Kerala - Alappuzha   

Setting right a wrong done to Kunchan Nambiar

A. Harikumar

The art form was banned on the temple premises over 250 years ago

ALAPPUZHA: More than 250 years after their predecessors banned the popular art form Thullal on the temple premises where it was staged by Kunchan Nambiar for the first time, the authorities of the ancient Ambalappuzha Sreekrishna Swami Temple are planning to set right a historical wrong.

The Ambalappuzha Temple Advisory committee, the Travancore Devaswom Board and Ambalappuzha Kunjan Nambiar Memorial Committee, under the State Department of Culture, are jointly planning to organise Ottan Thullal, Parayan Thullal and Sheethankan Thullal again at the Kalithattu (permanent stage) of the temple at 5 p.m. on May 5.

Thullal artiste Ambalappuzha Suresh Varma will perform Ottan Thullal, Kalamandalam Prabhakaran will perform Sheethankan Thullal and Vayalar Krishnan Kutty will perform Parayan Thullal.

According to the legend, it was King Devanarayanan of Chempakassery royal lineage who banned Thullal at the Ambalappuzha temple, the royal temple of Chempakassery empire, probably between 1725 and 1750. The king took the decision following a complaint filed by a Chakyar (performers of Koothu).

According to the legend on the origin of Thullal, Kunchan Nambiar was then an accompanying artiste of the Chakyar and he used to play the instrument Mizhavu during Koothu performances.

During one such performance, Kunchan Nambiar dozed off and the angry Chakyar made fun of him in front of the public. A humiliated Nambiar left the place immediately and wrote Kalyana Saugandhikam Thullal the same night. When the Chakyar arrived the next day to perform Koothu, there was no audience to see him perform. To his dismay, the Chakyar found that Kunchan Nambiar was performing another art form nearby and the spectators were watching it.

Following this, the Chakyar filed a complaint before the king and the king banned Thullal. Though it was banned there, temples in Travancore kingdom opened their doors for Nambiar.

Ottan Thullal later became the most popular art form of Travancore and Kunchan Nambiar's fame spread all over Travancore.

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Setting right a wrong done to Kunchan Nambiar

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