Chowallur Krishnankutty

Biography

Chowallur Krishnankutty, known intimately as Chowallur by the name of his village, was born on July 11, 1936 at Chowallur Warriam. He is the son of Parukkutty Warrasyar of Chowallur Warriam and Sankunny Warrier of Kodungalloor Kavil Warriam. Sankunny Warrier was a teacher and headmaster in various schools. Chowallur village is situated near the famous temple town of Guruvayur in Thrissur district of Kerala. His grandfather Sreekumaran Namboothiri of the ancient Mazhuvannoor Mana was the trustee of Chowallur Siva Temple, bringing to the Chowallur Warriam ancestral and hereditary rights to serve the temple. The hereditary rights to serve Guruvayur temple was bestowed on Chowallur Warriam by the Zamorin (Samoothiri) of Kozhikode.

Chowallur completed his school education at Iringappuram Makkunni Memorial School and Mattom St. Francis High school. Thereafter he joined Sree Keralavarma College, Thrissur. This was a turning point in Chowallur’s life. The enriching interactions with young Namboothiri friends who were true connoisseurs of temple arts uplifted Chowallur’s artistic interest considerably. It was during this period that he was able to spend time under the artistic tutelage of legendary stalwarts such as Premji (Mullamangalath Parameshwaran Bhattathiripad) and MRB (Mullamangalath Raman BhattathiripadBhattathiripad).

Early Years

Chowallur’s career as a journalist began in Trichur in 1959 as a sub-editor at Navajeevan, the daily newspaper published under the chief editorship of renowned literary critic and political leader Joseph Mundasseri, who was the Education Minister in the Government led by EMS Namboothiripad.

His interest in arts and literature began blooming during this time while continuing the familial services to the Chowallur and Guruvayur temples. The Guruvayur Arts Club, of which he was one of the founding members, was a pioneer in stage plays which saw accomplished artists like KPAC Lalitha join the artistic hub and perform.

In the early 1960s, Chowallur did research in Folk Arts In Kerala with a scholarship from the Central Government’s Department of Education. Later he submitted the work under the supervision of Dr. K N Pisharody, Chairman of Kerala Kalamandalam and Kavalam Narayana Panicker, the well-known folk theatrist, playwright and poet, who was then the Secretary of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy.

Chowallur moved to Guruvayur in 1963 as the Editor of Swathanthramandapam, the first evening daily from the town. Later he joined All India Radio, Kozhikode, working as a Staff Artist for two years under the well-known writer P C Kuttikrishnan (‘Uroob’). Kozhikode those days was the hub of famous writers, theater personalities, artists and movie makers and Chowallur Krishnankutty had the opportunity to be with them and among them, which helped develop his writing and other artistic skills.

With Malayala Manorama

When Malayala Manorama, the frontline Malayalam newspaper, opened its Kozhikode unit in 1966, Chowallur Krishnankutty joined its Editorial Board as a Sub-Editor. He spent his longest journalistic career – 38 years – with Manorama as its Sub Editor, News Desk Chief, Opinion/Leader page Editor and Assistant Editor in the Kozhikode and Kochi units before retiring in 2004. Chowallur did most of his literary and other artistic works during this period.

He reported the major Guruvayoor temple fire accident in 1970, depicting the drama, the fear among the people and the destruction it caused. Chowallur interviewed a number of political leaders and celebrities of the time. Particularly noteworthy among them included his interviews with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the superstar Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu M G Ramachandran and later Jayalalitha, and Shivaji Ganeshan, the legendary actor. The way he picked up questions to bring the best out of these celebrities and the timely touch of humor made these interviews immensely popular.

‘Mayam Marimayam, ’ the column Chowallur wrote, and the series of satirical articles under the pen names Acharyan and Vinodan, enjoyed a big fan following among readers. Some of them were later published as books of collected works.

Associations

By the time Chowallur Krishnankutty bid farewell to his newsroom career, he had become well-known across Kerala and the Malayali population in various parts of the world as the writer of thousands of devotional songs.

Chowallur held various illustrious positions such as member of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi and the Kerala Sahithya Akademi. Chowallur served as the Vice-Chairman of Kerala Kalamandalam, the State Government’s Academy of Fine Arts during two separate four-year terms. While holding the position of Vice-Chairman of Kalamandalam, Chowallur toured the United Kingdom along with a Kathakali troupe of celebrity performers.

