List of Important Cultural Centres in Kerala

God’s own country, Kerala is known for its cultures, landscapes and heritages. Even Though culture is a constantly changing entity, it holds a significant place in all of Kerala’s historical and social spaces. Therefore, the chances of asking about the same topic for competitive exams is also high. The questions from the culture and cultural centres section are unavoidable for a competitive exam aspirant. Let’s grab some knowledge about the famous cultural centres in kerala.

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Kerala Kalamandalam

Kerala Kalamandalam is the most popular cultural centre of Kerala. Renowned Malayalam poet Vallathol Narayana Menon is the founder of Kerala Kalamandalam. Kerala Kalamandalam, which was formed in 1930 at the cultural capital of Kerala, Thrissur, is now training artists from all over the world for performing arts like Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam etc. The Indian Government has named Kerala Kalamandalam as a deemed to be university, due to its knowledge in cultural heritage and training given to young and aspiring artists.

Kerala Bhasha Institute

Kerala Bhasha Institute was formed on 14th September 1968, at Nalanda in Thiruvananthapuram district. N.V Krishna Warrier, one of the best literary editors and poets of that time, is the first director of Kerala Bhasha Institute.  Vijnana Kairali, the magazine published by the institute is one of the most popular literature magazines in Malayalam till now. The institute publishes books on various subjects. One of the main activities of the institute is publishing textbooks for higher classes in the Malayalam language to enrich the language and allowing students of all sectors to get an education in their mother tongue.

Kerala Sahithya Academy

Similar to Kerala Bhasha Institute, Kerala Sahithya Academy also aims in enrich and develop of Malayalam language and literature. The Academy was formed on 15th October 1956, by Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma Raja. It is situated in a building near Thrissur town hall. Sahithya Chakravalam and Sahithya lokam are the magazines published by the academy. K. M Panicker was the first president and Pala Narayanan Nair was the first secretary of the academy. Currently, one of the famous Malayalam writers, Vaishakan is the president and K.P. Mohanan is the secretary of the academy. Literary awards given by Kerala Sahithya Academy is one of the most awaited literary awards of the state.

Kerala Sangeetha Nadaka Academy

Kerala Sangeetha Nadaka Academy was established on 26th April 1958 in Thrissur. It was inaugurated by the then prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Manku Thamburan was the first chairperson of Kerala Sangeetha Nadaka Academy. K.P.A.C Lalitha, a talented Malayalam movie and drama actress is the current chairperson of Kerala Sangeetha Nadaka Academy. 

Various art forms like music, drama and dance forms are promoted and nurtured in the academy. Books and journals about these artforms are also being published from the Kerala Sangeetha Nadaka Academy. Keli is the bi-monthly published journal of Kerala Sangeetha Nadaka Academy. Along with this, fellowships and awards are given to artists.  

Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishath

Kerala Shastra Sahithya Parishath, which gave importance to science and technology, is also known as the people’s science movement with “science for science revolution” as its motto. It was founded on 10th September 1962 in Kozhikode. Dr K Bhaskaran Nayanar was the first president of Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishath. Currently, O. M Shankaran is the president and L Shylaja is the secretary. 

The organization received the Right Livelihood Award “for its major contribution to a model of development rooted in social justice and popular participation” in 1996. UNESCO literacy prize was also awarded to shastra Sahitya Parishad. Initially, the group consisted of interested science writers. But as of now, there are thousands following Parishad. Its publications yureka and shastra keralam have a good reader base. 

Kerala Folklore Academy 

Kerala Folklore Academy was established on 28 June 1995 in the Kannur district. Bhargavan Pillai is the first chairman of the academy. As the name suggests, the academy aims at promoting and exhibiting folklore aspects and traditional artforms of Kerala The academy gives training to boys and girls in folk art forms. 

Establishing a folklore library, folklore museum and archives, publishing folklore encyclopedia and folklore directory are other main objectives of Kerala Folklore Academy. The academy works under the cultural affairs department of the Kerala Government. Fellowships and awards are given to deserving artists. Shri. C.J. Kuttappan is the president of Kerala Folklore Academy and Keecheri Raghavan is the secretary.

Kerala State Institute for Children’s Literature (Kerala Balasahithya Institute)

The Kerala State Institute for Children’s Literature was established by the Kerala Government in 1981. Prof Abraham Joseph is the first director of Kerala Balasahithya Institute and Palliyara Sreedharan is the present director of the institute. Nambooryachanum Manthravum written by renowned writer, P. Narendranath is the first book published by the institute. Thaliru, the children’s magazine regularly published by Balasahithya institute is really popular. This magazine is designed for children aged between ten and eighteen years. A scholarship named ‘Thalir Scholarship’ is given to deserving students in the senior and junior categories. 

Kerala State Chalachitra Academy

Kerala became the first state in India to start a film academy, by forming Kerala State Chalachitra Academy in 1998. Film director Kamal is the chairman and Ajoy C is the secretary of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. This academy was formed for the purpose of preservation and propagation of Malayalam cinema. 

The academy conducts film festivals like IFFK and IDSFFK, documents history and records of films, which is a major medium in culture. Kerala state film awards and television awards are also given by the academy. The academy also has archives and a museum to archive major world cinema and Malayalam cinema. Workshops, Seminars, Fellowship programmes, Touring Talkies, welfare activities, publications, are other activities conducted by the academy. 

Kerala Lalitha Kala Akademy

Kerala Lalitha Kala Academy was established in 1962 for the promotion and development of fine arts in Kerala like drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, graphics etc. M Raja Varma Raja is the first chairman of Kerala Lalitha Kala Academy. The academy conducts camps like ‘Shilpa Keralam Kala camp’ conducted recently and releases publications on artworks. A magazine named  Chithravartha is published on a monthly basis by the academy. Fellowships and awards are awarded to deserving artists by the academy.

   These are the major cultural centres in Kerala. Apart from this, there are many other cultural centres that provide knowledge about Kerala’s cultural heritage and values. Centres like Kerala state Jawahar Balabhavan,  Bharath Bhavan, State Institute of Encyclopaedic publications, Malayalam mission are also major cultural centres of the state.

Another important list of cultural centres include the memorial places of writers and eminent personalities in history like 

• Thakazhi Memorial Museum
• Thunchan Memorial Trust and Research Centre
• Kumaran Asan National Institute of Culture
• Kunjan Nambiar Memorials
• Guru Gopinath Natanagramam
• Muloor Smarakam
• Sahodaran Ayyappan Memorial
• Unnayi Warrier Smaraka Kalanilayam
• A.R Rajaraja Varma Smarakam
• Professor N. Krishna Pillai Memorial Cultural Centre

The cultural centres portray the different aspects of a Land. It is very important to know all about these topics in the General Knowledge section of all competitive exams in Kerala. Knowing Kerala means knowing every aspect of Kerala. 

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