Kunchan Nambiar’s divine Kalakkathu Bhavanam

Once upon a time, a young mizhavu (a big copper drum used as percussion instrument in Koodiyattam and Koothu) player in the court of the king of Chambakassery was being rebuked by the chakyar as he slept off during a Chakyarkoothu performance held in Ambalapuzha Sreekrishna temple. The dejected young man decided to take revenge on chakyar through his invention which came out in the form of a solo and satirical dance form containing elements of drama and music named as Thullal. The viewers of Chakyarkoothu left the hall as they were impressed by the pure Malayalam satirical and humorous Ottanthullal performance of Kunchan as opposed to the sanskritised Malayalam performance of Chakyar Koothu. Thus the performer and the creator of the local art form of Ottanthullal, Kunchan Nambiar who is also considered to be the master of Malayalam satirist poetry was born.

Kunchan Nambiar: One among the triumvirate of ancient Malayalam poetry along with Thunchath Ezuthachan and Cherusseri Namboothiri, Kunchan Nambiar was born in 1705 in Kalakkathu Bhavanam,Killikurusimangalam in Lakkidi Perur village, Palakkad dt. He spent his early childhood in Killikurussimangalam,boyhood at Kudamalur and youth at Ambalapuzha. He learnt Kalari Payattu and Sanskrit from great masters before moving to the court of King Marthanda Varma of Travancore, where he was an established poet. It is believed that Nambiar died in Ambalapuzha in 1770 at the age of 65, reportedly due to rabies.

Thullal: Thullal is a satirical solo performance combining dance and recitation of stories in
verse. The three types of  Thullal – Ottan, Sheethankan and Parayan is categorized  based on the costume, style and also the metre and rhythm of the Thullal songs. Nambiar has composed of at least 21 Otttan, 11 Seethankan and 9 Parayan compositions. The most important of Nambiar's Thullals are: Syamanthakam, Ghoshayathra, Kiratham, Santhanagopalam, Patracharitham, Karthaveeryarjunavijayam, Bakavadham, Kalyanasaugandhikam, Hariniswayamvaram, Thripuradahanam and Sabha Pravesham. Ottanthullal, a performer with green makeup and a colourful costume (decorated with a long red and white band and painted wooden ornaments), acts and dances while reciting the simple  witty songs   written in simple language accompanied by the  maddalam and the cheyyam as instruments. In Seethankan thullal, the artist wears a head gear and armlets made of tender coconut leaves. The metre and rhythm of the Ottanthullal songs and dance are of high tempo compared to Sheethankanthullal which is very slow. In Paraya Thullal the skirt worn around the waist is red in color and the make up is very basic. The pace and tempo of this Thullal is the slowest. Thullal songs are poignant satires stabbing each and every section of the caste and inequality ridden 18th century Kerala society. Nambiar blends the mythological characters from the Puranas and the common men together thereby transporting the audience to a new world which they like. Pandit Nehru compared Ottanthullal to a poor man’s Kathakali.

Kallakathu Nambiar madhom/Kunchan Nambiar smarakam:

When we travel 2 kms in the Lakkidi Kottupatha (Ottapalam Palakkad road)–Thiruvilwamala route we reach Killikurusimangalam, a pious and pristine village blessed culturally and spiritually with the life memories of Padmasri Mani Madhava Chakyar and by the presence of Kalakkath bhavanam, the birth home of the Thullal maestro, Kunchan Nambiar alongside the famous Killikurusimangalam Mahedava temple. Nambiar’s ancestral home, Kalakkath bhavanam is a traditional naalkettu, which is preserved as a smarakam or memorial by the state government since 1976  with the aim of propagating the ideals and philosophy of Kunchan Nambiar .

