Karalmanna

Karalmanna is a south Indian village in the erstwhile princely state of Valluvanad along the banks of the Thootha, a tributary of the river Nila in Palakkad district of Kerala. It is connected to the nearby small towns of Cherplassery and Perintalmanna (in Malappuram district) by road.

Karalmanna has given birth to several Kathakali artistes, in the earlier times supported by the ten art-patronising Namboodiri Manas (mansions of the upper-caste Namboodiri community). The Shiva temple hosts the Kathakali nights that are conducted as part of its annual ulsavam (festival).

Kottakkal Sivaraman, known for his portrayal of female roles in the history of Kathakali, is a native and resident of this place. Karalamanna has also been the birthplace of the late actor-dancer Thekkinkattil Ramunni Nair, a disciple of Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon who rescripted the grammar of the Kalluvazhi style of Kathakali and refined its aesthetics. Among the known Kathakali artistes from Karalmanna today are Narippatta Narayanan Namboodiri, Kalamandalam Soman and Sadanam Bhasi besides theatreperson Narippatta Raju, an expert in stage-lighting techniques.

Karalmanna hosts several seminars and workshops on Kathakali and allied classical arts, thanks largely to the local cultural forum called Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair Memorial Trust. It has of late raised an auditorium (close to the Grameena Vayanasala or the village library) that has been venue for major cultural festivals like the Kathakali Samaroham, episodes of which are still being telecast by leading Malayalam television channels Asianet and People TV on a daily basis.

A late celebrity from Karalmanna in the field of drawing has been artist Athippatta Sivaraman, known simply as AS, and renowned for his sketches in the leading Malayalam weekly Mathrubhumi during the 1970s and 1980s.

Festivals

• Iyyappan villaku (Karalmanna Temple)
• Thoothakil pooram (may12/13-05-08)
• Makara Choova
• Arrattu (Karalmanna Shivashetram - 16/02/2008) Seven days' Programme
• Kali kadavu (Bhagavathi Pratistha) - 15/3/2008

Nearest places

• Cherplassery - 3 km from East
• Thootha - 3 km from West
• Perintalmanna - 17 km from West
• Coimbatore - 102 km from East
• Ottapalam - 21 km from North
• Vellinezhi - 9 km from East

Bank

• The Cherpalacherry Co-operative Bank, Karalmana Branch