Kavalam Narayana Panicker (1 May 1928 – 26 June 2016) was an Indian dramatist, theatre director, and poet. He has written over 26 Malayalam plays, many adapted from classical Sanskrit drama and Shakespeare, notably

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...

's ''Vikramorvasiyam'' (1981, 1996), ''Shakuntalam'' (1982), Bhasa's ''Madhyamavyayogam'' (1979), ''Karnabharam'' (1984, 2001), ''Uru Bhangam'' (1988), ''Swapnavasavadattam'', and ''Dootavakyam'' (1996). He was the founder director of theatre troupe, Sopanam, which led to the foundation of Bhashabharati: Centre for Performing Arts, Training and Research, in Trivandrum. He was awarded the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

for Direction in 1983 by Sangeet Natak Akademi, and its highest award for lifetime achievement, the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also known as Akademi Ratna Sadasyata, is an Indian honour for the performing arts presented by Sangeet Natak Academy. It is "the most prestigious and rare honour" conferred by the Academy and is "restricte ...

in 2002. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in the field of Arts, by the Government of India. He died in his residence on 26 June 2016, aged 88, a few days after returning from the hospital.

Early life and education

He was born in the village of Kavalam, into an ancient family from Kuttanad in

Alappuzha Alappuzha or Alleppey () is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha district in States and territories of India, state of Kerala, India. The Kerala Backwaters, Backwaters of Alappuzha are one of the most popular tourist attractions in Indi ...

, Kerala, India. His family name is Chalayil and he was a nephew of Sardar Kavalam Madhava Panikkar and a cousin of Dr.

K. Ayyappa Panicker Dr. K. Ayyappa Paniker, sometimes spelt "Ayyappa Panicker" (12 September 1930 – 23 August 2006), was a Malayalam poet, literary critic, and an academic and a scholar in modern and post-modern literary theories as well as ancient Indian aesthe ...

, a Malayalam poet. He attended

CMS College The CMS College (CMS College Kottayam) is the first Western-style college in India. Overview The college now has 17 Undergraduate and 18 postgraduate departments. There are six research centres in the college. Research work leading to the degr ...

in Kottayam, whose alumni included

K. P. S. Menon Kumara Padmanabha Sivasankara Menon Sr. (18 October 1898 – 22 November 1982), usually known as K. P. S. Menon, was a diplomat and diarist, a career member of the Indian Civil Service. He was appointed independent India's first Foreign ...

and his uncle Sardar

K. M. Panikkar Kavalam Madhava Panikkar (3 June 1895 – 10 December 1963), popularly known as Sardar K. M. Panikkar, was an Indian statesman and diplomat. He was also a professor, newspaper editor, historian and novelist. He was born in Travancore, then a ...

. He obtained a degree in economics from Sanatana Dharma College (SD College),

and later a Bachelor of Law degree from Madras Law College.

Career

He started his career as a lawyer in 1955 and practised law for six years before devoting himself to art and literature. In 1961 he was nominated as Secretary of Kerala Sangeetha Nadaka Academy, Thrissur and shifted his base to Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala. His work has always been rooted in both the classical and folk traditions of Kerala. Kavalam Narayana Panicker Image1

In 1974, Kavalam shifted his residence to the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. In this period his play ''Avanavan Kadamba'' was filmed by G. Aravindan. He has worked in many countries, including the former Soviet Union. In Greece he worked with Greek artists on a production of the ''Ilyayana'', a fusion of the Indian Ramayana and the Greek epic Iliad. He has directed two movies about the greatest Kutiyattam maestro legendary actor Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar: '' Mani Madhava Chakyar: The Master at Work'' (1994) and ''Parvati Viraham'' (1993) in

Kuttiyattam Koodiyattam ( ml, കൂടിയാട്ടം; IAST: kūṭiyāṭṭaṁ; ) is a traditional performing art form in the state of Kerala, India. It is a combination of ancient Sanskrit theatre with elements of ''Koothu'', an ancient perfor ...

form featuring Mani Madhava Chakyar as Ravana. As a lyricist in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ''Elippathayam' ...

