody has won several awards including the Central and State Sangeetha Nataka Academy Awards and the Kerala Kalamandalam Award.
He is survived by wife Subhadra, daughter Srikala and son Unnikrishnan. The last rites will be held at his home on Thursday afternoon.