TRIBUTE
A Kathakali immortal
K. K. GOPALAKRISHNAN
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Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair's death symbolises the end of an era in Kathakali.
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He was always described as the last word in Kathakali grammar.
Photo: Thulasi Shoranur
Legendary master: Padmanabhan Nair as Hamsa (right) with Kalamandalam Gopi as Nala.
THE history of Kathakali is incomplete without a mention of Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon, an exemplary master and performer during the first half of the last century. He died in 1948, at the age of 68.
Equally the history of modern Kathakali is incomplete without a mention of Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair, the son and last disciple of Pattikkamthodi, who died on April 3 at the age of 79. With his demise Kathakali lost one of its greatest masters. He was the last word for any technical doubts and aesthetics of Kathakali.
Early years
Pattikkamthodi initiated Padmanabhan Nair into the rudiments of Kathakali when the latter was just nine. Menon dreamt of making his son a master who would carry on the tradition. And the son had internalised his father's quest and went on to study the intricacies and technicalities of the art form. After training under his father for 10 years, Padmanabhan Nair joined Kalamandalam in 1951, on an invitation from poet laureate Vallathol Narayana Menon. Until Vallathol passed away in 1958, Padmanabhan Nair would clarify his doubts in Kathakali's highly Sanskritised librettos with the thespian, who took him further into the epics thereby kindling his appetite for them in the process. He retired as principal of Kerala Kalamandalam in 1989.
Kalluvazhi Ittiraricha Menon (1828-1903) introduced the Kalluvazhi style of Kathakali but his chief disciple Pattikkamthodi perfected it through the Kerala Kalamandalam and the Kottakkal PSV Natya Sangham and gradually it came to be known as the Pattikkamthodi style. Padmanabhan Nair Asan worked to preserve and propagate this unique northern school of Kathakali.
As a result, during his stewardship at the Kerala Kalamandalam, he emphasised classroom training, as against performances outside. This was at the cost of financial and other benefits that would have come his way had he stayed on stage. More importantly, it reduced his exposure to connoisseurs.
The perfection of artists like veteran Kalamandalam Gopi is testimony to Padmanabhan Nair's calibre as trainer. Gopi was his first disciple at the Kerala Kalamandalam. "My initial years under Padmanabhan Asan undoubtedly made me what I am today; if my perfection in librettos and executing of manodharma appeals to critics, the credit goes to his training and patronage, though in the beginning it was extremely strenuous," says Gopi.
Kathakali aficionados and theatre scholars from both India and abroad extolled Padmanabhan Nair's perfection on stage. His performance was mostly for the learned and other practising artists and never towards the middlebrow tastes. His effortlessness in the intricacies of the techniques and analysis of librettos as visualised by the author always charmed the learned audience. Many considered it a perfect classroom lesson, decorated with the distinctive stylisation of the art. His non-compromising nature made him the favourite of connoisseurs and scholars.
As a performer, he preferred roles that had a specific grammar and stylisation, quite like his master. All the heroic characters of the four Kottayam stories, especially the highly stylised Dharmaputhra of "Krimeeravadham" and Arjuna in "Kalakeyavadham", became his classic roles. His Bali in "Balivadham", Keechaka in "Keechakavadham", Narada and the shattered Brahmin in "Santhanagopalam" were also memorable performances. Watching his performances was a lifetime experience for an audience familiar with the techniques. He was always described as the last word in Kathakali grammar, a recognition that he undoubtedly deserved.
Padmanabhan Nair's approach to Kathakali was highly devotional and everything related to Kathakali was regarded as homage to his father. This enabled him to give a new dimension to even characters that relatively lack technical excellence. The best examples were his Hamsa (golden swan) in the first day of "Nalacharitam", Sudeva in the third day of "Nalacharitam" and the Brahmin in "Rugminiswayamvaram", characters that enjoy little `stage freedom'.
He was always concerned about the character's stayi (basic emotion), the relevance of the scene and the episode in the story. He firmly believed that Kathakali was a stylised classical pantomimic art form, the true combination of thouryathrika (the combination of dance, music and percussion) that could never be diluted.
Remarkable contribution
Another remarkable contribution was his classic textbooks, Kathakali Vesham, in two volumes (published respectively in 1980 and 1982 by the State Institute of Language, Kerala) and Cholliyattam, the acting manual of Kathakali (published by the Kerala Kalamandalam in 2000 in two volumes under the initiative of the renowned poet Prof. O. N. V. Kurup).
Sadly, other than the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1994, no national honours came in search of the maestro. But he had no regrets or complaints. The Government of Kerala honoured him with the State Award of 2006 for Kathakali. But the level of recognition and respect that he earned from myriad aficionados all over the world mattered more to him than all such honours. As far as the history of Kathakali is concerned, he is immortal.
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