Family background:

Chemanchery Kuhiraman Nair was born at Cheliya Desam of chengotkavu Village in Koyilandy Taluk Kozhikode District in Kerala State on 26^th June 1916 to Late Sree Chathukutty Nair and Late Smt.Kunhammukkutty Amma in a traditional farmer’s family. The family was a joint family where more than 25 members lived under the same roof. These early days in lift taught him lessons of relationship building and social living which he would practice in his later life and career. He was an unfortunate child to loss his mother who died when he was only two years of old and his dad when he was only 13 years of old. The family possessed more than 50 acres of land and had a Temple for themselves. “Theyyam” which is traditional art dance from was performed by local artists regular in the temple as a form of God worshipping and the family members where all practitioners and experts in yet another traditional folklore dance from – “Kolkkali”. It was during these years he developed and recognized his interest in art and traditional art forms which would in later years become his passion, ambition and career. To develop an interest, to be passionate about it, to have an ambition to master it and to build a career are imperative steps in every one’s life. Chemancheri was a great man who build his career based on his interest with at most passion and mastered it beyond limits without failing to set backs and difficulties, raising above all odds and hindrances.

Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair was married to Pavithrasadanam Janaki until her demise at a young age when their only son was just 2 years of old. She was a teacher by profession. Ever since, he lived with his elder sister, who had great influence in Guru Chemancheri’s later life and became his most trusted emotional retreat.

Present family background

He has been living with his elder sister and nephew, K.K. Sankaran Master and his family ever since his wife passed away. His only son is settled in Mumbai. Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair chose to live in Kerala to lead his creative ventures, his organizations, teaching and performances from the front. Guru Chemancheri considers himself a part of a bigger family which consists of his artistic fraternity, his students, his colleagues, his followers and fans all around the world.

Schooling:

Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair was talented and fortunate to fetch him a very rare opportunity of Lower primary school education from Chengotukavu East UP School and was the highest certificate of merit those times. He had resistance from his family being a traditional agricultural family against any form of higher education as the custom was to follow the ancestors and earn a living becoming a farmer. But his interest in Kathakali was intense and strong enough to with stand any pressure. He left his home one night to join kathakali school at Meppayur ran by great kathakali teacher and artist Karunakara Menon. “Gurukulam” format of education was the most followed form of schooling then. It took for him six years long years of hard work and commitment to master the art form. During these years he had the privilege to perform hundreds of Kathakali ballets depicting different characters in almost all Attakathas with and without Karunakara Menon. He looked upon Guru Karunakara Menon for inspiration and Lord Sree Krishna became his favorite character, energy source and role model. He stud close to God and enacted him on the stages and was growing and learning to become the most promising God Man in the history of Kathakali. The Indian struggle for independence and pre-independence years were the hardest Guru Chemanchery went through. The changing social strata and European cultural influence end-resulted in the collapse of Kathakali camps in India. This was the most unbearable hardship in his career which he overcame by an improvising step of career with an intelligent detour from Kathakali to Bharathanatyam to keep his artistic talent alive.

    Childhood Ambitions:

To master traditional art form was his only ambition as a child and to perform Kathakali on the stage like Greats of the time; Guru Karunakara Menon and Kalamandalam Madhavan Nair was his career ambition.

Training:

Guru Chemancheri was trained by Guru Karunakara Menon in “Kathakali”. Later he studied Bharathanatyam under the great Guru Kalamandalam Madhavan Nair for one year and then under Bhalabhai of Madras for two years. This was followed by his higher studies in Nrithyam under the great dancer Selam Rajaratnam Pillai for three years. He identified and stated that those days of dedicated and hard training under these great Guru’s were real “thapa” for him and it taught him how deep is the relationship between a Guru and his disciples in the world of divine art is. And Guru Chemancheri shared what he learned that art is not just a means of life but a real “sadhana” for the preservation of our rich cultural heritage.

First Entry to Career:

With a handful of training experiences from the most talented teachers in Kathakali and Bharathanatyam, with his strong performance skills, expertise and experience he started his own school of dancing named Bharatheeya Natyakalalayam at Kannur city the first of its kind in North Kerala in 1945. A branch of it was also started in Telicherry in 1947. These two schools of dance were transformed into one of the chief centers of the teaching and propagation of Bharathanatyam in India.

Entry into Stable Career:

Hundreds of students were trained under the above mentioned institutions by 1952 and by then this organization became renowned for its routine of producing recognized talents, its organized operations, flawless curriculum and successful training methods. In 1952 a full-fledged ballet troupe consisting of more than 60 artists were organized under Guru Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair. More than 40 ballets and Nrithasilpams were choreographed and performed under this troupe, in and outside Kerala in thousands of stages. His name and his organization were exploring boundaries of minds and lands through their reputation, expertise, talents and through their stage performances.

