Till the dawn of the 20th century, vocal music in Kathakali was almost similar to Sopanasangeetham, which is sung beside the sanctum sanctorum of temples, in praise of deities. It sounded more ritualistic than aesthetic. It was late Mundaya Venkitakrishna Bhagawathar who revolutionised the craft and content of Kathakali music along with his brother Mundaya Rama Bhagawathar. Since the establishment of Kerala Kalamandalam in 1930, Kalamandalam Neelakandan Nambeesan, a renowned disciple of Venkitakrishna Bhagawathar, systematised vocal music of Kathakali and popularised it through his talented disciples.
One among them was Kalamandalam Sankaran Embranthiri whose mesmerising voice and crystal clear articulation took Kathakali music to great heights. His passing away a decade ago left a huge vacuum in the field, the intensity of which is felt even today.
Like many other students who joined Kerala Kalamandalam in the 1960s, Embranthiri too hailed from a caste closely associated with temples, a family that was trying hard to make ends meet. In his autobiographical note, Embranthiri has faithfully recollected his hardship and misery and the not-so-rewarding atmosphere at Kalamandalam. His colleagues Hyderali and Madambi Subrahmanian Namboodiri had proved to be much ahead of him in studies.
Soon after completing his course in Kathakali music at Kalamandalam, Embranthiri joined Unnayi Warrier Smaraka Kalanilayam, Irinjalakuda, as an instructor. It was there that he honed his talent as a singer thanks to the unstinting support extended by a handful of aesthetes and public figures, especially the late Puthur Achutha Menon. In course of time, Embranthiri emerged on the Kathakali stage as numero uno. All his contemporaries such as Madambi, Tirur Nambeeshan, Hyderali, Subrahmanian and Venmani Haridas lined up as his supporting singers.
Raising the bar
In a traditional art form like Kathakali, seniority and pedigree mattered much more than virtuosity during the days Embranthiri came up as a vocalist. Braving such odds, the young vocalist, with great confidence, held sway over the stage for most of the major Kathakali recitals conducted as part of temple festivities in central and south Kerala for over a quarter century. Listeners were instantly carried away by his honeyed voice, lucid diction, accent on the stayi and sanchari bhavas, confidence and leadership. Embranthiri infused appropriate emotions in his renditions of slokams, padams and dandakams. His emphasis was on providing a fresh treatment to the ragas so far used and to introduce several unfamiliar ragas that would augment the visual impact of the scenes concerned. Embranthiri could motivate even a mediocre artiste on stage.
Kalamandalam Sankaran Embranthiri
The voice culture of Embranthiri was gamaka rich and hence best suited for abhinaya sangeetham. Having realised this fact, he began exploring the implications of vachikabhinaya (verbal acting) in its entirety. Even the minutest sentiments of characters found consummate expression in the singing of Embranthiri. He was equally at ease with the padams soaked in sringara, shoka and bhakti. He could enchant the listeners so much so that their number grew faster than that of spectators captivated by visual images sculpted by the actors.
By introducing crooning, Embranthiri succeeded in arousing tender emotions in the minds of the audience as and when he sang glorious Kathakali padams such as Priyamanasa... , Orunaalum niroopitham... , Vijane batha... , Marimankanni... , Kim kim aho sakhi... , Kamopamaroopan... , Ajithahare... , Kalayami... , Medinipalaveeranmare ... et al.
Mellifluous voice
His renditions of the padams, Valsalyavaridhe... in raga Bimblas and Enthihamanmaanase... in raga Hindolam in the play Karnasapadham of Mali won him tremendous approbation even from those who were not much exposed to the organic framework of Kathakali. The short padams he sang in ragas Desh, Abhogi and Kunthalavarali were mellifluous and capable of instilling beauty to otherwise mundane contexts of several plays. He also effectively made use of the microphone to create the desired effect to his renditions.
Kathakali music concerts
With the ever growing recognition of his style of music, Embranthiri was made to believe by his devotees that Kathakali music could ensure an identity independent of the visual frames. He thus ventured into Kathakali music concerts, which also attracted a large number of aficionados in the 1990s. As a result of his deteriorating health, Embranthiri found it increasingly difficult to sing on stage for overnight Kathakali performances. Yet he appeared once in a while to sing for veterans like Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair and Kalamandalam Gopi, much to the delight of the audience for whom there was none to replace his bhava-laden melody.
Apart from Kerala Kalamandalam Award, the Government of Kerala presented him with the Swathi Puraskaram in appreciation of his inestimable contributions to the musical segment of Kathakali.
Even after a kidney-transplantation, Embranthiri continued to be an indomitable presence, either on stage behind the Kathakali actors or on the concert platforms. He battled with adverse circumstances throughout his life and boldly confronted his illness every time it turned worse. His demise in November 2007 marked the end of a legacy in the history of Kathakali music.
