MALAYALAM
A feast for theatre enthusiasts
B. R. P. BHASKAR
KAVALAM NATAKANGAL: Kavalam Narayana Panikkar; Haritham Books, Mavoor Road, Kozhikode-4. Rs. 350.
KAVALAM NARAYANA Panikkar’s plays are notable for the variety of themes as well as originality of the treatment. He also directed a few plays. For the most part, he was experimenting with form and content with a view to creating a new idiom for the Malayalam theatre. In the process, he earned bouquets and brickbats alike. He accepted them with equanimity, seeing them as evidence that he was making a difference to the theatre.
The Malayalam theatre took a tortuous course in the last century. Early on, two distinct streams appeared — the commercial that was under the influence of the Tamil theatre, and the amateur that was inspired by the European theatre. Later a popular theatre emerged, driven by strong social and political motivation. Seeing that the theatre was not getting due recognition as an art form, Panikkar took upon himself the task of securing justice for it.
He turned to two different sources — both indigenous — for material with which to stimulate the languid theatre. One was the classical Sanskrit drama and the other, the folk arts. Some of his innovations can be questioned on literary and artistic grounds but his eminence as a creative genius is unassailable.
The volume, edited by Kavil P. Madhavan, also contains transcripts of three interactive sessions Kavalam had with other leading theatre personalities and analyses of some of his plays. These make the publication a veritable feast for theatre enthusiasts.
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