Tirur Nambissan

Last updated
Tirur Nambissan KALAMANDALAM TIRUR NAMBISSAN.jpg
Tirur Nambissan

Tirur Nambissan (1942-1994) was a Kathakali singer. He was born as Narayanan Nambissan at Tirur in the Malappuram district of Kerala in southern India. He started learning music at the age of seven, while attending the local boys' high school. He could, however, not continue his formal education or his musical education because of the unexpected deaths of his mother, three brothers and father, as well as the suicide of his younger sister - all this before he was 15 years old.

Masters, including N K Vasudeva Panikkar, his first teacher in classical music, realised the musical talent that the boy expressed through his light music, film songs and bhajanas, and guided him to Kerala Kalamandalam. Ending his school education, the eighth-form student started the journey to the world of Kathakali music under the guidance of Kalamandalam Neelakantan Nambisan, Sivaraman Nair, Kavungal Madhava Panikkar.

With Madambi Subramanian Namboodiri, Kalamandalam Hyderali and Kalamandalam Sankaran Embranthiri as contemporaries, he started to learn Kathakali music in Kalamandalam. Strict and powerful education (gurukulam style) from the great teachers and creative competition between the music students made them among the best students of that batch at the Kerala kalamandalam. From the second year of the course itself, each one of four-member team was able and confident enough to control a Kathakali stage including the major set. Hard punishment as well as parent-like love, advice and support from the teachers, plus their own hard work and group-sharing moulded them into something more powerful. He completed the eight-year course successfully (with first class). It was the start of a prominent Kathakali musician - Tirur Nambissan.[ citation needed ]

After completing the course, each one started to struggle to earn money. Some of them reached ashore, but Nambeesan was alone. He realised that it was his duty to keep the precious stone - Kathakali, which he got from the great ancestors, without a single scratch. He knew the terrible waves of changing attitudes in society. Still, he stood his ground. He was not ready to compromise in the Kathakali chitta. it was his stand that, the peculiar style (called as sopanasamgeetham) of music composition is sufficient and apt for the Kathakali. In another meaning, as a supporting music of a classical art, Kathakali music is in its utmost. So he was against the experiments. Even he was a lover of light music, he concentrated to Kathakali music and was careful to keep the identity of that music which is different from other music. He considered that it is meaningless to compare Kathakali music with other music. According to him, the ragas fixed for each literature is sufficient for the expression of the Kathakali characters. Changing of raga is a mask to hide the inefficiency of singer to express the bhavam in the early composed raga. He used manodharmas to empower the bhavas of characters, standing inside the real frame of Kathakali. Approval from the hearts of the Kathakali lovers is the great award to his career.[ citation needed ]

He worked as a music teacher in PreurGandhiSevasadan, international Kathakali centre New Delhi, Bombay, Unnayivariyer Smaraka Kalanilayam irinjalakkuda, Parassini Kaliyogam, peingode Kathakali promotion Society, Kerala Kalamandalam in different periods. Students of these institutions of the same period including SadanamJyothi, and Radhakrishnan, Private students poomully Vasudevan Namboodirippad, and vellinezhi Achuthan Kutty are the students of Tirur Nambissan too He performed as ponnani (main singer) and as shakidi (helping singer) on thousands of stages in Kerala and out of Kerala. He was the main singer of the parassikkadavu muthappan kathakali yogam for a long period. He had been performing as ponnani with his classmates as the special invitees from parassini kaliyogam from second year of the kalamandalam course itself.

Nambissan died from a brain haemorrhage on 10 August 1994. He had been suffering various chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, for some time. [1]

Related Research Articles

Malappuram district District in Kerala, India

Malappuram is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of 70 km (43 mi). It is the most populous district of Kerala, which is home to around 13% of the total population of the state. The district was formed on 16 June 1969, spanning an area of about 3,554 km2 (1,372 sq mi). It is the third-largest district of Kerala by area, as well as the largest district in the state bounded by Western Ghats and Arabian Sea to the two sides. Malappuram is the third major contributing district to the Gross State Domestic Product of Kerala as of 2019, after Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram. The district is divided into seven Taluks - Eranad, Kondotty, Nilambur, Perinthalmanna, Ponnani, Tirur, and Tirurangadi. Economically booming towns in Malappuram district include Malappuram, Manjeri, Tirur, Ponnani, Perinthalmanna, Kottakkal, Nilambur, Parappanangadi, Tanur, Kondotty, Valanchery, Tirurangadi, Chemmad, Edappal, Wandoor, Areekode, Edakkara, Chungathara, Kalikavu, and Puthanathani. Having 12 municipalities in total, the district has the second-highest number of Municipal towns in the state lying just behind Ernakulam (13).

Perumanoor Gopinathan Pillai, more popularly known as Guru Gopinath was a well known actor-cum-dancer. He is well regarded as the greatest preserver of the dance tradition. He is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

Guru Kunju Kurup (1881–1970) was one of the most famous Kathakali artistes to have born and celebrated in south Kerala, and gained popularity in central and north Kerala as well.

Kavalappara Narayanan Nair (1882–1948) was a prominent 20th-century Kathakali artiste and tutor who specialised in the Hanuman roles of the classical dance-drama from Kerala in south India.

