Kunchan Nambiar
Kunchan Nambiar (1705–1770) was a renowned Malayalam poet and inventor of the art form Ottamthullal. Kunchan Nambiar spent his early childhood at Killikkurussimangalam in Kerala, his boyhood at Kudamaloor and his youth at Ambalappuzha.He was the master of satirist poetry. The chief contribution of Nambiar is the invention and popularization of a new performing art known as Thullal. Kunchan Nambiar is believed to have written over forty Thullal composition. They belong to all the three types: 1 Otttan, 2 Seethankan and 3 Parayan. The most important of Nambiar's Thullals are: Syamantakam, Ghoshayatra, Kiratam, Santanagopalam, Patracharitam, Kartaviryarijunavijam, Bakavadham, Kalyana Saugandhikam, Hariniswayamvaram, Tripuradakanam and Sabha Pravesam. Nambiar was an extrovert and observed the life around very closely. He was also very critical of the social evils he saw around him. Thus even when the main story is from the Puranas, he would introduce digressions in plenty and use such occasions to comment on life in his own time. He did not worry about the charge of anachronism. He knew his audience very well: not scholars and poets, but laymen, especially soldiers, barely literate.The frustration of the poet is noticed in this stanza as he wishes to convey that his performance may not be liked by people who were eager to hear only gossips and not reality. This is interrupted by experts as polite way to defuse audience who are not serious about understanding the message in thullal. Kunjan Nambiar was very serious about his art and he repeated these lines as preface in all his thullal poems.
Days went along, no one invited me for
ottan thullal performance,
and none cared for the poet as well,
people liked only performance that had only gossip,
and not the one who told truth,
hence he prays to lord Krishna, to help him
In order to document the development and transformation of modern Malayalam language and literature and the place occupied by Kunjan Nambiar in Kerala society, the Kunjan Nambiar Memorial has come up at Killikurissi Mangalam. The government of Kerala took over the Kalakathu Bhavan, the house of Kunchan Nambiar and 56 cents of land around it on 1 September 1975 and converted it into a national memorial. It was in 1955 that for the first time, it was decided to celebrate Kunjan Day as part of Mahakavi Kunjan Nambiar memorial celebrations. The first Kunjan Day was celebrated at Killikurissi Manglam on 5 May 1957.
On 27 January 1958, the then Chief Minister, E.M.S Nambuthiripad laid the stone for the constructions of the Kunjan Memorial Library at Killikurissi Mangalam.
After converting the Kathakali Bhavan and the land around it into a national memorial, the Government of Kerala took over the ancient buildings at Kalakathu Bhavan such as the pathayapura (barn house), serpent grove, padipura (gate-house).
The national memorial aims to propagate the ideals and philosophy of Kunjan Nambiar. The activities also include translations of Kunjan Nambiar’s works, their presentation on stage, public meetings and seminars. It has also been decided to build a full-fledged library and organize celebrations on appropriate occasions. Other objectives are to propagate thullal art, and to bring out an authentic biography on Kunjan Nambiar.
The Kunjan Smaraka Vayanasala, Kunjan Smaraka Kala Samithy, and Kunjan Smaraka Samithy today jointly celebrate Kunjan Day extensively.
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