CONDOLENCE RESOLUTION

Sangeet Natak Akademi and its associate bodies deeply mourn the sad demise of the Guru Ammannur Madhava Chakyar, the illustrious Kutiyattam maestro on 1 July 2008. Aged 91, he breathed his last at his home and gurukulam in Irinjalakuda, Kerala.

Born in 1917 in Irinjalakuda, ammannur Madhava Chakyar hailed from a family of Chakyars - the traditional performers of Koothu and Kutiyattam, Kerala's Sanskrit theatre. He recieved training from his uncles Ammannar Chachu Chakyar, Madhava Chakyar, and from Bhagavatar Kunjunni Thampuran of the Kodungallur Kovilakam.

Guru Ammannur Madhava Chakyar made a significant contribution to the art of Kutiyattam both as an actor and teacher. He was a master of all the major roles and also prepared attaprakarams or actor's manuals for some acts and plays which were lost to contemporary Kutiyattam. He taught at Kerala Kalamandalam, Cheruthuruthy, and at Margi, Thiruvananthapuram, and subsequently set up the Ammannur Chachu Chakyar Smaraka Gurukulam at Irinjalakuda.

Sangeet Natak Akademi's project aimed at the preservation of Kutiyattam, launched in 1991 was developed around him as the main guru. His creative leadership under the Akademi's National Project on Kuttiyattam finally led to Unesco recognizing this ancient art as a Masterpiece of the Oral and intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001. Guru Ammannur's work led to the setting up of the Kutiyattam Kendra, the Akademi's National Centre for Kutiyatam, in Thiruvananthapuram in 2007.

During his lifetime, the venerable Chakyar received many honours including the Award of Sangeet Natak Akademi (1979), the Padma Shri (1982), the Kalidas Samman (1992), the Fellowship of Sangeet Natak Akademi (1996), and the Padma Bhushan (2003).

With the passing away of Guru Ammannur Madhava Chakyar, the world of performing art has lost a great master.

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