This 400 year old kalakkathu veedu with earthen walls echoes to us the thullal songs which Nambiar composed. When we enter the padipura (gate house), we can view the Kallithattu (stage) for staging different art forms including Thullal. To the right of Kallithattu is this beautiful bhavanam with a nadumuttam and a hall with a mizhavu placed. There are five small rooms in addition to thekkini and vadakini portions, kitchen and dining hall. When we move forward from the hall, we can see the machakam (pooja room) with kedavilak (lamp) placed in fornt of Dharmasastha, the family god. To the north side of the house, there is a small dark room where Kunchan was born and if we are ready to strain our eyes, we could find four lines scribbled by the famous Malayalam poet, P.Kunhiraman Nair. The excerpt goes like this:

Thulavarshakaarinullil

Ponnoolpolave

Irangivann soundaryadevathe kavithe thozham

(Pranamam to the great poet by another great poet)

The steep wooden stairs take us to three small rooms where the famous artisan Paul kallanod has marvellously created three sculptures symbolically representing three thullals (ottan, sheethankan and paryan). When we come down below the pathayapura (barn yard), there is a management office and above that Kunchan smaraka vayansala (library) with very good collection of rare books. There is a training centre in the premises which provides three year courses in Thullal, mridangam and Bharatnatyam administered by the Kerala Kalamandalam.  Various programmes are arranged on May 5th (Kunchan Day) as a tribute to the great artist.  A distinguished Thullal artist every year is awarded the Kunchan Award. The centre also celebrates Vijayadasami by holding the Vidyarambham ceremony. Kunchan Nambiar has the rare distinction of having two memorials in the state - one at his birthplace in Palakkad district and another at Ambalappuzha in Alappuzha district, where he spent most of his life and created the new art form.

Thanks to the chakyar who in some way helped in producing such a renowned creative genius like Kunchan Kalakkathu Nambiar and loads of praises should be showered on the state government for preserving this memorial which upholds the culture, tradition and various art forms of Kerala.

Getting there: Palakkad to Ottapalam route

Palakkad to lakkidi kootupatha (28 kms)

Lakkidi to Killikurusimangalam (2 kms)

Neraest railway station:Lakkidi (a small station), Major station: Ottapalam.

Ponkuzhi Sreerama temple, Wayanad: A testimony to the epic, Ramayana

Some journeys always ravish our eyes and illuminate our souls by making us silently admire the colours of the spirit which the mother nature wears. Our travel from Kozhikode (Calicut) to Bangalore through the sprawling spice plantations, lush green hilly ranges and the widespread cultivation of Wayanad amidst the jerking upward moving curvy roads always makes us imbibe the abundance of life.

Before we enter the Muthanga forest in the Kerala–Karnataka border’s busy NH 212 Wayanad–Mysore route, 15 kms from Sultan Bathery, in a serene and calm place on the sides of the peacefully flowing Ponkuzhi river nestled with tall bamboo trees is the famous Ponkuzhi Sreerama Sita temple, with the main deities, Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman. This temple constructed in the Kerala style architecture with a natural pond reminds us of some tales from the great scripture, Ramayana.

The shrine of Ponkuzhiappan (Sreerama) or the Ponkuzhi Sreerama temple situated in an incredibly environmentally sensitive area   has two important shrines (one for Sreerama and other for Seetha devi and Hanuman) on both sides of the road. This temple is also famous for ‘Pithrutharpanam’ (paying homage to ancestors).

The Ramayana tale: The versions of Ramayana, Mahabaratha or any other scriptures differs in each place and are set in various backgrounds, but all these convey a good and meaningful message for the upliftment of humanity.

“Thermele karyeti sumantrarodum koode
Valmikimunipravaasramopandathinkal
Vankaatil kondakalanjinagunee poniduka
Shankikavenda nee njan chonadhu kelkevindu”

(Aadhyatma Ramayanam, Uttarakhandam 3 rd part,125-128 lines)

These lines taken from Thunchath Ezuthachan’s Aadhyatma Ramayana sums up the tale revolving around this punyakshetra. Srirama after waging a war with Ravana to rescue his wife Seetha made her undergo agnipareeksha (fire ordeal) to test her chastity. On returning to Ayodya with Seetha, one washerman indirectly criticized the King of Ayodya, Sreerama, for accepting his wife who had lived in another man’s house. Eventhough Sreerama knew it to be a baseless accusation against his pativrata wife Seetha, he being a great king who paid importance to his people’s thoughts and decisions ordered his brother Lakshmana to abandon the pregnant Seetha in the dense forest. It’s believed that Lakshmana abandonded Seetha in the dense forest of Ponkuzhi.

The legendary pond, Seetha theertham: The dejected Seetha couldn’t control her tears and on the right side of the Seetha devi temple, a mosses covered pond is formed which is said to be the result of Seetha’s tears. The sage, Valmiki’s disciples saw the crying Seetha and took her to Valmiki’s ashram at Pulpally, Wayanad where her sons, Lava and Kusa was born.

