Ammannur Madhava Chakyar (1917 - 2008)

Ammannur Madhava Chakyar the 91 year old Kudiyattom dancer is no more. He died on July 1 at his house Ammannur Chakyar Madom, at Irinjalakuda near Thrissur. He was 91. Had it not been for him Kudiyattom would have gradually died a tragic death in select Kerala temples. He brought it out and the world saw this graceful Sanskrit dance form which is a predecessor of Kathakali. He had a string of awards to his name, these included Padma Bhushan, Kalidasa Samman, Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi Award and Kendra Sangeet Nataka Akademi Award. He was selected to receive the UNESCO heritage citation which described Kutdiyattam as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”.

I had the good fortune of attending a Kudiyattom performance at the Indore Rajwada on March 20 2008. This was part of the Phalgun festival to celebrate Holi. The Jatayu Ravana confrontation after the abduction of Sita was the theme of that day's performance. Some images I clicked that day

















A Short Biography Of Ammannur - Kapila. Kapila maintains a weblog on Kudiyattom. She is a disciple of Ammannur and is the daughter of G Venu who is also a disciple of Ammannur and is an eminent researcher into the dance and theatre forms of Kerala who has also played a major role in the revival of many of these ancient forms.

Link to an article from The Hindu (Friday Mar 18 2005) titled Endowed With Divine Talent. It is about Madhava Chakyar and his disciple and researcher G Venu who were honoured at a function in Chennai. Click here.