Honouring a master
K. PRADEEP
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Kavungal Chathunny Panicker has been bestowed the Padma Shri for his invaluable contributions to Kathakali.
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All this recognition confirms that my decision to return to my native land was right. I firmly believe that it is the goodness of my land and people that made all this possible.
FLASH-BACK: (From left clockwise) Kavungal Chathunny Panicker with the troupe of Darpana; a performance when he was in his prime and being honoured by Jawaharlal Nehru;(above) and a recent photograph of Panicker.
Life does not have a rewind switch. If it did, there were so many things that Kavungal Chathunny Panicker would have loved to do.
Playing his favourite characters, keeping alive the famed Kavungal style of which he is the last link, making up for all those lost years, lost opportunities.
Reliving dreams
This was what he had planned when he quit Mrinalini Sarabhai's `Darpana' and settled down in his native village of Thichur (in Thrissur district). For the first few years Chathunny Panicker was reliving all those dreams. He set up a school and had just begun to be active on the Kathakali circuit when he was felled by a paralytic stroke nearly five years back. The stroke affected his speech and restricted the movement of his right hand.
Providing a ray of light was the State Kathakali Award and now the Padma Shri. Added to this was the love and affection of countless Kathakali aficionados who had only heard of this great artiste, seen photographs of his performances but never got a chance to see him live on stage.
"I'm happy, really happy. All this recognition confirms that my decision to come back to my native land was right. I firmly believe that it is the goodness of my land and people that made all this possible," the 83-year-old veteran manages to say.
Initiated to Kathakali by his uncle Kavungal Sankara Panicker, Chathunny Panicker was trained by masters like Kadamboor Gopalakrishnan Nair. Chathunny Panicker made his debut at the temple in Thichur where he played Krishna in `Subhadraharnam.'
It was during a performance at Ooty, (Udagamandalam) where he was part of a group under the leadership of Mahakavi Vallathol, that Chathunny Panicker was introduced to Mrinalini Sarabhai. She was there along with Vikram Sarabhai on a holiday and after watching him perform, invited him to Chennai to train her in Kathakali.
Work with Darpana
Even after three months, the training could not be completed and so Chathunny Panicker went with Mrinalini to Ahmedabad. Here she was taught roles like Sita in `Balivadham,' Usha in `Chitralekha' and Panchali in `Kalyanasougandikam.' After this, Chathunny Panicker continued with Darpana, Mrinalini's school of dance, choreographing ballets. Slowly he became an integral part of Darpana.
Joining Mrinalini Sarabhai's group was a bold decision. He knew that he was going to be away from Kerala during his prime.
"It was painful. I lost precious years, so many opportunities. But those years with Darpana gave me a lot of exposure. It gave me a chance to see the world, meet a lot of people and win a lot of admirers."
This stint won for Chathunny Panicker a place among the greats of Indian classical dance. From 1950, for about a quarter of a century, he was an indispensable presence at various cultural festivals held in the country and abroad.
For about three decades, Chathunny Panicker's Kathakali performances in Kerala became rare. The only time people got to see him on stage was during the school vacation when he used to come with his family to his native village. And that was the time he used to join some of the other great Kathakali masters for some stunning performances.
Countless are the characters that this great performer has brought alive. He even set a record of sorts staging the `Duryodhana Vadham' for 99 days at a stretch, playing two roles of Krishna and Bhima. But the one he holds close to his heart is that of Hanuman in stories like `Kalyanasougandikam' and `Thoranayudham.'
"Those were roles that people thought I was good at. There were so many other roles I loved presenting... ,'' he says trying hard to pick the right words from his memory. "Playing Hanuman with Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair as Bhima was real fun."
Numerous awards and accolades have come his way. The Gujarat Sangeeta Natak Akademi award, Kendra Sangeeta Natak Akademi award, the Kerala Kalamandalam Fellowship, the Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi Fellowship, the State Kathakali Award for his inestimable services to Kathakali and now the Padma Shri. But the maestro still treasures the gold amulet and medal given to him by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who was one of his ardent admirers.
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