Kalamandalam Satyabhama

It was during this time, Satyabhama met Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair, the noted Kathakali guru, widely regarded as the master of Kathakali grammar. Their acquaintance soon took a romantic turn, resulting in their marriage. Satyabhama and Padmanabhan Nair, at the time of the latter's death, had four daughters of which two are active in mohiniyattam. She died on 13 September 2015, aged 77, at a hospital in Palakkad where she was undergoing treatment.

Satyabhama was honored with several awards and recognitions by regional and national bodies. Apart from the prestigious Padma Shri Award, she was the first to receive the Nruthya Natya Puraskaram of the Government of Kerala in 2005 and the first Swati Tirunal Puraskaram by Kollam Kathakali Club and Ttroupe, in 2006. Some of the notable awards bestowed on Satyabhama are:

Kalamandalam Satybhama was the first woman Vice Principal of Kerala Kalamandalam and, later, became its Principal till she retired in 1992. She sat on the selection committee to decide annual Kalamandalam fellowships She was also functioning as the Dean of Kerala Kalamandalam.

Satyabhama's debut on major stage was in 1955, during the silver jubilee celebrations of Kalamandalam, in front of the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. The next six years of study at the institution gave her opportunities to visit Singapore and Malaysia, as a part of the touring Kalamandalam troupe, where she performed Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kathakali. After completing the course, she joined Kalamandalam as a junior teacher. She also had a stint of training from the doyen of classical dance, Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma.

Kalamandalam V. Satyabhama (4 November 1937 – 13 September 2015) was an Indian classical dancer, teacher and choreographer, known for her performances and scholarship in mohiniyattam. She was awarded the Padma Shri, in 2014, for her contributions to the art and culture, by the Government of India.

Satyabhama was born in 1937, in a family with limited financial resources, at Shornur, on the coast of Bharathapuzha, in Palakkad, in the south Indian state of Kerala, to Krishnan Nair, a petty businessman and Ammini Amma. She started learning dance, at a very early age, as a part-time student of Kerala Kalamandalam, under the tutelage of Kalamandalam Achutha Warrier and Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Warrier, concurrently with her academic schooling at Government High School, Shornur. After completing her 8th standard there, she joined Kalamandalam as a full-time student. That was when she started learning Mohiniyattom, under the Kalamandalam stalwart, Thottassery Chinnammu Amma, the first long-serving dance teacher at Kalamandalam, though the main focus of study remained Bharatanatyam. Chinnammu Amma introduced the young Satyabhama to various dance techniques such as adavu (basic movements), cholkettu, jathiswarams (syllables and musical notes) in Chenchurutty and Todi. Soon, the young girl came to the notice of the legendary Malayalam poet, Vallathol Narayana Menon, the founder of Kerala Kalamandalam, who nurtured the young aspirant's skills by providing her with a scholarship with which she could pay the school fees.