CHENNAI: Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Poduval, apart from being a maestro of Kathakali percussion chenda, was a selfless guru, a master who was blemishless. As an ode to the doyen, Kalasagar, a school started by Poduval himself, organised ‘Gurusmaranadinam’ on his 22nd death anniversary on Tuesday, at Narada Gana Sabha. The occasion is a yearly affair, in which the living legends in the field of art and culture are recognised, and the significance of Guru-sishya parampara is discussed. This year, the awardees included renowned bharatanatyam dancer C V Chandrasekhar and carnatic musician T V Sankaranarayanan — both recipients of Padma Bhushan in 2011 and 2003 respectively.
The event began with a graceful Mohiniyattam performance by renowned dancer Kalamandalam Maya Vinayan, who translated the devotion to lord Krishna through the traditional Kerala dance. She brought to the fore the story of a devotee called Manjula in whose name now stands a Banyan tree in front of the Guruvayur temple.
Following the performance, the stage saw prominent names like Nalli Kuppusamy Chetty, a connoisseur of music and dance, Narayana Vishwanath, expert committee member of ICCR New Delhi, K Ayyanar, regional officer, ICCR Chennai, and Subburaj, managing director, Sura Books, seated along with the awardees C V Chandrasekhar and P V Sankaranarayanan. Each of the dignitaries spoke about the significance of a guru in one’s life, like how Poduval was to his students. “Earlier, sishyas used to stay at the guru’s place and learn from him. For them, guru was everything. Now, with Ipads and Iphones, a sishya has many gurus.
The concept of guru-sishya parampara has collapsed, and these types of events, which help reminisce the significance of gurus, will help reinvent it,” said Viswanath.
The event ended with a Chakyarkoothu performance, a satirical monologue, by Pothiyil Narayana Chakyar.