Arya Gopi

Dr. Arya Gopi is an Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of English at The Zamorin's Guruvayurappan College, University of Calicut, Kerala. She maintains a dual career as both an academic and performing artist, serving as a Guest Artist at ZKM Center for Art and Media's Hertzlab and as an Executive Committee Member of the Malayalam Mission under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala.

With over 30 years of experience as a bilingual writer and classical dancer, Dr. Gopi hails from Kozhikode (a UNESCO City of Literature) in Kerala. Her creative practice uniquely integrates traditional Mohiniyattam dance with contemporary literary expression, establishing dialogues between ancient gestural languages and modern poetic forms. She has mastered the entire mudra vocabulary of Mohiniyattam under renowned gurus and has performed throughout India and internationally.

Dr. Gopi's scholarly and artistic interests span literature, Malayalam language, English literature, classical dance, cultural heritage preservation, and contemporary media art. Her work consistently focuses on preserving traditional art forms through innovative connections with modern media, creating new pathways for cultural transmission that maintain traditional knowledge while making it relevant to contemporary audiences.

• Kerala State Sahitya Akademi Kanakasree Award (highest state-sponsored literary prize for young writers in Malayalam)
• Sharjah International Book Festival Translation Grant
• Over fifty national and international literary awards
• Represented Malayalam language at international literary festivals in Imphal (2019), Shimla (2022), and New Delhi (2024)

As an educator and cultural practitioner, Dr. Gopi has published more than 11 books in Malayalam and English, regularly contributes to leading Malayalam magazines, and frequently participates in literary events throughout Kerala. Her poems have been translated into multiple languages including Hindi, English, Kannada, and Bengali, demonstrating the broad reach of her literary work and its cross-cultural significance.