THRISSUR: When it comes to Chavittu Nadakam, Anirudhan N (62) and his family members are in high demand during the time of Youth Festival. Hailing from Gothuruth, Ernakulam, which is believed to be the birthplace of the Latin Christian classical art form, the family has made a rich contribution to this dance-drama.Chavittu Nadakam was introduced at the youth festival in 2012, when it started fading out as an art. Only a few showed interest in participating it at the beginning, but more schools followed suit, thanks to Anirudhan and his family, who thus gave it a new lease of life. Four generations of his family are now into it and they teach aspirants across the state its nuances.
They have their own family troupe called Ammanchery Natrajan Memorial Chavittu Nadaka Sangham. His father K K Natrajan was a member of the Gothuruth Yuvajana Samithi, a troupe which performed Chavittu Nadakam on the first Republic Day function, after travelling to Delhi in a ship for 30 days. Anirudhan said he started learning Chavittu Nadakam from exponents Ambalathi Houso Joseph, Kokanthara Paulose, Padmatumal Joseph and E C Jospeh at a young age.
He passed it on to nearly 200 students until last year and has 90 wards at present. Chavittu Nadakam was mainly performed by male artists, but Anirudhan changed that perception too, by introducing an all-woman team. The folklore academy honoured him in 2009 for his contributions.