Never at his wit's end

IT WAS by accident that Mr. K.K. Rajendran became ``Chakyar Rajan''. Five decades ago, Mr. Rajendran volunteered to perform a Chakyar Koothu performance at a function organised in a Mumbai suburb for `Vishu' because the original artiste did not turn up. Since then, he has performed more than 1000 programmes. Chakyar Rajan speaks to T. Ramakrishnan on the ancient art form and how to preserve it.

When Chakyar Rajan received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi award in 1994, he felt that at last, he was recognised for his contribution to the field of creative activity in which he was all along considered an outsider.

It took him many years of hard work to gain the recognition. Today, he is regarded as one of the popular artistes of Chakyar Koothu. Chakyar Rajan's performances of Koothu are not only in Malayalam but also in Tamil and English.

``Till I began performing the Koothu, Chakyar Koothu had been the prerogative of a small community. As I belong to a different social group, I did not receive encouragement from that community though my efforts had been to keep alive their art. However, I have no hard feelings against anyone,'' the 68-year- old artiste says.

Traditionally, Chakyar Koothu programmes were presented in temples and by Chakyars, a small sect of the Brahmins. Only of late, they are performed outside the places of worship. Essentially, Hindu mythological stories are narrated in a humorous manner.

Though Chakyar Rajan had not got any formal training in the traditional art, he says Painkulam Rama Chakyar, Sengalipuram Anantharama Dikshithar, Anjam Madhavan Namboodiri and Maani Madhavan Chakyar have been sources of guidance and strength to him. ``As a token of affection for me, Rama Chakyar gave me `mizhavu' (clay pot) which is used as the accompaniment to my performances''.

Anjam Namboodiri advised him to combine the elements of Bhakti and Vedanta with the stories. It was Swami Haridas who gave him the first opportunity to perform in Chennai, the `cultural capital of the South'.

Spinning some jokes as part of the story-rendering is one aspect. ``But,my aim is to make the art as contemporary and relevant to the present day's life as possible''.

Compared to Kerala's known classical dance Kathakali, Chakyar Koothu is much older. While the former is around 600 years old, the latter dates back to 2000 years.

Despite Chakyar Koothu being an ancient art, he says it appeals to persons of different groups. ``While adhering to the fundamentals strictly, I have been making innovations in the Koothu. For instance, while others use old Malayalam language, I employ Sankritised Malayalam''. Conscious of the fact that Chakyar Koothu is a dying art, he says there are ways to revitalise it.

Rajan, who travelled abroad widely, recalls that he was given a standing ovation in Israel when he gave a performance sometime back. ``I did not feel uncomfortable in a foreign country. On the contrary, wherever I went, I had received only positive responses. That's why I feel that any art form can only be an integrating force and not otherwise''.

A practising cost accountant and management consultant, Rajan acted in a dozen television serials and a few feature films in Malayalam. He had a major role in Sondham Janaki Kutti released about three years ago. This film got many awards.

He also cherishes the moment when he received the Kalaiselvam Award, instituted by the Nadigar Sangam of Chennai in 1996, from the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Mr. M. Karunanidhi.

Besides such honours, he had an unusual experience a couple of years ago after he gave one performance in Delhi during a chilling winter. That day, a middle-aged man approached him. He Wanted to express something and still, he was hesitant to do so. After a lot of persuasion, that man told the artiste that it was after many years that he had laughed for once.

Asked how he is able to practise a Kerala art form Despite living in an ``alien land'' (he is a resident of Mumbai), Rajan's reply is simple and characteristic of his sense of humour: ``Malayalees in Mumbai outnumber their own population in Kerala''.

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