kathakalirasangal: March 2013

Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair

Age is not a restraining barrier for this great maestro. Just three years short of celebrating his centenary, his muscles still have the guts to climb the stage and entice the spectators with the magic of his performance.
When it comes to the matter of performance, Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair, a veteran in the art form of Kathakali, is full of energy even at the age of 97. Kathakali, a unique dance-drama of Kerala, had its origin in the sixteenth century. For Chemancheri this relentless journey started at the age of 15, when he left his home to join a Kathakali troupe run by Guru Karunakara Menon. In the hands of this disciplinarian-mentor, the talents of Chemancheri were nourished to completion.
After years of practice and hard work, he founded Bharatiya Natyakalalayam in 1945, which was the first school of dance in north Kerala. But he was not content with this, so he started several other dance schools and later in 1983 he established Cheliya Kathakali Vidyalayam in his native Cheliya village, about 30 km from Kozhikode. The institution conducts courses on different aspects of Kathakali and has a full-fledged Kathakali troupe.
Chemancheri's style emanates from a blend of north-south Kerala styles and by incorporating elements of other dance forms like Bharatanatyam. When Chemancheri plays the vesham (role) of Lord Krishna, which is one of the most admired of all his roles, the entire audience remains awestruck.
Recognitions came his way one by one and in 1979 Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi recognised his contributions with an award and later in 1999 with a fellowship. In 2001 he received the Kalamandalam award for special contributions to art and in 2002 he got Darpanam Natyakulapathi award. Mayilpeeli award and Kerala Kalamandalam Kalarathnam awards are some other jewels on his crown.
Despite the age, the maestro's mudras (hand signs) still retains the charm and grace that have been grabbing the attention of Kathakali lovers for several decades.

Even at the threshold of a centenary Natyacharya Guru Chemanjery Kunjiraman Nair is evocative and aesthetic in the artistic brackets of a Kathkali maestro. aneesh kuttan meets this man of matter who lives a life for and up to this classical art propagating and reinventing its traditional value at a time when it goes astray as if records and titles that count.

