A maestro rewinds

It is like that scene in the old Malayalam film Sargam. The hero’s dad, a great musician, teaches many in the village, but he is not aware his son could sing. One day, after another of his regular rebukes to do something useful, the son sings four lines of a prayer at a temple so beautifully that the dad has tears in his eyes. Kathakali musician Pathiyoor Krishna Pillai must have had the same feeling when one day he saw his young son Sankarankutty sing, sitting among his students. That was the beginning. Years ago. Today, Pathiyoor Sankaran Kutty is one of the most known Kathakali musicians, and many accolades later, he is going to be felicitated at his birthplace Evoor on August 26, 27.

“He didn’t know I could sing. I had gone to learn Kathakali vesham (dance) for a couple of years when I was in school, but realised it didn’t suit me. One day when dad was not there, I sat with two of his students and sang. That’s when he knew,” Sankarankutty says. His dad also didn’t want him to discontinue his college studies for music, but he was persistent. So young Sankaran was taken to the RLV College of Music for his Ganabooshanam. After that he went to the Kalamandalam to learn Kathakali music.

“Even during college, I used to go to sing for Kathakali performances. It is during one such instance that I met Kathakali singer Kalamandalam Hyderali Asan at a temple in Kollam, which changed my life. It is because of him that I became a Kathakali musician,” Sankarankutty says. He had at first been the third singer, then the second. “If Kalamandalam Gopi performed, there would be Hyderali, and if Hyderali was there, there would be me.” Later when he became the main singer, Gopi Asan would ask for him. “Pathiyoor mathi (It has to be Pathiyoor)!” he’d say.

Hyderali, Kalamandalam Sankaran Embranthiri and Venmony Haridas are known to have brought a Carnatic touch to Kathakali music, which Pathiyoor followed. “But too much of it because then the expression will be lost. And you can’t bring a lot of change - the ragam, thalam have all been written before.”

Pathiyoor is of the opinion that the art of Kathakali has not become less popular from the old days. “These days it is gaining a new importance, with lots of stages. There are programmes put up by associations at temples and clubs. The media too encourage the art form a lot, especially the internet media. There is now no off season in Kathakali!” he laughs. “There are lots of promising young talents. I can say nothing will happen to Kathakali music.”