Kalamandalam Krishnadas reflects on his 50-year journey with the chenda

During his five-decade relation with the chenda, Kalamandalam Krishnadas has played a pivotal relation successful redefining the percussive aesthetics of Kathakali. This, however, has not distanced him from his puerility enslaved with Kanyarkali, a people and ritualistic dance-drama performed crossed temples successful his autochthonal eastbound Palakkad.

Krishnadas has been surviving successful Thiruvananthapuram for the past 40 years. The Margi Academy, successful the State capital, employed him soon aft helium completed his grooming successful chenda astatine Kalamandalam successful 1985. Ever since, Krishnadas has been a captious beingness successful the Kathakali circuits — southbound and cardinal belts of Kerala. Recently, helium celebrated his 60th day successful Margi, wherever helium serves arsenic the Principal.

Krishnadas grew up playing the chenda for the night-long Kanyarkali. The Pallassana village, wherever helium hails from is renowned for thayambaka and melam.

His uncle, Pallassana Chandra Mannadiyar (1925-99), a 20th-century Kathakali percussionist, was arsenic adept successful Kanyarkali. In his prime, helium taught Kathakali chenda astatine Kalamandalam, astir the clip his 14-year-old nephew joined arsenic a student. At Kalamandalam, Krishnadas, already acquainted with the basics, trained nether stalwarts specified arsenic Krishnankutty Poduval, Achunni Poduval and Varanasi Madhavan Namboothiri, successful summation to Mannadiyar.  Three months later, during Onam, helium made his Kathakali chenda debut, performing for the invocatory purappad dance.

The rigour astatine Kalamandalam was demanding, yet acold much tolerable compared to Pallassana. “At home, we were woken astatine 3.30 a.m. for chenda exercises. After school, seniors would marque america signifier till midnight,” helium recalls. “At Kalamandalam, we could slumber better. Yet, the dawn-drill was followed by errands.

When helium moved to the elder level, Krishnadas began playing for Kathakali students astatine cholliyattam classrooms, conducted by exponents specified arsenic Ramankutty Nair, Padmanabhan Nair and Gopi. “This intensive grooming helped maine erstwhile I joined Margi arsenic an apprentice. Yet, the Mankulam benignant astatine Margi differed from the Chengannur idiom taught astatine the Kalamandalam’s confederate wing,” helium says.

By the aboriginal 1990s, Krishnadas was reasonably established. He was further mentored by Thiruvananthapuram’s chenda masters specified arsenic Raman Namboothiri and Sadanam Vasudevan. The iconic histrion Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair made Krishnadas a portion of his troupe for lecture-demonstrations, portion Ramankutty Nair and Gopi guided him done finer nuances. As chap percussionist Vellinezhi Anand observes, “Krishnadas is susceptible of conjuring surprises; his outcomes are sometimes unpredictable.”

Krishnadas pre-plans definite rhythmic phrases and rehearses them. “My uncle continues to beryllium my exemplar, but times person changed. The percussive pieces dependable much ornamental; adjacent the chenda’s timbre has altered significantly,” helium says, besides referring to his percussionist daughter, Margi Rahitha. “The founding principles cannot beryllium diluted. I person been the sole chenda subordinate for an full nighttime of Kathakali. You indispensable wield full power implicit the momentum of a scene.”