Modern-day Minstrel

Theatre musician Chandran Veyyatummal talks about how the world became his stage

February 03, 2012 06:10 pm | Updated 06:10 pm IST

Chandran Veyyattummal. Photo: S. Gopakumar

Chandran Veyyattummal. Photo: S. Gopakumar

Life has taken Chandran Veyyatummal, the diminutive, soft-spoken theatre musician and award-winning music composer on a lyrical journey from his native Narikkuni, near Baluserry in Kozhikode district, to La Chaussée in the picturesque village of Maillet in central France, home of the world-famous Footsbarn Travelling Theatre, and eventually to Vellayani in Thiruvananthapuram, stopping by 28 countries, and hundreds of villages, towns, and cities in between. Come March, Chandran – or Paris Chandran, as he is affectionately called in theatre circles – will once again pack his bags for another jaunt across the world with Footsbarn as one of the in-house musicians for the company’s latest production, Indian Tempest, the rehearsals of which are progressing at Abhinaya Theatre Village in the city.

This will be Chandran's seventh play/tour with Footsbarn, with whom he has been associated with since 1995, when they first came to Kerala for a workshop. Chandran was one of the five artistes from Kerala who were chosen to be part of Footsbarn's travelling play The Odyssey (which ran till February 1997). “Footsbarn has been a crazy ride thus far; almost surreal even, if I had not witnessed it firsthand. There were times when we had dinner in France, breakfast the next day in England, lunch in Ireland and again dinner back at La Chaussée! The music, the stage, the multi-lingual cast and crew, the nomadic lifestyle, the parties after a performance, the philosophical discussions we had every night, the fantastic places we visited... Those 12 years with Footsbarn (he came back to settle in Kerala in 2001 and actively travelled with the group till 2009) had its fair share of ups and downs but it was undoubtedly one of the best times of my life,” recalls Chandran.

Tryst with destiny

And to think that his tryst with Footsbarn would never have happened... (Laughs) “There was a period in my life, in the early 1990s, when I was jobless and newly married. I had exhausted all my savings and was lolling around Narikkuni when the offer from Footsbarn came. I didn't want to go and chose to ignore it. My elder brother, Sivanandan, came to know of my lax attitude and properly chewed my ear out. I got on the next train to Thiruvananthapuram (where the workshop was being organised) and embarked on a life-changing journey!” says Chandran who has, over the years, learnt to play, among others, the chenda (the first instrument he learnt), the tabla, the harmonium, the sax, the sitar, the cello, the flute, the viola, the dholak.... “I can play anything, I just need to hear it once,” says the 55-year-old, who adds that the most important aspect of theatre music is to have “a good rapport on stage with fellow musicians. We should be able to read each others minds while the play is being staged and improvise accordingly.”

Growing up as he did in Narikkuni, in a family of Kathakali, Theyyam, and Thira artistes, it's not hard to figure out why Chandran turned to the arts as a career. “My father, Korappan, was a Kathakali actor and Theyyam artiste, and my mother, Ammalukutty, an exponent of Thottampattu and Carnatic vocal. So I grew up surrounded by classical and folk art of Kerala, and it was but natural that my three brothers – Sreenivasan (a Theyyam artiste), Sivanandan (who runs a music school in Narikkuni), Soundarajan (who teaches the veena at Sree Swati Tirunal College), and I developed an affinity for the arts, and the four of us would take part in ‘vayanashala' dramas (dramas staged by local libraries),” says Chandran.

School of Drama days

His interest in the arts led Chandran to the School of Drama (SDT) in Thrissur in 1982, where he enrolled for a one-year course in Sopana Sangeetham under Njeralathu Rama Poduval. It was then that Calicut University Little Theatre (CULT) was formed as an offshoot of SDT, and Chandran found himself actively involved in class productions as a music composer; director Shyamaprasad, actor Murali Menon, were his contemporaries, and litterateur G. Sankara Pillai was their mentor.

“In those days the students themselves composed music for the plays and I gradually took over the role. My first composition was for a staging of Sankara Pillai sir's Perinkalan , soon after which he offered me the job of a music teacher for a then princely sum of Rs. 1,000. I jumped at the chance,” recalls Chandran, who stayed on at SDT till 1986, when CULT got an offer to collaborate with Tara Arts, a theatre group based in the United Kingdom. With the blessing of Sankara Pillai, Chandran, Murali Menon, and a couple of martial artistes from Chavakkad, flew to London and staged Ghatotkacha in a six-month tour of the country.

Chandran and Murali were invited to continue their association with Tara Arts and later with the Royal National Theatre, London, where the musician worked with directors such as Jeetendra Varma and Anuradha Kapoor, composing for plays such as The Inspector General , Danton's Death , Mrichachadikam (Little Clay Cart), Tatufee (French), to name a few.

Chandran decided quit London, in 1991. “The Gulf War was on and I was sitting in my room in King's Cross in London, watching the events unfold on TV, and I began to hear the resounding beat of the chenda! I was overwhelmed by homesickness and decided to head home, even though I just had four months to go to get a U.K. permanent resident visa. True, I enjoy travelling but there is nothing better than home.” Chandran's musical journey, though, continues…

Music matters

Chandran is also a known music composer in Mollywood having made his debut with Galileo (1994), directed by James Joseph and starring Narendra Prasad. He has since composed music for eight films such as Shari, Drishtantham, Ottakayyan, and Thakarachenda , sitting in his fully-kitted out sound-proof lab that he built on the terrace of his house; a room that's filled with various instruments sourced from his travels. Chandran won the Kerala State Film Award for the Best Background Score for Bioscope, which he describes as a highlight of his career. When not travelling around the world, he likes to spend time with his wife, Shailaja, and sons, Anand Raj (a student of sound engineering) and Ayush, who is in class seven.

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