I had a chance to meet Kavalam Narayana Panikkar when we were taking part in a drama competition at Alappuzha. Our drama 'Vicharana', written by Fazil, won the first prize and Kavalam was one of the judges.
After declaring the prizes, Kavalam came to meet us and invited me to his house, saying that he wanted to discuss with me future drama projects. That was the first time I met him even though Nedumudi is close to Kavalam. Until then, I knew him only as a literary figure in Kavalam.
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Under his guidance, I started rehearsing for his drama. For me, it was a new experience and his style was very different from what I had learnt so far. The use of music, beats, dance and stylized dialogues were all new to me. However for two reasons, Kavalam attracted me. One, he was very balanced in his approach and had a knack for making friends with people who were younger and less experienced than himself. The second was his ease with the local ballads. Now, looking back, I feel it was the beats in his music that connected me to him so easily.
His dramas did not have curtains or background scenes. The music performers are visible to all and all of them were coordinated by Kavalam himself. Whether his drama received bouquets or brickbats, he would be there at the front as writer and director of the piece.
The drama that he directed with me in it was called 'Daivathar' and I had the role of 'Kaalamkaniyar,' a fastidious individual. The drama was to be played at Alappuzha SDV School and the audience was packed with names of repute such as G. Sankara Pillai, C.. Sreekantan Nair, Ayyappa Panikkar, Kadaminitta Ramakrishnan and so on. When the drama was over, everyone gave us a standing ovation and we were congratulated by many who came to the greenroom with lots of appreciation. When all left, only one person remained - Sreekantan Nair. He said, "I, Sankara Pillai and Kavalam had been searching for a unique drama style of Kerala, only Kavalam found it."
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After making my appearance in cinema, I had played a senior role in Padmarajan's 'Oridathoru Filevan." Padmarajan told me that he had selected me for the role because he had seen my performance in 'Daivathar' in which I donned the role of an aged person.
When I slowly started drifting away from drama, Kavalam kept up the same rapport with me and whenever he saw me, he used to smile and behave the way he used to when we first met.
Kavalam was a man who struck gold in all his ventures. His experiments in dramatization would remain a veritable storehouse for others to refer. All that he has left behind would part of our tradition. Perhaps there is none else who could combine Kerala's unique art into mainstream art.
While those outside Kerala accepted and cherished his art, we lagged behind in accepting him and his contributions. He has, however, left behind a few trained youngsters who can ably carry on with his legacy. He would live through them, for years to come.