Staff of Kerala culture ministry's Guru Gopinath Natanagramam not paid salaries for 9 months

Thiruvananthapuram: Employees of Guru Gopinath Natana Gramam in the capital city's Vattiyoorkavu have not received their salaries for the past nine months. Thirteen teachers out of the 38 employees are working without compensation. The government has authorized Rs 50 lakh according to the Natanagramam administration, and the salaries will be paid as soon as this sum is received.

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The centre was founded in 1995 to teach young people several artistic disciplines, including Kerala Nadanam, light music, and classical music. The Kerala Government's Department of Culture owns the institution. 

The institution regularly has 200 students; up to 100 additional students may apply during vacations. 

Natanagramam informed that the amount of Rs 50 lakh was decreased to Rs 25 lakh during the previous administration's tenure. The institute only receives Rs 60,000 per month in revenue, of which Rs 52,000 is used exclusively for electricity costs. Employees must receive monthly compensation of about Rs 5.1 lakh. While efforts to raise Natana gramam's income are taking their time, the economic crisis is happening.

Artist Guru Gopinath is credited for taking the Kathakali dance form from its four premises of temples and palaces and making it accessible to the general public for enjoyment. Another accomplishment of this theatre figure is the development of the contemporary dance form known as Kerala Natanam from Kathakali.

In order to build a dance museum in honour of Guru Gopinath, Viswa Kala Kendra donated 2.03 acres of land to the Kerala government in 1992. The site was taken over by the Culture Department, which then created a society and changed its name to Guru Gopinath Nadana Gramam.

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