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{{short description|Indian Mohiniyattam dancer (1918–1990)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Thankamani Gopinath
| birth_name = Mangat Mulaykkal Thankamani
| alias =
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = 27 March 1918
| birth_place = [[Thrissur]] (in present [[Kerala]])
| death_date = 28 December 1990
| death_place =
| parents =
| spouse = [[Guru Gopinath]]
| children =
| occupation = [[Mohiniyattam|Mohiniyattam dancer]], [[keral Natanam]] dance teacher
| known for = [[Kerala Natanam]]
| awards =
}}

'''Mangat Mulaykkal Thankamani''', known by her married name '''Thankamani Gopinath''' (27 March 1918 – 28 December 1990) was a prominent Indian [[Mohiniyattam|Mohiniyattam dancer]] and dance teacher from [[Kerala]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=BIJU |title=കാലം മറയ്ക്കാത്ത ദേവനര്‍ത്തകി: തങ്കമണി ഗോപിനാഥിന്‍റെ ജന്‍‌മശതാബ്‌ദി 27ന് |url=http://malayalam.webdunia.com/article/dance-drama-in-malayalam/100th-birth-anniversary-of-thankamani-gopinath-118032300035_1.html |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=malayalam.webdunia.com |language=ml}}</ref> The wife and co-dancer of [[Guru Gopinath]], she was the first student of Mohiniyattam from [[Kerala Kalamandalam|Kalamandalam]]. Thankamani is considered as one of the important icons in the history of women's progress in Kerala, who learned Mohiniyattam at a time when learning and performing dance was considered unethical for girls in Kerala. She has also starred and sang a song in the 1941 [[Malayalam cinema|Malayalam movie]] [[Prahlada (film)|Prahlada]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-03-22 |title=Trailblazer on the dance stage |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/life-and-times-of-danseuse-thankamani-gopinath/article23309184.ece |access-date=2023-06-28 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

==Biography==
Thankamani was born on 27 March 1918 at [[Kunnamkulam]] in present-day [[Thrissur district]]. Here parents were Panthalat Govindan Nair and Mangat Mulakkal Kunjikavamma. When [[Vallathol Narayana Menon|Vallathol]] started [[Kerala Kalamandalam|Kalamandalam]], she was the first [[Mohiniyattam]] student to enroll there.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Service |first=Statesman News |date=2018-06-01 |title=An ode to perfection |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/supplements/marquee/an-ode-to-perfection-1502643373.html |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=The Statesman |language=en-US}}</ref>

She married [[Guru Gopinath]] in September 1936. Thangamani became one of the earliest actresses in Malayalam after she played the role of Kayathu in [[Prahlada (film)|Prahlada]] (1941), the third [[Malayalam cinema|Malayalam sound film]] alongside her husband Guru Gopinath.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FHsRAQAAIAAJ&q=%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%99%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%95%E0%B4%AE%E0%B4%A3%E0%B4%BF+%E0%B4%97%E0%B5%8B%E0%B4%AA%E0%B4%BF%E0%B4%A8%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A5%E0%B5%8D |title=Paricayam |date=1967 |language=ml}}</ref> Along with being the female lead, she also sang in the film. After the marriage Thangamani gradually stopped dancing Mohiniyattam. Together, they developed and popularized an innovative dance style called [[Kerala Natanam]] (originally named Kathakali Natanam).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kernala Natanam, The Enchanting Dance of India |url=https://www.kurukshethrabooks.com/books/product/kerala-natanam |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413195333/https://kurukshethrabooks.com/books/product/kerala-natanam |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 April 2021 |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=www.kurukshethrabooks.com}}</ref> Thankamani's ''Pantadi dance'' and ''Udyana Varnana'' together with the dances of Radhakrishna, Sivaparvati, Lakshmi Narayana and Sita of Ashokavana she performed with Guru Gopinath were once popular in [[South India]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Articles - SEVENTY YEARS OF KERALA NATANAM by G Vinodini |url=https://narthaki.com/info/articles/article77.html |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=narthaki.com}}</ref>

Thangamani taught dance at Sree Chitrodaya Dance College, which was the first dance school in [[Travancore]]. She was the teacher of most of the early students who learned Kerala Natanam like Lalitha, Padmini, Ragini, Bhavani Chellappan, Mangala and Lakshmi.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kr̥ṣṇavāriyar |first=En Vi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9aYyAAAAIAAJ&q=%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%99%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%95%E0%B4%AE%E0%B4%A3%E0%B4%BF+%E0%B4%97%E0%B5%8B%E0%B4%AA%E0%B4%BF%E0%B4%A8%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A5%E0%B5%8D |title=വിചിന്തനങ്ങൾ, വിശദീകരണങ്ങൾ |date=1988 |publisher=Ḍi. Si. Buks |language=ml}}</ref>

Guru Gopinath-Thangamani Gopinath was one of the most popular dance pairs in India during the 1940s and 1950s. Thangamani, who left the dance stage in the late 1960s became a member of the Vishwa Kala Kendram Bharana Samiti in [[Vattiyoorkavu]], [[Thiruvananthapuram]]. She died on 28 December 1990, three years after the death of Guru Gopinath.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lemos |first=Justine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XWp2EAAAQBAJ&dq=%E0%B4%A4%E0%B4%99%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%95%E0%B4%AE%E0%B4%A3%E0%B4%BF+%E0%B4%97%E0%B5%8B%E0%B4%AA%E0%B4%BF%E0%B4%A8%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%A5%E0%B5%8D&pg=PA108 |title=Tradition and Transformation in Mohiniyattam Dance: An Ethnographic History |date=2022-06-28 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-7936-5072-6 |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopinath, Thankamani}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:1990 deaths]]
[[Category:Mohiniyattam dancers]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Dancers from Kerala]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dancers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women artists]]
[[Category:Teachers of Indian classical dance]]
[[Category:Actresses in Malayalam cinema]]
[[Category:Malayalam-language playback singers]]

Thankamani Gopinath - Revision history

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