Kala Vijayan
Kala Vijayan (born 8 May 1944) is an Indian classical dancer, choreographer, author and actor best known for Mohiniyattam. She also trained in Bharatanatyam and Kathakali. She is the daughter of two renowned artists: Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, a legendary Kathakali master, and Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma, a pioneering Mohiniyattam dancer.
She has won major awards for Mohiniyattam, including the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award (1998) and the Kerala State Award (2019). Kala Vijayan serves as the Principal Director and senior guru at Kerala Kalalayam, a fine arts institute founded by her parents in Thripunithura in 1952.
Born in Desamangalam, Shornur, she began Mohiniyattam under her mother and Kathakali under her father. Her Mohiniyattam arangettam was at age 4, and her Bharatanatyam arangettam followed at age 10. She studied Bharatanatyam at Kalakshetra on a scholarship and acted as a child artist in drama.
Kala Vijayan has performed Mohiniyattam, Bharatanatyam and Kathakali. She started choreographing early, creating works for Mohiniyattam and Bharatanatyam, including pieces like Job-based Mohiniyattam, Kannaki and Kalam, and she has experimented with cross-style collaborations. She promotes the Katcheri recital format her mother helped introduce. Her choreographies include 2 Chollukettu, 11 Padam, 5 Varnam, 1 Thillana and 3 Saptham.
She began teaching at 14 and now teaches at Kerala Kalalayam. She has created 25 new Mohiniyattam adavus (steps) and has researched Tantric and Gramya Mudras, details of which are published in her book. She also hosts a Mohiniyattam video series on YouTube.
Her book Mohiniyattam: Ariyendath Ellam (2012) is studied in colleges such as RLV College, Tripunithura, and Sree Sankara College, Kallady.
Kala Vijayan is married to C.K. Vijayan and has a son, Ajith Vijayan, an actor. Her sister Sreedevi Rajan is also a Mohiniyattam artist.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 04:02 (CET).