Nayika in Kathakali
K.R. Menon, a reader from Kochi, writes about V. Kaladharan’s article on Kottakkal Sivaraman, ‘Redefining nayika,’ which appeared in these columns on May 8.
After Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair’s Poothana, the actor who was noted for female roles was the late legendary Kudamaloor Karunakaranan Nair, the name synonymous with female roles in Kathakali; Sivaraman is junior to Kudamaloor.
Moreover, it was the late K.P.S. Menon, author of ‘Kathakalirangam,’ who described him as ‘Damayanthi Sivaraman’ in the early Sixties and not Kalamandalam Krishnakutty Poduwal, as the author had written in the article.
Sivaraman did not replace Kalamandalam Balakrishnan Nair as Mohini during a tour in Mumbai. Sivaraman first appeared as Damayanthi in Delhi in 1957. Kuthannur Karunakara Panicker was supposed to perform as Damayanthi. As the latter could not reach Delhi on time, Sivaraman was persuaded to play Damayanthi. Sardar K.M. Panicker and Panambilly Menon were among the greats in the audience; both later wrote about it.
It was a month after this incidence, and that too in Kerala, that Sivaraman was forced to perform as Mohini in ‘Rugmangadacharitam,’ instead of Kalamandalam Balakrishnan Nair.
The author V.Kaladharan replies:
When I wrote the article on Kottakal Sivaraman, I was recollecting a protracted conversation I had with him over a decade ago. He had then referred to Mumbai as the venue of his debut as Mohini. As Mohini, he had told me, that the original choice was Kalamandalam Balakrishnan Nair. Since his autobiographical notes published recently tell us that the venue was Delhi, I do admit that mine could be a mistake in memory.
It is not ethical to say now whether Sivaraman made a mistake. What matters, however, is not either the venue of the performance or the actor whom Sivaraman replaced. How the tour happened to be a breakthrough for him is my area of interest.
Kudmaloor Karunakaran Nair was undoubtedly one of the best known actors in the fifties, especially in female roles. But neither great patrons nor great artistes had prefixed the name of any particular female character to Kudamaloor. I did ask senior connoisseurs of Kathakali whether any of them knew about K.P.S. Menon qualifying Sivaraman as Damayanthi Sivaraman. No one remembers having witnessed such an incident. If K.P.S. Menon had given such a prefix to Sivaraman in the 1960’s, it proves my statement that Sivaraman was the first to be known with such a prefix.
Sivaraman inherited an abiding passion towards ‘Nalacharitam’ through his uncle and therefore his identification with Damayanthi was much more intense than that of anyone who donned that role in those days. While Kudamaloor was a more important presence in south Kerala, Sivaraman has been an all-pervading phenomenon in Kerala ever since his maiden recital on stage.
Frankly, my profiles of veterans in the performing arts are aimed at analysing the aesthetic share of each on stage. Those truncated write-ups are not expected to be read as excerpts from the text books on art history. All the same, I am not underestimating the need for historical accuracies with regard to names of places and persons. I am not keen on offering banal information on artistes and the gross incidents in their life.
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