Lokapalanmare, a solo performance by Sadanam P.V. Balakrishnan is the first scene from the famous Kathakali play (Attakatha) Nalacharitham by the 18th century playwright, scholar ad poet, Unnayi Variar. The Nalacharitham, based on the Mahabharata, is a four-part play about King Nala and his consort Damayanti.
Sadanam P.V. Balakrishnan was born in Chuzhali, Kannur district, in northern Kerala.
He showed a keen interest in Kathakali from a young age, and began his study under Guru Kondiveetil Narayanan Nair Asan, under the patronage of the late Brahmashree Kurumathur Narayanan Namboodiripad, who later supported his eight years of intensive training at Gandhi Seva Sadanam Kathakali Akademy. After his formal training, Sadanam Balakrishnan worked as an artist and teacher in well-known Kathakali institutions in Kerala, including Parassinikadavu Sree Muthappan Kathakali Yogam and Gandhi Seva Sadanam Kathakali Akademy (his alma mater) in Perur. He has been attached to the International Centre for Kathakali in New Delhi, initially as an artist and then as a teacher. As a teacher of Kathakali, Sadanam is considered one of the outstanding and highly respected gurus of his generation. His students come from all over India and from abroad