In 1977 he started another cultural institution named “Pookkad Kalalayam” in his own home town as a good will gesture for the teaching and propagation of our classical art forms and for producing talents from his part of the country. Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi, classical dance and mural painting were taught to those interested.

Career Prospects:

Still in his 99^th age, he doesn’t lack energy or keep himself from taking more efforts, amuses everybody with excellent stage performances, new directional ventures (Silpams) and shaping new Kathakali stories. He inspires everyone who comes his way. According to him neither age is hurdle nor time a matter of worries. He thinks there are a lot more to be experimented in various stages still to come. He looks forward to teach many more students and produce fine talents of history so that the future of traditional art forms and cultural heritage stays safe and stay preserved for ages to come. He also aspire to develop Kathakali Vidhyalayam into another Kerala Kalamandalam of Kerala.

Turning points in life:

Guru Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair had to resist his family’s ambition to make him a farmer and the pressure to follow their ancestors to live his dream and practice his passion as his career. The decision to leave his family for the development of traditional art forms to become a pioneer in his career area was the most important in his life. His life is an example of a successful career whose success is an attribute in following one’s own interest and mastering this interest with highest levels of dedication, commitment and enthusiasm. The next important turning point in his life was his leap as a student or discipline in 1945 to a teacher and the founder of an educational and training organization “Bharatheeya Natya Kalalayam” the first of his four creative ventures. He finished his creative square with “Kathakali Vidyalayam” in 1983 his fourth organization for the development and training of Kathakali. This should be considered the most valuable achievement in his life, in the lights of his discontinued pursuit of Kathakali training during his early years. He always dreamt to revive the most celebrated oldest art form of Kerala to its past glory.

Career satisfaction:

Chemanchery Kunhiraman Nair is very satisfied with the way his career has shaped. Most of the professionals find themselves fallen into a particular career and find little satisfaction in their respective jobs. This is not the came with Guru Chemanchery as he was highly focused in his career right from his childhood and pursued his most intense interest as his career option. This gave him the pace to overtake all his contemporaries, overcome all setbacks and to overwhelm success in his career. The four cultural institutions he founded are still running in full glory with thousands of students and teachers.

About the present career:

At present the four of his institutions have developed into chief cultural centres of Kerala where more than 1500 students study in various art forms. He has worked with all most all the stalwarts of Indian Dance; Sri Udhaya Sankar, Guru gopinath, Guru Gopalakrishna.

Kathakali Vidhyalayam has grown into an important centre for propogating and teaching of Kathakali in kerala. More than 40 students in different fields of Kathakali, Vesham, Music, Chenda, Maddalam and Chutti study here with the aid of department of culture, New Delhi. A full fledged Kathakali troup capable of performing almost all “Attakatha” is also run under this Vidhyalayam. Sri Kunhiraman Nair is still working as the Chief Guru, principal and cornerstone of all his institutions.

Bitter experience:

Leaving his family for the future of Traditional Indian art forms has been a bitter experience for Guru Chemancheri. The bad luck of early deaths of the dear ones always chased Guru Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair all his life. He lost his mother at an age of two years, his father when he was 13 and his wife when his only son was two years of old. He had gone through huge distress while he had to temporary leave Kathakali during the Indian independence era. Another unforgotable and painful incidence was the dramatic and sad death of his beloved Karunakara Menon on stage while both of them were performing together Kuchelavritham Kathakali; a story about friendship, companionship, campassion and love. Kunhiraman Nair was the one who performed the last rights standing for his son.

Memorable events:

Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair very famously enacted Krishna in the episode of Duryodhana’s death and performed Lord Sree Krishna’s “Viswaroopa” with flawless detail. Pattathil Chandrasekhara Menon, the Subjudge and advocate V Ramayyar the father of former Supreme Court Justice V.R Krishnayyar rushed to the stage taking Lord Krishna’s name and fell into Chemancheri’s feet under the spell of devotional trance created by Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair’s profound performance. Even though all these events had taken place, Sree Kunhiraman Nair who has been deeply involved in his act felt, heard or knew nothing intil he finished his performance and was explained about it later. The event highlights his performing skills, focus, detail, dedication, concentration and spotless attention.

Conclusion:

Mahatma Gandhi has once said “my life is my message to others”. These words suit the great teacher, Guru Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair and his life is an open book for others. guru Chemancheri has tried all his life/career to teach, train and propagate traditional art forms and preserve our cultural heritage through well-designed learning processes in his four institutions and has earned thousands of deciples, followers, fans and friends. Apart from these, never had he bargained for any remuneration for his performances or classes. Not in any stage of his life had he end up tired or walk away from efforts to improvise his talent pool. Guru Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair has still plenty of youth left in him, has plenty more contributions to offer the society, has plenty more milestones in his life were not merely his, but to all those thousands of students, followers and fans who were after him and he overlooked, taught and contained them and changed their lives by inspiring them to choose their biggest interest as their respective careers and to pursue what they have total belief and faith in.