Education
He studied Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam in the traditional way for more than 30 years under the direct guidance of Māni Mādhava Chākyār. He has studied Sanskrit and Nātyasāstra in the traditional way.
He studied Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam in the traditional way for more than 30 years under the direct guidance of Māni Mādhava Chākyār. He has studied Sanskrit and Nātyasāstra in the traditional way.
He belongs to the great Mani Chakyar tradition of Koodiyattam and Chakyar koothu. He holds a Master"s degree in Sanskrit literature as well. He used to be high school Sanskrit teacher in Kozhikode.
In that performance of Thoranayudham Koodiyattam (1962, Madras), he played the role of Vibhishana with his guru Mani Madhava Chakyar (as Ravana).
He is an exponent of traditional devotional Koothus and Koodiyattams, such as Anguliyanka, Mattavilasa Prahasana, Mantranka, Ezhamanka (seventh act of Ascharyachoodamani). He performs a huge number of Atiyantara koothu of the Mani family (the koothus which are assigned to the family from ancient times) consisting of all these devotional ritualistic koothu and Koodiyattam in famous temples in Kerala for decades.
He had the good fortune to perform in many important conferences and seminars such as World Sanskrit Conferences at Banaras, Bangalore and Thrissur. He has performed both as Nayaka (hero) and Vidushaka (court jester) in Kudiyattams such as Swapnavasavadattam, Naganandam, Subhadradhananjayam, et cetera
When Māni Mādhava Chākyār choreographed and directed Kalidasa"s Mālavikāgnimitra and Vikramorvaśīya for the first time in the history of Kudiyattam, it was Mani Damodara Chakyar to whom he gave the role of Nayaka.
Mani Damodara Chakyar staged Malavikagnimitram and Vikramorvasheeyam at Kalidasa Academy, Ujjain under the guidance of his guru. He was the first Koodiyattam student who received scholarship from Ministry of Human Resource Development New Delhi. Later, both junior and senior fellowships where awarded to him by the same department.
He is the recipient of many prizes from temples and cultural organisations.
Kerala Sangeet Natak Academy honored him with award for his contributions to Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam (2000).
He is a nephew and disciple of legendary guru Nātyāchārya Vidūshakaratnam Padma Shri Māni Mādhava Chākyār. He was a member of legendary guru Padma Shri Māni Mādhava Chākyār"s Koodiyattam troupe which performed Koodiyattam outside Kerala for the first time. He received the Kerala Kalamandalam V South Sharma endowment award for 2007.
He was a member of Māni Mādhava Chākyār"s troupe that performed Koodiyattams in places outside Kerala such as New Delhi, Banaras, Mumbai, Ujjain, Bhopal and Madras.