He served in the editorial board of ‘Bhakthapriya,’ a Guruvayur Devaswom publication from its inception. He was also a member of the editorial boards of Sree Guruvayurappn Masika, published by Guruvayurappn Sankeertana Trust, as well as various publications such as Nostagia Lifestyle magazine etc.

The Silver Screen

Chowallur Krishnankutty established a long association with the Malayalam movie industry as a scenarist, story and dialogue writer, lyricist and actor.

Chowallur ‘s first film as a story, screenplay and dialogues writer was ‘Prabhatha Sandhya,’ the 1979 movie produced by the veteran actor Madhu and directed by P. Chandrakumar. The base story for another hit film ‘Oru Katha, Oru Nunakatha’ was penned by Chowallur Krishnankutty. He wrote the dialogues for Director Hariharan’s famous musical film ‘Sargam’ in 1992.

Thereafter he wrote stories / screenplaysstory for popular Malayalam movies like ‘Sreeragam,’ ‘Chaithanyam’, ‘Narayam’ and ‘Sashinas.’ He wrote many film songs, including the super hit ‘Swapnadanam Njan Thudarunnu’ sung by S. Janaki and composed by the iconic Salil Chowdhury for the film ‘Thulavarsham’ in 1976.

He acted in some of the hugely popular films like Maram, Nellu, Srishti, Shalini Ente Koottukari etc and was close to several major league directors including the famous Ramu Kariatt, P. Bhaskaran, Madhu, Hariharan etc.

On the Air

Chowallur wrote many radio dramas for All India Radio (AIR) and as a Grade A artist of AIR, performed roles in many of them. When All India Radio broadcast the drama ‘Indulekha’, Chowallur played Soori Namboothirippad, one of the most important characters in the renowned novel by O. Chandu Menon.

He wrote and directed documentaries for Kalamandalam on the lives of veteran Kathakali artistes Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, Chambakkulam Pachu Pillai, Kavungal Chathunny Panicker, Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair and Kudamaloor Karunakaran Nair as well as renowned Mohiniyattam artist Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma.

He also scripted a documentary for Dooradarshan Thiruvananthapuram on the pious life of the legendary Carnatic musician Chembai Vaidyanadha Bhagavathar.

A Man of Letters

Chowallur published 27 books in various genres including poetry, novels, short stories, translations, satires and humor pieces during the course of his literary career.

At a young age, he was awarded a gold medal for poetry at the annual conclave of the Kerala Sahithya Sahakarana Sangham. He gradually expanded his literary interest and prowess to short stories and novels. Chowallur discovered his stamp and signature in humour, as a genre, which became a centerpiece of many of his literary works.

He has authored many plays which have been staged in several venues across Kerala. He was a regular contributor of news articles in Malayala Manorma including the Leader Page through which he introduced to the readers of Kerala very distinctive vantages about traditional art forms as well as the artists. He regularly featured through poems and articles in various prominent magazines such as Mathrubhoomi, Bhashaposhini and was able to move from one genre to the other with ease.

He was awarded the Best Professional Drama Music Lyricist by the Kerala State Government for the play ‘Agraharam.’ He was also awarded the Kerala State Sahithya Akademi award for Literature for his book “Ezuthanukaranam Anurananangalum”.

Those unforgettable songs

Beyond his large canvas of literary and artistic contributions, Chowallur Krishnankutty penned several devotional songs, particularly those in praise of Lord Krishna of Guruvayur. Simple and deeply touching, the songs captivated millions of Malayalees emotionally in their daily lives.

In his journey as a lyricist, Chowallur penned around 3500 songs across genres; many of them devotional. Most of his famous songs were sung by the legendary ‘Gaana Gandharvan’ K J Yesudas, and ‘Bhava Gaayakan’ P Jayachandran with inimitably-resonating voice, depth and ‘bhava’ that enhanced the brimming ‘bhakthi’ mood in them. All the famous singers, including P. Leela, KS Chithra, Sujatha, MG Sreekumar, G. Venugopal, Unni Menon, Madhu Balakrishnan, Biju Narayanan, P Unnikrishnan, Jayashree, Sindhu Premkumar, Sukumari Narendra Menon etc, have given their voices to Chowallur Krishnankutty’s lines.

Several of Chowallur’s devotional hits were composed by the famous music director T S Radhakrishnan, including the most popular of them all, ‘Oru neramenkilum kaanaathe vayyente’ by K J Yesudas.

