Kothachira

Kothachira is a village in central Kerala, southern India. The village is located in border of Thrissur and Palakkad districts and is also known as Kothara.

Kothachira is connected to the nearest towns of Pattambi and Kunnamkulam by road and has a Chirakkal Vishnu temple.

Kothachira has been a center of traditional performing arts -- especially Kathakali, the four-century-old classical dance-drama, and Panchavadyam.

Kalamandalam Gopi, one of Kathakali's all-time great actor-dancers, belongs to Kothachira. Kalamandalam Neelakantan Nambisan, who revolutionalised the singing style for Kathakali in the second half of the 20th century, too hailed from this village. It is also the birthplace of Panchavadyam master in elathalam, Sekharan Nair, and Kathakali artiste Kalamandalam Balasubramanian. Late Kathakali scholar Krishna Varrier and Kathakali musician Kalanilayam Raveendran too hailed from Kothachira.

The village has several Namboodiri manas (mansions of the upper-caste Kerala Brahmins), Kothara Mana being the central one among them. It provided a venue for several art forms -- classical, ritual and folk. Among them used to be Ayyappan Thiyyattu, traditionally performed by a Thiyyadi Nambiar family from the nearby village of Perumpilavu.