When he decided to introduce the high-decibel chenda to Ramanattam in the early 18th century, the provincial king of erstwhile Vettathunadu (currently in Malappuram District) might have had a magnificent obsession with the masculine verve of this dance-theatre form.
It was only by the beginning of the 20th century that the chenda and the maddalam actively intervened in the angika and satwikaabhinayas of Kathakali. Moothamana Kesavan Namboodiri and Thiruvilwamala Venkichan Swamy were pioneers who initiated the preponderance of the chenda and the maddalam in this dance-theatre heritage. For Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Poduwal, the former was a role model and the latter, a venerable guru, the rigour of whose tutelage he remembered ever since.
Family tradition
Kavil Pothuwatil in Vellinezhi village of west Palakkad has for long been a family of percussionists. K.P. Krishnankutty Poduwal had his first lessons of thayambaka and edakka from his uncle Govinda Poduwal. Prompted by his uncle and Olappamanna Mana, which had patronised Kathakali for over a century, Krishnankutty Poduwal enrolled as a student of chenda at Kalamandalam. “At the kalari, Venkichan Swamy taught me chenda and imparted training in maddalam to Appukutty simultaneously. Swamy was the incarnation of Nandikeswara,” Poduwal once fondly recollected.
Eventually, Krishnankutty Poduwal and Appukutty Poduwal stormed the Kathakali stage with their inexorable passion and deft fingering.
Moothamana Kesavan Namboodiri and Guruvayoor Kuttan Marar were the two top chenda players in Kathakali in the first half of the last century. Krishnankutty Poduwal started his career as a substitute/supporting player of Moothamana.
As an offspring of the disciplined Kalluvazhi chitta, safeguarded and promoted by Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon, Poduwal navigated the functional characteristics of the chenda armed with wisdom and imagination. With Appukutty Poduwal on the maddalam, he brought in macro and micro aesthetic transformations in the Melappadam and built up the aural atmosphere engulfing characters and contexts brimming with emotional minutiae. Krishnankutty Poduwal redefined the role of the chenda artiste on a par with thespians and vocalists of Kathakali.
The recognition from the Maharaja of erstwhile Travancore, as the ‘Kottaram (palace) artiste' made Poduwal a young celebrity in south Kerala. From then onwards, Poduwal accompanied on the chenda all the eminent Kathakali actors such as Kavalappara Narayanan Nair, guru Kunju Kurup, Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, Vazhenkada Kunju Nair, Chengannoor Raman Pillai, Kurichi Kunhan Panickar, Mankulam Vishnu Namboodiri, Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, and the like.
The pre-Poduwal period in Kathakali melam did take into account the broad divisions of characterisation such as satwik, raajasa and thamasic (noble, villainous and the grotesque). But it did not always zero in on the correlation and the contrast between the sthayi (enduring) and the vyabhichari (transitory) bhavas of the dheerodattas (noble Nayakas) or dheerodhatas (valorous Pratinayakas). With an incomparably evocative nerkol (vertical falling of the stick on the chenda) and gloriously carved out urulukai (twisting of the wrists to the left and the right), Poduwal translated the emotional states of the characters and the shifting contexts of the plays into widely varying tones on the chenda.
For the scene of sambhogasringara, ‘Kuvalaya vilochane,' in ‘Nalacharitam Part II,' of Krishnan Nair, Poduwal's chenda aroused the tonal surge of dalliance. For the tapassattam of Ramankutty Nair in ‘Ravanodbhavam,' Poduwal's melam in triputa tala culminated into a magnified resonance parallel to the character's final outburst. The Raudra Bhima of Gopi confronting Dussasana in the Kurukshetra battle field transcended the ephemeral thanks to Poduwal's hypnotic strokes on the chenda.
Ramankutty Nair stopped donning the role of Parasurama after the demise of Krishnankutty Poduwal.
Theirs was a meeting of the minds on the Kathakali stage. Poduwal's playing in the Melappadam and for the story per se was punctuated with silences pregnant with meaning.
Prudent performer
He was prudent in not interfering or intruding into the liberty of the maddalam player on stage. The maddalam maestro Cherpalacherry Sivan observes: “Poduwal Asan gave the maddalam player the right amount of space, nothing less, nothing more.”
There were treasured moments of Poduwal roaring on stage like, for instance, in the padappurappad of Ramankutty Nair's Narkasura or during the fast tempo of vattamvechu kalasam of Gopi's Raudra Bhima.
Modesty and irreverence played hide and seek in the life of Poduwal. He always held aloft the autonomy and stateliness of the artist. Little surprise then that Poduwal faced the relentless wrath of the administration at Kerala Kalamandalam where he was the principal teacher of chenda. He was removed from service in 1967. Poduwal had a life full of trials and tribulations for 12 years. In 1979, poet and cultural icon Olappamanna reinstated Poduwal as the head of the faculty of chenda in Kalamandalam. He returned to his alma mater with unmitigated pride and confidence.
Flair for language
Although a school dropout, Poduwal had a flair for language and literature. In a documentary film made on Kathakali by Prakash Jha, Poduwal defined the prominence of chenda in Kathakali as such: “Kathakali without chenda is like an ocean without waves.”
His book, ‘Melappadam' and the posthumously published ‘Melapperukkam' contain a good deal of interesting and informative articles on Kerala's traditional arts.
He had enacted the role of Bali in the play ‘Baalivadham' in an attempt to save the character from its clichéd actions. ‘Bheeshmaprathijna' (Bhishma's Pledge), the play he wrote, is known for its theatrical panache. He sang for Kathakali plays as and when the situation demanded.
Poduwal was the first percussionist in Kathakali to win the Central Sangeet Natak Academy Award. He had bagged awards and fellowships from the Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi and Kerala Kalamandalam.
K.R. Mohanan made a documentary film on Poduwal, which went on to win a national award. However, talent and knowledge could not tame his tempestuous character. He was intolerant of mediocrity.
With his head held high, Poduwal, the non-conformist, passed away in 1992. His 87th birth anniversary is being celebrated by his family, disciples and admirers in May. This is the first time this genius' birth anniversary is being observed on a grand scale.
The eventful life he led and the rich memories he has left behind are a motivation to young artistes and art lovers.