Eminent music directors such as veteran Carnatic maestro V. Dakshinamoorthy, K. Raghavan, Jayan (of JayaVijaya), M. Jayachandran, Sharath, Sambath Sivan, AT Ummer, Perumbavoor G. Ravindranath, Gangai Amaran, Vadakara U. Jayan Master, Vidhyadharan Master, Prasanna Warrier, Tej, K M Udhayan, M G Anil, Guruvayur G. Sreekrishnan, Mohandas Kozhikode, Kanjangad Ramachandran, Alex Paul, Bernie Ignatious, Jerry Amaldev and P. Keshavan Namboothiri have composed his songs

A festival of friendships

Chowallur’s circle of friends and acquaintances was very wide and rich, consisting of writers, poets, musicians, artists from different segments, percussionists, members of Kerala Kalamandalam and politicians of varied parties and ideologies. He held them all close to his heart all through his life.

Thiruvenkitam Chandrettan, A. Venugopalan of Narayanalayam, Koladi Govindankutty, P.T. Mohanakrishnan, K.P. Karunakaran, former deputy administrator of Guruvayoor Devaswom, Elayidam Sankaran Namboothiri of Jayashree, Guruswami, M. Unnikrishnan (Kundamkulam), Kalamandalam Gopi Asan, Kalamandalam Geethanandan, P. Lakshmana Pai (Subbhudu), P.V. Sekharankutty and Seetharam Swami are few among his favourites.

Chowallur considered several persons as his gurus and he was proud to stay close to all of them. Some of these prominent personalities are K.R. Chummar of Malayala Manorama, T.K.G. Nair, Akkitham, P.C. Kuttikrishnan (Uroob), Premji, MRB, Kovilan, VKN, M.T. Vasudevan Nair, N.V. Krishna Warrier, Thikkodiyan, V.Dakshinamoorthy Swami, K. Raghavan master, M.K. Arjunan master, Vidyadharan master and Kavalam Narayana Panicker.

In Malayala Manorama, the newspaper where he spent more than three decades, Chowallur kept his friendships and associations warm and joyful. He was close to the families of K. M. Mathew sir, Mammen Mathew sir, Philip Mathew sir and Jacob Mathew sir, and was very grateful to all of them. He was very attached to his colleagues, especially Thomas Jacob, K. Abubacker, Kadavanad Kuttikrishnan, P.P. Mathew, Mathews Varghese, M. Aravindakshan, K. Aravindan, K.J. James, T. Narayanan, P. Damodaran, Mathew Manimala, Joy Sasthampadikkal and P. Aravindakshan and many more.

Ramu Kariat, Sobhana Parameshwaran Nair, Madhu, Hariharan, KPAC Lalitha, Innocent, Sathyan Anthikkad, P. Chandrakumar, Nedumudi Venu, K.L. Mohana Varma, C. Radhakrishnan, K.J. Yesudas, Sujatha, K.S. Chithra, P. Leela. P. Jayachandran. T. S.Radhakrishnan, M. Jayachandran, Kavalam Sreekumar, Radhika Thilak, Madhu Balakrishnan, Biju Narayanan, G. Venugopal, Jayasree Rajiv, Sindhu Premkumar, Kottakkal Madhu and several other well-acclaimed personalities from the movie industry were dear to him.
Chowallur considered as his own, percussion masters like Pallavoor brothers, Kadavallur Aravindakshan, Edappal Appunni, Thrithala Kesava Poduval, Mattannoor Sankarankutty Marar, Kallekkulangara Achuthankutty Marar, Peruvanam Kuttan Marar and Kalloor Ramankutty Marar.

He was very close to Kuttimman (P.K. Warrier, Managing Trustee of Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala) and others in Kailasa Mandiram. For him, a visit to Kailasa Mandiram was like coming home. He was also closely associated with Coimbatore Arya Vaidya Sala and Madhura Arya Vaidyalayam. Chowallur was like one of their own for the families of the Thantri of Guruvayoor, Othikkan and other priests of the temple. Traditional servers of the temple (Paththu Pravriththikkar) and other caretakers, and officials of the Devaswom were also part of his friends’ circle.

The person he held close to his heart, after Chowallur Siva and Guruvayoorappan, was Thirunamacharyan Anjam Madhavan Namboothiri of Guruvayoor Narayanalayam. He was also deeply attached to Anjam Krishnan Namboothiri and other members of Narayanalayam where Chowallur was revered by all. Anjam Thirumeni insisted on his presence and involvement in each and every activity in Narayanalayam. Chowallur maintained a warm friendship with Nalleppalli Sanmayananda Swami, a disciple of Thirunamacharyan, who became the Head of Narayanalayam later.