There are small tea shops in front of the temple where we get nice vegetarian food and snacks like tasty Neiappams. So, if you cross this area on your trip to Mysore or Bangalore from Calicut or vice versa, please do enjoy the striking beauty of this temple and it’s surroundings.

The wailing Kavalapara kottaram

The early morning mist of December and the visit to the temple in the whee hours of morning when the gentle cool breeze caress us softly brings back lots of sparkling memories of childhood. My visit to Eruppe siva temple in the premises of the dilapidated Kavalapara Kottaram (near Shoranur/Cheruvanoor in Palakkad Dt.) made my mind travel to those byegone carefree days. Kavalapara Kottaram (palace), one of the most important monuments in valluvanad’s history, which once stood as a symbol of grandeur has now become a breeding ground of snakes and moths.

Kavalapara swaroopam and it’s greatnesss: The residence of the legendary landowning family (janmis) of Moopil nairs (Nair feudal rulers), Kavalapara swaroopam was a unique and prosperous state which contained  96 desams lying between Kanniampuram thodu in the east till Ongallur maadu in the west with Nila/Bharatapuzha flowing in the south. As per Kottaram Shankunni’s ‘Ithihyamala’, the people of Kavalapara swaroopam is believed to be the descendants of  Pariyapatta Pantheerakulam’s Karakkal amma, a child of Vararuchi  (a Brahmin saint) and  a Pulayar woman. The most accepted story of the origin of Kavalapara taken from the Gazette of Malabar states that the Moopil nair family acquired 12 square miles of rocky land in Nedunganadu from Cheraman Perumal. The moopil nair accepted the land finding it to be not all rocks gave the name, Kavalapara, the false rock. According to Dr.A.Sreedara Menon, the famous historian, the origin of Kavalapara swaroopam is believed to be between 1090 to 1102 AD. The 17000 acres land of Kavalapara swaroopam under Valluvanad and erstwhile Cochin state had a large portion of paddy fields and major portion of it was under that peculiar sort of land tenure known only to Malabar and called Kanom tenure. The tallest and powerful komban (tusker) Chakravorty belonged to Kavalapara moopil nair. Kavalapara rulers were one among the very few Nair rulers who got the ‘kottaram‘ status to their wide spread mansion. This kottaram has attracted many tourists and witnessed so many historical incidents. However, today’s generation cannot even see one tenth part of this royal palace. During the Mappila rebellion in 1921, various people from different parts came seeking help to the kavalapara kottaram. The Moopil nair without any hestitation provided 10 cents of land to the needy and also constructed homes for them. The rich legacy of Kavalappara swaroopam even threatened the Zamorins in Malabar. The biggest pooram (festival) in Malabar used to take place in the Aryankav temple in Kavalapara, which was owned by the Kavalapara moopil nair family. The handmade horses or kuthiras from 69 desams worshiping the goddess is the peculiarity of this famous pooram. The famous Eruppe siva temple with syamboo  siva linga  was also built by the Kavalapara moopil nair. The architect of modern Kavalapara is Col. Appukuttanunni moopil nair who was the ruler from 1910 to 1925.

The fall of Kavalapara swaroopam and kottaram: The riches to rags transition of Kavalapara swaroopam and kottaram began after the death of the head of the family, Karakatt Kumaran Raman Kochunni Moopil Nair in 1964. The marumakkathayam system (matrilineal inheritance) which prevailed in Kerala created disputes among the family members, which led to court cases since 1967 and now the remnants of Kottaram and its surroundings are administered by the receiver. Sri O.P Balakrishnan in his book, ‘Kavalapara charithravum paithrakavum’ has reaveled that the court cases of kottaram has reached even the privy council of London and even the UK law students have ‘Kavalapara papers’ in their curriculum to study. The main buildings of the palace have been auctioned in 1980s and the only left is the Malika chuvadu and Ootupara (Dining hall). These two left buildings whispers to us many hidden tales surrounding the Kavalapara swaroopam and kottaram.

No proper measures have been taken by the state governments to preserve this valuable heritage. The archealogical department should take appropriate action as early as possible to conserve atleast the left out structures as this ruined kottaram and the neglected 10000 rare records throws light on Kerala’s medieval history.