The Niranam Poets


The early history of Malayalam literature has its roots in the district through the contributions of the Niranam Poets. While the Manipravala poetry flourished as a diversion from the mainstream, the tradition set up by Cheeraman of Ramacharitham and the more enlightened among the anonymous folk poets was resumed and replenished by three writers commonly referred to as Niranam poets. The Bhakti school was thus revived, and in the place of the excessive sensuality and eroticism of the Manipravala poets, the seriousness of the poetic vocation was reasserted by them. It is believed that they all belonged to the same Kannassa family and that Madhava Panikkar and Sankara Panikkar were the uncles of Rama Panikkar, the youngest of the three. They lived between 1350 and 1450 and made valuable contribution to the Pattu school.

Madhava Panikkar wrote a condensed Malayalam translation of Bhagavad Gita, perhaps the first ever translation of that classic into any modern Indian language. Sankara Panikkar's important work is Bharathamala, a masterly condensation of Mahabharatham, also the first major work of its kind in Malayalam. The greatest of the three is of course Rama Panikkar, the author of Ramayanam, Bharatham, Bhagavatham, and Sivarathri Mahatmyam. Kannassa Ramayanam and Kannassa Bharatham which are the most important of these Niranam works. Rama Panikkar's Ramayanam has an important link among Cheraman's Ramacharitam, Ayyappilli Asan's Ramakadhappattu and Ezhuthachan's Adhyatma Ramayanam. They bear eloquent testimony to the continuing popularity of the Ramayanam story in Kerala. Together constitute the strong bulwark of the Bhakti movement which enabled the Malayalis to withstand and resist the onslaught of foreign cultures. The dravidianization of Aryan mythology and philosophy was their joint achievement, coming in the wake of the heroic effort of Sankaracharaya, who wrote only in Sanskrit.

The native tradition of Malayalam poetry has its most significant watershed in the works of the Niranam poets. Their success led to the gradual replacement of the Manipravala cult of worldliness and sensual reverly by an indigenous poetics of high seriousness. One step forward from the Niranam poets will take us to Cherusseri and his Krishnagadha; two steps together will land us in the company of Kerala's greatest poet, Thunchathu Ezhuthachan. The centrality of Niranam Rama Panikkar is of vital concern to any conscientious literary historian of Malayalam. The subordination of the descriptive and the narrative elements to the controlling theme is a feature of Rama Panikkar's poetic style.

Ulloor has said the Rama Panikkar held the same position in Malayalam literature that Spenser has in English literature. His command over complex rhythms, his attention of sensuous, concrete details, his power of phrasing, and perfect control over mythological material seem to lend support to this view.

A number of acclaimed poets like Pandalam Kerala Varma, Muloor S. Padmanabha Panikkar, puthenkavu Mathan Tharakan, Vennikulam Gopalakurup and K.V. Simon belong to the district. Renowned writers like Dr. K.M. George, Idayaranmula K.M. Varghese, Dr. K.M. Tharakan, Konniyoor Narendranath had their roots in Pathanamthitta district.

V.S. Valiyathan, son of Ramavarma Thampuran of Pandalam, is an acclaimed painter of kerala, who followed the style of Raja Ravi varma. He established an art gallery and studio on the banks of the Achankovil river near Pandalam. Valiyathan's paintings are exhibited in the art galleries in USA, Germany, Switzerland and other foreign countries.

Film personalities like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aranmula Ponnamma, Adoor Bhavani, Adoor Bhasi, Adoor Pankajam, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, M.G. Soman, Mohanlal etc. are the natives of this district.


Padayani

Pathanamthitta is famous for the folk art Padayani.

PadayaniorPadeniin colloquial speech, is one of the most colourful and spectacular folk arts associated with the festivals of certain temples inSouthernKerala(Alappuzha, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam). The word padayani literally means military formations or rows of army, but in this folk art, a series of divine andsemi-divine impersonations wearing huge masks or Kolams of different shapes, colours and designs painted on the stalks of arecanut fronds. The most important of the Kolams usually presented in a padayani performance are 'Bhairavi (Kali), Kolam (God of Death), Yakshi (Fairy), Pakshi (Bird) etc. The Kolam consists primarily of a huge head gear with many projections and devices with a mask for the face or a chest piece for cover the breast and abdomen of the performer.

Padayani probably has its origin in ritual and religion, but today it can be viewed as a folk art with a genuine secular appeal. The whole performance consisting of the dancers or actors who wear the Kolams, the singers who recite a different poem for each Kolam, and the instrumentalists who evoke wild and loud rhythm on their simple drum called thappu and cymbals, etc, takes the form of procession of Kali and her spirits returning after the killing of the Asura chief Darika. The Kolams are traditionally painted by the members of the Ganaka community and the dance is performed usually by Nairs, who in old times had regular physical exercises and eloborate training on the model of Kalarippayattu but without the use of weapons. The influence of Padayani may be clearly seen in the more famous theatrical dance drama of Kerala, viz. Kathakali.


Vasthuvidya Gurukulam

This is a unique institution, functioning for the promotion of Vasthuvidya, the ancient Indian architecture which is a pure and ethnic expression of Indian socio-cultural heritage.

The Vasthuvidya Gurukulam, constituted by the State's Cultural Department, is situated at Aranmula 16 kms.away from Pathanamthitta.The objective of the Gurukulamis the preservation and promotion of vasthuvidya and mural paintings. It also aims at the renovation and conservation of traditional buildings and mural paintings.The gurukulam has been conducting an one year Post Graduate Diploma Course in Vasthuvidya. It also conducts a four month training course in the applicationof principles and practices of Vasthuvidya for the craftsmen belonging to the carpenters community engaged in the building industry. Based on the basic texts of Vasthuvidya four academic courses are conducted here and one of them is approved by Mahatma Gandhi University.

Gurukulam has a very efficient consultancy center which prepare sketches and plans, designs building for those who are interested in building constructions in the traditional architectural patterns.

Mural paintings drawn with natural colours with complex techniques are used and exhibited here. Mural art gallery is designed in such a way as to impart information about these complex art form to the people.