Capturing the spirit of a place that has ceased to exist is no easy task. For T.K. Kochunarayanan, conversations are the way forward to fulfil this purpose, as he records what he calls a local history of the region once known as ‘Valluvanadu’, geographically spread over Palakkad, Malappuram and Thrissur districts.
Seven years
For the past seven years, he has been working on a television series titled ‘Oru Valluvanadan Varthamanam’, which over its fifty episodes of 30 minutes each, brings alive the cultural, political, social and artistic ethos of Valluvanadu. The series will soon be available on the new web channel to be launched by C-DIT, as well as on YouTube.
“It was in 2010 that I formed the idea for such a series, drawing inspiration from works like Deshayanam , written by E.P. Bhaskara Gupthan, who taught at the Kadambazhippuram High School. Over the past few years, I have been interacting with a host of personalities, shooting each of the episodes on one aspect or personality connected with Valluvanadu. In each episode, an expert in the field talks about the subject, giving the viewer a wholesome idea about it. For instance, an episode on writer M. Govindan has T.T. Prabhakaran giving an overview of his life and his literary contributions,” says Mr. Kochunarayanan.
The series kicks off with an episode on the recording and writing of local histories, focussing on Bhaskara Gupthan’s book Deshayanam . Those whom the episodes focus on include writers and poets like M.T. Vasudevan Nair, Vallathol, O.V. Vijayan, V.K.N, Cherukad, Olappamanna, Vilasini, Idassery, P. Kunjiraman Nair, P. Bhaskaran and Akkitham and politicians like E.M.S. Namboodirippad. Other episodes deal with the musical roots of the region, the centrality of Bharathappuzha in Valluvanadan culture, cinema of the region, artists and even one on the Valluvanadan Sadya.
“Some of them who are included in the series are not strictly from Valluvanadu, but are people who have imbibed the spirit of the region in their works,” he says.
