Untiring pursuit of Kathakali
G.S. PAUL
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At 90, Kunjiraman Nair, a doyen of Kathakali, shows no sign of slowing down.
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K. Bharatha Iyer, author of the first English book on Kathakali, has observed, "A Kathakali actor at sixty rarely thinks of retiring. He maintains the same lightness in his spring, the same buoyancy in his movements and the same fluidity in his lines as in his thirties. Those who have seen great masters would have realised what adherence to traditional discipline had made of them and still can do to others."
Going by the description, one wonders whether the author had in his mind the image of the Kathakali maestro of Malabar, Chemanchery Kunjiraman Nair, while writing the above lines.
At 90, Kunjiraman Nair is perhaps the only surviving Kathakali artiste who is yet to think of his retirement. His four-month-long Navathy celebrations started at his native village Chelia, near Koyilandi, on February 5.
Kunjiraman Nair exhibited an unmatched zeal for abhinaya right from childhood. He proved this by donning the role of a maid-servant in a drama that won him acclaim. His quest for histrionic arts made him leave his home at the age of 15. He joined the Kathakali yogam run by Appukutty Nambiar in Meppayyur. Later, he honed his artistry under the maestro Guru Karunakara Menon.
Guru-shishya team
The guru-shishya combine soon became a popular duo in Malabar. Innumerable were the stages on which the guru portrayed Kuchela and the disciple, Krishna. It was on one such occasion that Menon breathed his last in the lap of his disciple.
For fans of Kathakali, he was `Kunjan Krishnan,' a title obtained for his portrayal of Krishna in plays like `Duryodhana Vadham,' `Kuchelavrutham,' and `Rugminiswayamvaram' and so on. Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer in his message for the Navathy celebrations described how a munsiff had prostrated before Kunjiraman Nair's Krishna, taking him for the real bhagavan. The doyen also proved a versatile performer by enacting Panchali in `Kiratam,' Sthree in `Santhanagopalam,' Parasuraman in `Avanasuravadham' and Hanuman in `Sitaswyamvaram.'
However, the declining phase of Kathakali in Malabar compelled him to take up classical dance. Groomed by stalwarts like Guru Rajaratnam Pillai and Kalamandalam Madhavan, he soon became a consummate Bharatanatyam dancer. In 1944, he founded the first Malabar dance school , `Bharathiya Nritta Vidyalaya' in Kannur and later its branch in Thalassery. Hundreds of dancers trained by him enabled him to form a ballet troupe. More than 40 ballets choreographed by him marked the revival of this art form in Malabar. The renowned cultural institution `Pookkad Kalalayam' was founded by him in 1979.
In 1983, `Kathakali Vidyalaya' of Chemanchery was inaugurated by the then governor of Kerala, P. Ramachandran. It was a realisation of his dream. Today, it imparts systematic training to 50 youngsters in all the departments of Kathakali. The month-long workshop regularly held during the summer vacation attracts students from all parts of Kerala.
Even as the profuse felicitations overwhelmed him, Kunjiraman Nair was worried about the future of the institutions he had established. Said he, "Unless theKerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi helps us, it will be impossible to pull on without the co-operation of the government." But the unstinting support of the people of Malabar continues to inspire him, he added.
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