, he has written for films like ''Ulsavapittennu'', '' Manjadikuru'' (2008), ''Vadakakkoru Hridayam'' (1978) and '' Marmaram'' (1982). He won Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyrics for the latter two films. In 1993 Erin B. Mee directed his play ''Ottayan'' in New York City. The Village Voice said: "the haunting pungency of a rich Asian folk-theatre tradition shines through every stylized gesture." Erin B. Mee devotes an entire chapter of her book ''Theatre of Roots'' to Panikkar's work. His work is also the subject of the volume ''K.N. Panikkar: The Theatre of Rasa'' edited by Udayan Vajpeyi. His play ''Aramba Chekkan'' is included in ''Drama Contemporary: India'', edited by Erin B. Mee and Erin B. Mee conducted an interview with him for PAJ magazine and his work is the subject of an interview by Erin B. Mee in Seagull Theatre Quarterly: 1995 "The Use of Folk Philosophy in Kavalam Narayana Panikkar's Poetic Theatre of Transformation." Seagull Theatre Quarterly 7:58-62. He has remained a consultant at Asianet Communications and vice-chairman for Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi.

Personal life

He was married and had two sons. He lived in Thiruvananthapuram with his wife Saradamani and also had another house in his native village of Kavalam. He had two sons Kavalam Harikrishnan and Kavalam Sreekumar. Kavalam Harikrishnan served as BHASABHARATHI's Chief contact person before he died of cancer in October 2009. His younger son

Kavalam Sreekumar Kavalam Sreekumar is a classical musician, Malayalam film singer and music composer from Kerala, India. His recitation of Ramayana is also famous. He has also rendered more than 60 famous Malayalam poems. He is the son of the noted Malayalam poet ...

, is a singer in Kerala. Sreekumar sang folk and light music numbers over three decades. He also sang for Malayalam films over the years.

Awards and recognition

He was awarded

in 1983 and

in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan civilian decoration in 2007. He has won Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyrics twice, in 1978 for ''Vadakakkoru Hridayam'' and in 1982 for '' Marmaram'', and the Kalidas Samman by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in (1994–1995). ;Other * 2013 – TTK Prestige-Vanitha Film Awards – Best Lyricist – '' Amen'' Best Male Singer * 2013 – Asiavision Awards – Best Lyricist

Works

* ''The Right to rule (Kōyma) ; and, The domain of the sun (Sūryasthāna)''. Seagull Books, 1989. . * ''Folklore of Kerala''. National Book Trust, India, 1991. * ''Karimkutty ; and, The lone tusker''. Seagull Books, 1991. .

References

Bibliography

* Mee, Erin B. 2008 ''Theatre of Roots: Redirecting the Modern Indian Stage''. Seagull Books. * Mee, Erin B. 1995. "Kavalam Narayana Panikkar: Meaning Into Action." PAJ #55. * Mee, Erin B. 1995 "The Use of Folk Philosophy in Kavalam Narayana Panikkar's Poetic Theatre of Transformation." Seagull Theatre Quarterly 7:58-62. * Panikkar, K. N. "Aramba Chekkan" In Mee, Erin B. ed. 2001. ''DramaContemporary:India''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press * *

External links

Hits of Kavalam Narayana Panikkar

– a detailed profile of Kavalam Narayana Paniker.
BhashaBharati, website

Kavalam Narayana Panicker at MSI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panicker, Kavalam Narayana Narayana, Panicker Narayana, Panicker Indian male dramatists and playwrights Indian theatre directors People from Alappuzha district Narayana, Panicker Narayana, Panicker Narayana, Panicker Narayana, Panicker Kerala State Film Award winners Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Malayalam-language dramatists and playwrights Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award 20th-century Indian poets Dramatists and playwrights from Kerala 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights CMS College Kottayam alumni Poets from Kerala 20th-century Indian male writers