25-year-old Kathakali artiste collapses during performance in temple; dies

The 25-year-old Raghunath Mahipal died after he collapsed in the midst of his Kathakali performance in Maruthorvattam Dhanwantari temple on Sunday (Aug 6).

Alappuzha: A 25-year-old Kathakali artiste collapsed during a stage performance at a temple in Cherthala, Alappuzha and died on Sunday (August 6) night. The incident happened when Raghunath Mahipal was performing the dance drama at the Maruthorvattom Dhanwantari Temple. While performing, he felt uneasy and suddenly collapsed. Mahipal was rushed to a nearby hospital, however, his life could not be saved. According to temple authorities, Mahipal died due to cardiac arrest. 

Raghunath Mahipal was portraying Vasudevar in the dance drama 'Gurudakshina'.

A native of Kanjiramattom in Ernakulam, Mahipal was a second-year MA Kathakali student at the RLV College of Music and Fine Arts at Thrippunithura. 

In 2018, Kathakali maestro and Padma Bhushan recipient, Madavoor Vasudevan Nair died in a similar fashion when he collapsed during a stage performance in Kollam. He was performing the character Ravana from the epic 'Ramayana' at the Agasthyakood Mahadeva temple when he felt uneasy and collapsed on stage. Madavoor had also received the Sangeet Nataka Akademi award in 1997, and the Kerala Kalamandalam award among others and had performed the world over.