CH21 Chemanjeri keeping alive a tradition

“Our school curriculum is updated with all the current information touching the variant spectrum of life and living. But what lacks is the susceptibility which is the penetrating media by which the process of understanding takes place. So our students pass out with stupendous success in the examinations but once they got in touch with the society they fail deplorabley to live their lives …”, says Guru Chemanjery, walking a few yards after his centenary through a life conditioned by the noble art, Kathakali.
“See, if our students learn the lessons of life without knowing the morals and values on which they are based upon, it may lead to the untimely death of our cultural heritage gradually. So we should redefine our system so as to make the students familiar with Indian culture through the classical art forms which depict the scenario that mentioned in the books.” ,remarked Guru Chemanchery after staging ‘kali varuthivacha vina’ (menace created by Kali), a lesson in the plus two text book, through a Kathakali performance.
This is Guru Chemanjeri who happened to get into the world of classical arts with the powerful influence of Koumudi teacher, who shot to fame by donating her ornaments to Gandhiji on his visit to Kerala in 1934. It is the same Koumudi teacher who made the Calicut born Guru to choose Kannur as his domain for keeping alive a tradition.
Propagating a heritage
Guru Chemanhery is now under a mission to liberate the Indian classics now lay scattered in the socio-cultural scenario meshed inside the printed fonts. He tries to retrieve the the lost glory of the art of Kathakali which is confined to the carnival grounds and background tableau of colorful song sequences in the movies.. His vision is to make the new generation aware of the solid stuff of our classics through a picturesque narration of the theme through Kathakali lingo. Guru Chemanjery Kunhiraman Nair moves his wrinkled and multi-fractured limbs in an elaborately tuned track keeping pace with the traditional style of narrating a story through acting (that is what Kathakali literally means), goes hand in hand with the contemporary style of living building a bridge in between to know and to understand
What is amazing about Guru Chemanjery is that, at a time when all his contemporaries wait for that inevitable guest, cornered in the dusk of life, he keeps his spirits live and hot to be in touch with the art that moulded his being. Nevertheless, he continues to experiment with it and tries his maximum to promote a divine art form never let it down in the fast-track life of today. Cheliya Kathakalai Vidyalaya at Koyilandi is such a dream-come-true.
Prior to that in 1945 Guru , after years of experience as a Kathakali exponent has started the first School of Dance in North Kerala, the Bharatheeya Natya Kalalaya. Bharatheey Natya Kalalaya at Thalassery , Pookkad kalalaya are some of the younger siblings of the first one sprouted out of his relentless enthusiasm and dedication to an art that rooted deeply in our cultural heritage.
Cheliya Kathakali vidyalaya was established in 1983 with a single and stream-lined vision of the promoting Kathakali. This school owns a full-fledged Kathakali troupe with eminent performers and they are in a constant mission to spread the greatness and gravity of Kathakali. It conducts courses in different aspects of this classical dance-drama apart from the Central Government certified Two-year certificate course in Kathakali.
At the feet of Guru
Guru Chemanchery KunhiramanNair has started learning Kathakali out of an innate fire he possessed from his birth. Since he had no hereditary traits and familial support to poke a way towards art, he had to leave his home to pursue his dreams. Well-weaved destiny brought that teenager to the feet of Keezhpayyur Karunakara Menon, the Kathakali maestro of the time. Chemanjery learned the ebbs and flows of the art untiringly, under his guru as a pursuit of his life. He set apart his whole day to spent with his guru as a sentinel of learning. Intense training under a thespian made him an expert at an early age itself. Then along with his guru, Chemnjery performed various epic stories chronicling lives, loves and conflicts through the naatya, bhaava, mudra and rasa, the art of Kathakali permeates.
Guru Chemanjery remembers his arangettam( the first stage performance) was as Paanchali in Duryodhaana Vadham Aattakkatha (the part of Mahabharata illustrating the killing of Duryodhan). Thence forth it was a saga of Krishna. In Kuchelavritham, Santhaanagopaalam, Rugmini Swayamavaram, et al he donned the role of Lord Krishna. Like Kottakkal Sivaraman in his female roles, Guru Chemanjery excelled as Lord Krishna. If Chemanjery is to essay the role of Lord Krishna, people used to gush in even from far away places!!!!
The disciplined and regimented training made Chemanjery one of the eminent Kathakali performers across the State. Even at the age of 95, he proves unparalleled in the dedication, immense concentration and the diligent grooming used to narrate the story in its strict traditional manner. Like his guru Karunakara Menon, Chenanjery also has proved his excellence in the other aspects of Kathakali such as costumes, percussion, make-up (chutti) etc.
The Krishna Effect
Chemanjery made his audience and the appreciators agape on his 95^th birthday celebrations, again playing Krishna in Kuchelavritham. When his fans and disciples decided to celebrate his 95^th birthday, by setting a feast of Kuchelavritham,Chemanjery was dedicating his self to his Guru as well.
“It was years before..we were performing the complete narrative version of Kuchelavritham. As usual I donned the role of Krishna and my Guru was the Kuchela. It came the scene of Krishna the King descends from his throne to greet his old classmate Kuchela, the poignant point of the story. I came down with spread out hands to hug Kuchela. Kuchela was staring at the new adorned form of his friend Krishna…with tears in his eyes. I saw my guru behind the costumes of Kuchela looking at me with tear-filled eyes and all on a sudden he fell into my hands fainting..then, I have to do all the sacraments of his funeral as a son..” Chemanjery narrated the heartrending story of man who lived for his art and a rare alchemy of a teacher-student relation.
Thus by donning as Krishna on his 95^th birthday, again playing the same story of Kuchelavritham, it became a tribute of a student to his teacher who etched certain values inside along with the well-defined gestures and body language to be carried out throughout.
Guinness Book is not so far
Last year Kerala Kalamandalam honoured Chemanjary by giving away the title of ‘Kalaratna’ regarding his special contributions to classical art. Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Acadamy also recognised his contributions to this field with an award in 1979 and a Fellowship in 1999. But guru Chemanjeri finds contentment when his students bring laurels to Calicut District by winning the prestigeous trophy of the Kerala State Youth Festival, every year.
Guru Chemanjery has been abstaining from stage performances for the last 5 years after essaying the role of Parasurama on his 90^th birthday. But he has been a constant presence in all the shows as a live spectator even in the late night shows. Meanwhile he met with many accidents and got his bones fractured and it is very difficult to make it right in this late age. But his relentless spirits poked him to play once again as the amorous Krishna at the age of 95 wearing heavy costumes weighing more than 35 Kg. He has rocked on the stage for two and a half hours continuously making the spectators break down. Many eminent personalities from all the walks of the life presented there were spell-bound at this blasting performance and they commented unanimously as, such a great performance in this age duly deserves a niche in the Guinness Book of World Records.
At a time when most of the artists are running behind the title of a Guinness winner, than to be known as an artist, invariably deviating from the tuned rhythms of rituals and classical details, it was relevant and to get an edge asking him his opinion about a Guinness Record while his ardent fans and disciples try for the same.
“If you ask somebody to get something, it will be alms and I don’t like to live upon the munificence granted after a request.”, replied Chemanjery with a repealing smile