Kalamandalam Gopi

Vadakke Manalath Govindan Nair (born May 21, 1937) popularly known as Kalamandalam Gopi is an exponent of the classical dance-drama style known as Kathakali. He is from the village of Kothachira in Kerala, southern India and he blends the solid body grammar of the highly stylised Kalluvazhi tradition in which he was groomed with the more flexible, part-realistic, emotion-laden southern style techniques he acquired later in his career. He is often referred to by his fans as Gopiyasan. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2009.