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A centre of excellence for Thullal arts

The Thullal Gurukulam, set up as a memorial to Kunchan Nambiar in his birth place at Killikurissimangalam, near Lakkidi, has emerged as a centre of excellence for Thullal arts.

Courses in different forms of Thullal – Ottan Thullal, Seethankan Thullal, and Parayan Thullal – are conducted here. Along with this, classes for Mohiniyattam, Carnatic music, and instrumental music are also held.

The first batch of the three-year course is out and the classes for the second batch have started. There are 200 students in four batches. The courses are recognised by Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed University.

The Kunchan Nambiar memorial has completed a Rs.54.75-lakh project to construct a Natyasala where the classes are now held, M. Ramakrishnan, outgoing chairman of the memorial, said. The fund was given by the State Tourism Department.

A Rs.26-lakh project for a garden and landscaping to give a better look to the memorial is pending with the government. The Kunchan Nambiar memorial was made a national monument in 1976 by the then Chief Minister C. Achutha Menon.

Kunchan Nambiar was a master of satirical poetry and invented and popularised the performing art form, Thullal. ‘Thullal' means ‘jumping about'. But under this name, Kunchan Nambiar devised a new style of verse narration with a little background music and dance-like swinging movement to wean away people from Chakyarkoothu, which was very popular 200 years ago.

Among the classical performing arts of Kerala, Thullal is distinct for its simplicity of presentation, frank and outspoken wit, and humour. The songs are in simple Malayalam and the techniques employed are not rigid, though they are based on the classical principles of the Natyasastra.

Thullal is said to have been a modification of Koothu. Kunchan Nambiar also adopted many elements from Padayani and other folk arts. G. Prabhakaran

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