THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kavalam Narayana Panicker, the theatre doyen who passed away at Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, produced works which transcended the barriers of language and culture and gave a new direction to the Indian drama, commented veteran theatre artist D Raghuthaman.
“At a time when our theatre needed infusion of fresh ideas, it was the likes of Kavalam and C N Sreekantan Nair who ushered in a modern face to the theatre here,” said Raghuthaman reminiscing the dramatist. “In the 1970s, we were borrowing heavily from western drama, but Kavalam made plays that were true to our roots,” he said.
Raghuthaman said that Kavalam’s work managed to show Indian culture in a new light to the world. Raghuthaman remembered Kavalam as a friend who was always on call despite having their fair share of differences of opinion.
“We had our differences when it came to nuances of the trade. But I always loved associating with him and we shared a great friendship. I was there for his birthday celebrations and had visited the rehearsals of his latest production ‘Shakuntalam’ featuring Manju Warrier,” Raghuthaman said.