Kavalam Narayana Panicker, doyen of indigenous theatre, is no more

Kavalam Narayana Panicker, one of the pioneers of Malayalam indigenous theatre, passed away on Sunday night at Thiruvananthapuram. He was 88.

 

Ailing for quite some time, the veteran who is also a much-revered poet and lyricist breathed his last at his home in Thiruvananthapuram at around 9.40 pm on Sunday.

 

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Panicker drew his inspiration from both Sanskrit and folk theatre forms and copiously mixed the Dravidian, the classical and the modern. 

 

Hailing from the backwater village of Kavalam in the scenic Kuttanad, he inherited the rhythm of river songs and the simplicity of ‘Njattupattu’ or the songs sung by paddy workers. 

 

Kavalam Narayana Panicker
 

• Born on 28 April 1928 at Kavalam in Alappuzha
• Famous plays included 'Avanavan Kadamba', 'Daivataar', 'Kaikkuttappad', 'Ottayaan'.
• Appointed secretary of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy from 1961.
• His famous work 'Natakachakra' received Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy Award in 1975.
• Penned songs for Malayalam movies Thambu, Aaravam, Aham, Sarvakalashala, Ayirapara, Aaroodham, Kannuezhuthi Pottum Thottu etc.
• Received State Award for best lyricist for 1982  for the 'Marmaram'.
• Sangeetha Nadaka Akademi Award in 1983.
•  Sangeetha Nadaka Akademi Fellowship in 2002.
• Was bestowed Madhya Pradesh government's Kalidas Samman in 1994.
• Honoured  with Padma Bhushan in the year 2007.
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The inimitable blend of the folk and the classical in his theatre works was inspired partly by the legendary CN Sreekandan Nair, who initiated a new genre of 'Thanathu Nadaka Vedi' that can be loosely translated as Indigenous Theatre in the late 1960s. 

 
Prompted by writer writer Asok Vajpayee, Panicker turned to Sanskrit theatre in the 70s and brought to stage the classic plays of Bhasa and Kalidasa. His efforts to adapt and reenact these works were widely appreciated.

 

Kavalam Narayana Panicker's plays: 
Saakshi (1968), Thiruvazhithan (1969), Jabala Satyakaman (1970), Daivathar (1976), Avanavan Kadamba (1978), Karimkutty (1985), Natakachakra (1979), Kaikkuttappad (1993), Ottayan (1980), Bhasabharatam (1987)

Translation of  most Bhasa's sanskrit works  Urubhanga,  Dootaghatotkacha, Madhyamavyayoga, Karnabhara and Dootavakyam and translation of Bodhyanan's Bhagavatgujam, Mahendra Vikram Varma's 'Mattavilasa,' Trojan Sreekal (Trojan Women by Euripides) Oru Madhyavenal Raakanavu (A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare), Kodumkattu ( adaptation of Tempest by Shakespeare).

 

The nation honoured him with Padmabhushan in 2007. He headed the Kerala Sangeetha Nadaka Academy for a decade since 1961 and contributed immensely in showing the way forward for the Academy. His book ‘Nadakachakram’ won the Kerala Sahitya Academy award in 1975. In 2014, Kerala Sahitya Academy honoured him by bestowing honourary membership. 

 

Born to Godavarma and Kunjulakshmi of Chalayil family in 28 April 1928, Narayana Panicker started his career as a lawyer. Soon, he realized that it was not his cup of tea and quit it to fully dedicate himself to theatre, music and drama and into writing. 

 

His cremation will take place at his home village of Kavalam on Tuesday. 

Watch Malayalam Interview with Kavalam Narayana Panicker: