K ottakkal Madhu is the vanguard of the new generation of Kathakali singers. He is widely considered a worthy successor of a singing style that was popularised by Unnikrishna Kurup, Hyder Ali, Sankaran Embranthiri and Venmani Haridas. Known for his bold experimentation, both on the Kathakali stage and beyond, Madhu has been responsible for rekindling interest in Kathakali music and enlarging its scope and dimension. Very often Madhu's velvety voice demands attention from the audience engrossed in the scenes on stage. Conformists may still not agree with his attempt to popularise Kathakali music, his innovative concerts, but even they cannot deny the mesmerising effect Madhu has on the audience once he begins to sing. Madhu talks about how his musical journey so far and more. Excerpts from the chat …
Early childhood
My childhood days were tough. My father, Govindan Nair, had a small stationery shop at Kongad in Palakkad district and was also a newspaper agent. I was one among six children and my parents struggled to make ends meet. All of us children used to take turns to run the shop or distribute newspapers. Whenever I see a young newspaper boy I'm reminded of those days when I used to cycle for more than five kilometres every morning before going to school.
Musical lineage
I do not come from a family of musicians but both my father and mother, Sathyabhama, had an inclination for music though they never expressed it publicly. In fact, a few years ago, at a family get-together all of us were surprised to hear our mother sing. She was so good. My brother Jayan K. Nair teaches and sings at Darpana. My sister Geetha studied at the Palakkad Music College and now teaches at a school. I was the first in my family to join an institution to learn music.
PSV Natyasanghom
I was hardly 12 when I joined PSV Natyasanghom at Kottakkal. We heard singers were being recruited and my father thought I should go. I was thrilled to step out of the village. I still remember how I used to come back during vacations and talk about the bus ride and sights which none of the others at home had experienced. I used to love those bus rides and now after all these years as professional singer, travelling day in and day out, I simply dread it. I joined the Sanghom in 1980 as a student for the eight-year course. Unnikrishna Kurup Asan and Neelakantan Nambissan Asan were my gurus. I was fortunate to be able to study Carnatic music from Aroor Madhavan Nair. This training has certainly helped. I think no one had this fortune.
As teacher
After completing my course in Kathakali Sangeetham I joined the institution as a member of the teaching faculty. The system here is to train a limited number of students, only what the Sanghom needs. So I cannot boast of having churned out a lot of students. My main job is that of a singer for the group.
As a singer
When I joined the Sanghom as a singer there were at least five seniors, which meant I got limited opportunities. This was only natural. At that time Palanad Divakaran Asan was on the lookout for a ‘shingidi' (second singer). I joined him and we formed a popular team. I was able to sing for almost all the important plays. This experience prepared me well when I began singing regularly for my Sanghom.
His style
I was the last ‘shishya' of Nambissan Asan. All his students, all of them great singers, had evolved a style of their own. They evolved with the times. I simply followed them. As years went on, I think I was also able to create a style of my own. This style is rooted in the traditional, keeping pace with the times and trend in changing audience tastes. What I have attempted to do is incorporate Carnatic ragas into the traditional Sopana Sangeetham style to give my rendition some verve.
Experimentation
I have tried to introduce something new in my renditions. Like in the ‘ragavistara,' or in the introduction of new ragas and in creating my own compositions. I have tried around 25 ragas in singing the ‘melapadam.' Also I regularly conduct jugalbandis with Carnatic vocalists such as Trichy Ganesan and Shenkottai Harihara Subramania Iyer. Singing and composing music for Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattom is also something I do. Recently, I set Tagore's ‘Gitanjali' to music. It was performed in Mohiniyattom style by Vinitha Nedungadi. I set to music Edasseri's ‘Poothapaattu,' and a Malayalam translation of ‘Soundarya Lahiri' for dance. I also performed a fusion with Sayanora for a television programme.
Albums and films
I have sung in ‘Kathakali padangal' album. Apart from that, a VCD of a jugalbandhi with Trichy Ganesan at the Olappamanna Mana has also been released. I sang for the film ‘Vaanaprastham,' and I rendered Kathakali padams such as ‘Hantha Hanumane…,' ‘Ajitha hare…' and ‘Sukhamo Devi…' in the film ‘Anandabhairavi.' I have just completed the recording of the complete ‘padams' of ‘Nalacharitham.' This is a 20-hour audio project for Invis Multimedia and will be released soon. Singing with me in this album were Nedumpilly Rammohan and Kalanilayam Rajeev.
