Gopika Varma

The anicient Travancore royal family has been famed down the age for its patronage of the fine arts. Gopika Varma is married into the family, to Prince Poorurttathi Thirunal Marthanda Vrama, descendent of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal. Gopika started learning Mohiniyattam at the age of 10 from Smt. Girija and Smt. Chandrika Kurup, both senior students of Smt. Kalyani Kuttyamma, whose student she continued to be for 10 years. Later she specialized in the art from under the able guidance of Smt. Kalyani Kuttyamma herself and her daughter, Smt.Sreedevi Rajan. She was also fortunate to learn Abhinaya, which is the quintesence of Mohiniyattam, from Sri. Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, the doyen of the Kathakali sage. She has gleaned a wealth of knowledge and professional training in the "Sopana" style of performance, from Sri. Kavalam Narayana Paniker, a veteran in Indian theatrics.

Gopika has performed extensively at various art festivals, sabhas and temples all over India and she has won laurels abroad when ICCR chose her to represent India. Her Mohiniyattam is marked by extreme grace and fluidity of movement, transmitting radiance through movements and expressions that at times sigh with nostalgia, purity and sanctity, while being blessed with geometrical precision and technical finesse.

Gopika is very lively in her Nritta-Nrithya elements of Mohiniyattam, and her eyes are very eloquent in communicating the message of abhinaya. Love for this graceful and gentle dance of soft rhythm has enabled Gopika to transmit through movements and expressions, her own personal worship of the Divine.

Presently, Gopika is running a Mohiniyattam school named "Dasyam" at Adyar, Chennai.

In her Guru, Smt. Kalyani Kuttyamma's words, "Like the ambrosia filled in a golden pot, Gopika, trained in Dashavatara, and the very element in which she underwent training, excels each other..."