Kunchan Nambiar was a prominent
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
poet of the 18th century (1705-1770). Apart from being a prolific poet, Nambiar is also famous as the originator of the dance art form of
Thullal, most of his works were written for use in Thullal performances. Social criticism wrapped in humor is the hallmark of his works. Nambiar is one of the foremost comedians in Malayalam.
![Kalakkathu Bhavanam - House of Kunchan Nambiar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Kalakkathu_Bhavanam_-_House_of_Kunchan_Nambiar.jpg)
Nambiar is believed to have been born at
''
Kalathu Veedu
Kalathu Veedu (The War House) is a 2015 Indian- Tamil soap opera that aired Monday through Friday on Vijay TV from 2 November 2015 to 25 March 2016 at 6:30PM IST for 102 episodes. The show starred Shankara Pandian, Devi Priya, Sivan Srinivasa ...
'' at
Killikkurussimangalam
Killikkurussimangalam (also known as Lakkidi) is a village around 8 km from nearby town Ottappalam in Palakkad district of Kerala, south India. The river Nila (Bharatapuzha) flows through the southern border of Lakkidi.
Etymology
The village go ...
in
Palakkad district of the south Indian state of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
;.
He spent his early childhood at
Killikkurussimangalam
Killikkurussimangalam (also known as Lakkidi) is a village around 8 km from nearby town Ottappalam in Palakkad district of Kerala, south India. The river Nila (Bharatapuzha) flows through the southern border of Lakkidi.
Etymology
The village go ...
, his boyhood at Kudamaloor and youth at
Ambalappuzha, and learnt
Kalaripayattu and
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
from such masters as Mathoor Panickar, Dronaballi Naicker and Nannikod Unni Ravi Kurup, before moving to the court of
Marthanda Varma
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).Subrahman ...
of
Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...
in 1748; later, he served at the court of his successor
Dharma Raja
Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma ( ml, ധർമ്മരാജാ കാർത്തിക തിരുനാൾ രാമവർമ്മ, 1724–17 February 1798) was the Maharajah of Travancore from 1758 until his death in 1798. He s ...
.
By the time he reached the royal court, he had already established himself as a poet. the later part of his life, it is believed that Nambiar returned to Ambalapuzha where he died in 1770, at the age of 65, reportedly due to
rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, ...
Career
![Mizhavu of Kunchan Nambiar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Mizhavu_of_Kunchan_Nambiar.jpg)
Kunchan Nambiar is considered by many as the master of Malayalam satirist poetry
and is credited with the popularisation of a performing art known as
Ottan Thullal
Ottan Thullal (or ''Ottamthullal'', Malayalam: ഓട്ടൻ തുള്ളൽ) is a recite-and-dance art-form of Kerala, India. It was introduced in the eighteenth century by Kunchan Nambiar, one of the Prachina Kavithrayam (three famous Ma ...
.
The word, ''thullal'', means 'dance/jumping', but under this name Nambiar developed a new style of verse narration, interspersed with occasional background music and dance-like swaying movements. Popular belief is that Nambiar devised this art form for avenging the ridicule he had to suffer from a
Chakyar Koothu
Chakyar Koothu (pronounced ) is a performance art from Kerala, India. It is primarily a type of highly refined monologue where the performer narrates episodes from Hindu epics (such as the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata'') and stories from ...
performer who chastised Nambiar when he dozed of while accompanying the koothu performance on
Mizhavu
A mizhav or mizhavu (Malayalam: മിഴാവ്) is a big copper drum played as an accompanying percussion instrument in the Koodiyattam and Koothu, performing arts of Kerala. It is played by the Ambalavasi Nambiar community. After 1965, wh ...
.
He used pure Malayalam
as opposed to the stylised and
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
ized Malayalam language of Chakyar Koothu, and adopted many elements from
Padayani
Padayani, also known Padeni (from the Malayalam word for military formations), is a traditional folk dance and a ritual art from the central portion of the Indian state of Kerala. A ceremonial dance involving masks, it is an ancient ritual per ...
and
Kolam Tullal as well as some of the other local folk arts. There are three kinds of Tullal distinguished on the basis of the performer's costume and the style of rendering, viz., ''Ottan'', ''Seethankan'' and ''Parayan''.
Dravidian metres
The metre (British spelling
Despite the various English dialects spoken from country to country and within different regions of the same country, there are only slight regional variations in English orthography, the two most notable va ...
are used throughout although there is a quatrain in a
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
metre. Kunchan Nambiar is known to have written 64 thullal stories.
He also developed new metres (for example; ''Vaytari metres'') based on the vocal notation for various talas. The language is predominantly
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
with a large admixture of colloquial and dialectal forms.
[Biographicon, 'Kalakkaththu Kunchan Nambiar']
Honours
The Government of Kerala observes Nambiar's birthday, 5 May, as ''Kunchan Day''.
A society, ''Kunjan Nambiar Memorial Society'', has been established by the government overseas the management of various memorials which include ''Kunjan Nambiar Memorial'' in Ambalappuzha,
''Kalakathu Bhavanam'', Nambiar's house in Killikkurussimangalam,
''Kunchan Memorial Library'', ''Kunchan Memorial Arts Society'', and ''Kunchan Memorial Society''.
''Kunchan Smarakam Fort'' is a fort built by the state government in honour of the poet and the monument houses an institution which promotes teaching of satirist art forms.
Kunchan Nambiar's body of work is composed of at least 21 Otttan, 11 Seethankan and 9 Parayan compositions.
The most important of Nambiar's Thullals are: ''Syamanthakam'', ''Ghoshayathra'', ''Kiratham'', ''Santhanagopalam'', ''Patracharitham'', ''Karthaveeryarjunavijayam'', ''Bakavadham'', ''Kalyana Saugandhikam'', ''Hariniswayamvaram'', ''Thripuradahanam'' and ''Sabha Pravesham''. Nambiar was critical of the social evils he saw around him and incorporated his satirical views in his compositions even when the main story is from the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
Purana
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
s; he would introduce digressions and use such occasions to comment on society.
Extracts from Kunchan Nambiar's poems/writings
![Ambalappuzha Temple](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Ambalappuzha_Temple.JPG)
*
Ravana
Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations.
In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...
is speaking to
Narada
Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...
about his own prowess (Kartavirya Arjuna Vijayam):
The kingdom of the Gandhara ruler
Has turned into a mere desert.
The land of the Sinhala King
Is now filled with lions and leopards.
The lord of the Chera people
Feeds himself on cheap vegetables.
The Chola King has nothing to eat
Except the maize of low quality
The kings of the Kuru house
Have nothing but jackfruit seeds.
The lord of the land of Kashmir
Is busy eating cucumbers.
The ruler of the Champeya land
Eats only tubers and broken rice.
The Konkan prince is about to die
Thinking of his wives' breasts.
*Another passage from the same work:
Tributes must be paid from time to time;
Half the yield should be given to me.
The whole of pepper yield should be handed over
Coconut, arecanut, mango, jackfruit:
All the trees should be confiscated.
There will be no place in my country
For the pomp of local barons.
Double the seed crop should be given
To me by houseowner.
The Tamil Brahmins (Pattars) staying here
Should also give one fourth to me.
The Nayars who stay at home
Should take their bows and spears
And stay at the residence of Ravana
And do whatever chores are assigned.
Nayars who drink toddy
Would be beaten up, beware!
Notes
References
External links
Two poems by Nambiar (scroll down to "Poetry Section #1")*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nambiar, Kalakkuthu Kunchan
Theatre in India
Malayalam-language writers
Poets from Kerala
1705 births
1770 deaths
18th-century Indian poets
People from Palakkad district