Killikurissimangalam: A place to remember Kunjan Nambiar

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Tucked inside the beautiful village of Lakkidi in Palakkad district one can find the Kalakathu Bhawan or how it is well known as the Killikurusimangalam, the house of the most respected Malayalam Poet – Kunchan Nambiar. The house and place around which is under the Kunjan Smarakam Trust is a place for people to know about the poet & his life. The creator of the most engaging art form of Thullal spent his life writing poems which the common man could understand in the local dialect. It was only when he was ridiculed for having slept during a Chakiyarkoothu performance that the need to have a new art form came. It so happened that during a performance at the Ambalapuzha temple, Nambiar was on the Mizhavu when he fell asleep, the Chakiyar laughed at him with others looking on. In place of feeling dejected, Nambiar understood the need to bring satire & humour to the performance for more engagement with the audience. He went back home & is said to have created the new art form of Thullal the next day. The most important Thullal performance is enactment of the Kalyana Sougandhikam poem which is a beautiful ode to life & satire sung by Hanuman. The story is about how Bhima wanders the forests in search of the elusive flower as per Draupadi's wish & in the journey meets Lord Hanuman. The performance is a beautiful satire of how Hanuman makes Bhima understand importance of being humble while possessing unassailable strength. Kunchan Nambiar himself was quite fond of this tale & is still performed by most artists which makes them communicate better with the audience.

The thullal art form is of three types & Ottanthullal is the most loved as it is a recite-and-dance performance very similar to Koothu but the performer jumps in the air, so the name “thullal” which brings out the visual grandeur among audiences. The story-line is always social satire ridiculing the ills of the society & is considered to be a way for the performer to ask questions regarding the wrongs happening in society around him.  People liked the new art form & there were more audiences for the Thullal than Koothu which made the Chakiyar performers complain to the King of Chembakasssery. The content of the Thullal performance was such that parodies of landlords, prominent citizens & even the King were loved by the audience, realising the popularity of the art form the king banned the Thullal performance at the Ambalapuzha temple complex. 

The life of Kunchan Nambiar was as simple as any noble person in the 18th century; born in 1705 he lived a life where poems were his way of life and was known to add humour in his works. He was a dependent of the Chembakassery King who ruled the Palakkad area. It was only in his later life that Kunchan Nambiar created his Thullal art form. The Chembakassery king was defeated by the powerful King of Travancore – Marthanda Varma & the rule was annexed to Venad. Kunchan Nambiar & his knowledge made him travel to Travancore & be a prominent presence in the court of Karthika Thirunal who succeeded Marthanda Varma. As he got old, Kunjan Nambiar found it difficult to continue his royal duties & asked the King to allow his return to Ambalapuzha. The King granted his request & he returned to the temple & his house. The house where he lived celebrates him & one can find his belongings here, one such article is his Mizhavu which is preserved. The Kunjan Smarakam now has a centre which trains young people in the art of Thullal, Mohinattam, Mridangam training & teachers from the Kalamandalam conduct classes here. Every year on 5th May the state celebrates Kunchandinam here remembering the poet on his birthday. 

The Kunjan Nambiar memorial is now a national monument & every visitor can walk inside his home & see the quarters where he was born, the kedavilaku which is an ancestral lamp kept lighted till today. The upper tier of the house also has the life-size model of the three thullal forms – Ottanthullal, Sheethankathullal & Parayanthullal. All three forms are performed based on the type of audience & have costumes integral with the type. The navarathri festival is also celebrated with a lot of grandeur here. It’s important for all who love art to be at the Kunchan Memorial to know more about his life and how he is part of the cultural fabric of Kerala.

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