Appunni Tharakan

Nambiarath Appunni Tharakan was born on August 3, 1928, at Mangod near Cherpulassery in present-day Palakkad district, to Kunjan Tharakan and Kutty Pennamma.[1] He dropped out 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 her 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 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]

• 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]

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