WADAKKANCHERRY: Ottan Thullal artiste Kalamandalam Devaki (75) passed away due to a heart attack. She is a native of Nelluwaya in Erumapetty. She has also performed classical dance and kathakali. Kalamandalam Devaki, the first woman in Thullal art, is the recipient of many achievements, including the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi award.

Devaki was born in Nelluwaya in Thrissur district. His uncle Kalamandalam Gopalan Nair was a kathakali actor and teacher. Her father, Kadambur Damodaran Nair, was an actor and Bhagavatar from Kottakal. Devaki took dance training at Lalitha College in Nelluwaya.

At the age of 12, she joined Kalamandalam to learn dance. She made her debut in 1961. In 1972, maddalam artist Kalamandalam Narayanan Nair married Devaki. After graduating from Kerala Kalamandalam in 1964, French Kathakali teacher Milena Salvini invited Devaki to perform Ottan Thullal in Paris.

Devaki worked as a teacher in Kalamandalam for three years. Later she established his own dance institution called Dhanvanthari Kalakshetra. Children: Prasad, Praseetha, Daughter-in-law: Sangeetha.