Kalamandalam Hyderali was one of the best Kathakali singers of his generation, and the first non-Hindu artiste to make a mark in the four-century-old classical dance-drama from Kerala in south India.

Venmani Haridas Musical artist

Kalamandalam Venmani Haridas was a renowned Indian Kathakali musician noted for his evocative rendition of the Kathakali padams for the characters in the classical Kerala dance-drama.

Gandhi Seva Sadan is a Kathakali institution located in Perur village, some 12 kilometres east of Ottapalam in Palakkad district of north-central Kerala in southern India. It was founded in 1953 by the (late) Gandhian and freedom fighter K. Kumaran, equally known for his unflagging devotion to the promotion of the arts.

Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair (1916–2007) was a Kathakali artists from Kerala, India. Endowed with a life profile that also exposed him to several traditional Indian performing arts other than Kathakali, his stage presentation infused a fresh breath into the four-century-old art form, thanks also to his broad and deep view about the Puranas that spurred from a constant pursuit of knowledge through reading books and engaging in talks in scholars.

Kalamandalam Sankaran Embranthiri (1944–2007) was one of the most popular Kathakali musicians, credited with initiating a new wave in the rendition of songs for the classical dance-drama from Kerala in south India. His shruti-aligned music was glistened by a velvety voice, easy reach of the three octaves and command over stage proceedings that won him massive fan following even as his form received an abrupt setback in 1990 when he suffered a major ailment from which he could never recover fully.

Kalamandalam Neelakantan Nambisan (1920–1985) was a trend-setter Kathakali musician who played a crucial role in remoulding the aesthetics of singing for the classical dance-drama of Kerala, south India. Nambisan imbibed a set of fresh musical ideas from his epoch-making guru Mundaya Venkitakrishna Bhagavatar(1881-1957), developed them to sound even better and handed them over to a set of disciples, most of whom gained name and fame sooner or later.

Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon

Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon (1880-1948) was a pivotal figure in the history of Kathakali, having played a crucial role in remoulding and refining its grammar in the famed Kalluvazhi tradition of the classical dance-drama from Kerala in south India. He was trained in the art form at a culture-patronising Namboodiri mansion in Vellinezhi near his home, even as his genius ensured that Menon later redrew the aesthetics of Kathakali and its future profile altogether.

Mankompu Sivasankara Pillai, of Kerala in south India, was a reputed Kathakali artiste of the classical dance-drama's southern style. Noted for his consummate depiction of pachcha, kathi and minukku roles, he is a disciple of late maestro Chenganoor Raman Pillai.

Tirur Taluk Taluk in Kerala, India

Tirur Taluk comes under Tirur revenue division in Malappuram district of Kerala, India. Its headquarters is the city of Tirur. Tirur Taluk contains four municipalities - Tanur, Tirur, Kottakkal, and Valanchery. Most of the administrative offices are located in the Mini-Civil Stations at Tirur, Kuttippuram, and Tanur. Most of the villages in present-day Tirur Taluk were parts of the medieval Kingdom of Tanur (Vettathunadu). The port of Tanur was an important port town in the southwestern coast of India during medieval period.

Shanta Rao was a notable dancer from India. She studied and performed Kathakali, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi.

Kalamandalam V. Satyabhama was an Indian classical dancer, teacher and choreographer, known for her performances and scholarship in mohiniyattam. She is regarded as a matriarch of the classical dance form. She was also well versed in other classical dances of Kerala. She was awarded the Padma Shri, in 2014, for her contributions to the art and culture, by the Government of India.

Kalamandalam Sivan Namboodiri is an Indian classical theatre performer, the first person from outside chakyar community to practice Koodiyattam, from Kerala. He was awarded the Padma Shri, in 2012, for his contributions to the art of Koodiyattam, by the Government of India.

Kalamandalam Gangadharan Musical artist

Kalamandalam Gangadhran was a prominent Kathakali musician from Kerala. His unique tenor and accent has earned him a large audience both within and outside Kerala. He was the most prominent disciple of Kalamandalam Neelakandan Nambeesan, and the Master of the many later generations of Kathakali Musicians. He was a visiting professor at Margi, an organization dedicated to the revival of Kathakali and Kutiyattom, two classical art forms of Kerala. In 2006, he was honoured by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

Sangit Bhavana

Sangit Bhavana, of Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, started functioning as a part of Kala Bhavana in 1919 and as a separate institution in 1933. It was established by the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

South Malabar Geographical / Historical Area in Kerala, India

South Malabar refers to a geographical area of the southwestern coast of India covering some parts of the present-day Kerala. South Malabar covers the regions included in present-day Kozhikode Taluk of Kozhikode district, whole area of Malappuram district, Chavakkad Taluk of Thrissur district, and Palakkad district excluding parts of Chittur Taluk. The Fort Kochi region of Kochi city also historically belongs to South Malabar. The term South Malabar refers to the region of the erstwhile Malabar District which lies south to the river Korapuzha and bears high cultural similarity with both the Cochin as well as the North Malabar region.

Madambi Subramanian Namboodiri is a Kathakali musician from Kerala, India. He received several noted awards including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kerala State Kathakali Award, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award and Kerala Kalamandalam Award.

References

  1. Sreevalsan, T. K. (8 August 2013). "His art hid many aches of the heart". The Hindu.