A Return to Kathakali

Ninety-eight-year-old Chemancherry Kunhiraman Nair conducts an evening class at his school, Kathakali Vidyalayam, in Koyilandi, Kozhikode. The teacher, who ran away from his home with four annas borrowed from his sister, started to learn Kathakali when he was 15 under the guidance of Guru Karunakaram Menon at Keezhpayyar and then began performing with several troupes across Madras Presidency.

Ninety-eight-year-old Chemancherry Kunhiraman Nair conducts an evening class at his school, Kathakali Vidyalayam, in Koyilandi, Kozhikode. The teacher, who ran away from his home with four annas borrowed from his sister, started to learn Kathakali when he was 15 under the guidance of Guru Karunakaram Menon at Keezhpayyar and then began performing with several troupes across Madras Presidency.

After Independence, with the decline of the princely states, which were the main supporters of such arts, Chemancherry and several other artistes of his time had to look for alternate sources of income. With the help of some friends, he established the Bharatiya Nritya Kalalayam in Kannur (where he only taught Bharatanatyam) and later established several branches of the same across Kerala. In the early 1950s, he also worked with Fairy Circus Company for two years, training their dancers and acrobats.

Brick by brick and penny by penny, Chemancherry eventually set up Kathakali Vidyalayam in his hometown in 1983. Chemancherry, at 98, hasn’t stopped performing. On 26 June, his birthday, when he last performed, the weight of his Kathakali costume and jewellery—almost 20 kg—made him stumble as he walked up to the stage. But once there, he didn’t miss a step.

Chemancherry Kunhiraman NairKathakaliKozhikode