Mani Madhava Chakyar

Mani Madhava Chakyar was a famous Sanskrit scholar and a performance artist. He was considered as the Chakyar Koothu and greatest Koodiyattam. Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar was born in Kozhikode, British India, which is today known as Kerala on February 15th, 1899. He is the founder of the ancient Indian style of acting called Natyasastra and Abhinaya. He used to perform Rasa-Abhinaya with excellent abilities and was also called the Emperor Rasa-Abhinaya. His mother’s name is Savithri, and his father’s name is Vishnu Sarma Vishnu Sarma is a cinematographer and editor who w >> Read More... . He was from the Mani family of the Chakyars. His uncles trained him in Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam, who were the scholars of such forms of art. Mani Madhava was a supremely ranked Sanskrit scholar. He studied many art forms in Sanskrit like Nyaya, Jyotisha, Vyakarana, and Natyasastra. He studied Sanskrit at Balakollashi Sanskrit Pathshala. He first performed Koodiyattam when he was 14 years old. He performed in Malabar at a temple in North Kottayam. He performed Atiyantara Koothus of his family in many temples. His performance included all the rituals of the including Mantranka, Ezhamanka, Mattavilasa Prahasana and many more. Mani Madhava was famous for his artistic performance in many temples some of which include Thirunavaya temple, Temple of Kozhikode, Lokanarkavu Temple, Thali Siva Temple, Kallekkulagara Siva temple and many others. Mani Madhava is especially known for Netrabinaya, which meant enacting sentiments only with eye movements.

He was also a master in the art named Satwika- Abhinaya. Mani titles as the most talented and wonderful theatre actor of the 20th century. Some of his most famous works were the role of Arjuna, Ravana, and Udayana. One of his most acclaimed works was his portrayal of Kailasoddharana and Parvati Viraha. His portrayal was filled with Pakarnnaattam and Netrabhinaya. He is also known for his work in Subhadradhananjayam where he played the role of Slokas. Mani brought out Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam from the Hindu temples and presented it to the world. He performed Chakyar Koothu on All India Radio in 1949, which was the first time the art of the Mani family was performed outside Koothambalam. In 1962, Mani was invited by the Sanskrit Ranga of Madras to perform Kutiyattam in Chennai, which was the first time when the art of his family was performed outside Kerala. After that, Mani performed Kudiyattam all over India. He performed with in troops in parts of Madras, New Delhi, Mathura, Varanasi and many other places. He even performed Kutiyattam at Rashtrapati Bhavan in 1964.

He also choreographed and directed acts of some plays like Kalidasa’s Malavikagnimitra and Abhijnanasakuntala. He even performed Koodiyattam on Doordarshan. He was awarded the sacred and prestigious Veerashringhala from the Taliparamba Rajarajeshwara Temple in 1923. He is the youngest one to receive this award. He also received Vīrasringhalas from Urpassikkavu of Thalassery and His Holiness Jagadguru Shri Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. He was honoured by Kadathanadu Valiya Thampuran with the title Natyacharya in 1930. Some of his other achievements are Kerala Sahitya Academy Award in 1975, Padma Shri in1974, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1964, Government of India Emeritus Fellowship in 1982. He got married to P.K Kunjimalu, daughter of one of his uncles. He died on 14th January 1990, at the age of 90 due to natural causes.