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CVN LINEAGE
In the modern era, Kalarippayat was brought to general public attention during the 1920s in a wave of rediscovery of indigenous arts. This revival was led by Sri. Kottackal Kanaran Gurukkal (1850-1935) who learned from various masters in Malabar and brought together many of the dying practices of kalarippayat and his student, Sri C.V. Narayanan Nair (Chambadan Veedu Narayanan Nair 1905-1944) who was instrumental in bringing the practicing tradition of kalarippayat to the public view by organizing performances outside the kalaries for the first time and by establishing a well-known kalari in the town of Tellicherry in Northern Kerala. |
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Their contemporaries like Sri. T. Sreedharan Nair Gurukkal of Chirakkal and Sri.V. K. Mahdhava Panikkar Gurukkal of Malappuram propagated their own versions of the art contributing to its resurgence. Following Sri. C. V. Narayanan Nair’s untimely death in 1944, his brother, Sri. C .V. Balan Nair continued to propagate the art by forming an organization called CVN Kalari Sangham in Tellicherry in the year 1945 bringing under its umbrella all the teachers of the CV Narayanan Nair lineage. Sri. C.V .Narayanan Nair’s elder son Sri. C.V .Govindankutty Nair continued the activities and they gave public demonstrations in all major cities of India and a private demonstration at the home of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1954, which gave a new life and exposure to the art. The CVN Kalari at Trivandrum, in the capital of Kerala established by Sri. C.V. Govindan Kutty Nair in 1956 was in the forefront of these activities and was instrumental in bringing back the recognition to the dying tradition of Kalarippayat as a classical form of martial training. The centre conducted many public performances all over India and abroad including the first ever performance of kalarippayat outside India in 1980 at the Vth Asian arts Festival at Hongkong. He collaborated with many International scholars, performers and directors including Mr. Peter Brook and Mrs. Aryan Mnushkin of France and Scholars like Mr. Phillip B Zarrilli of USA in finding a new meaning and direction to the art in the field of performance and training of actors and dancers. In 1958 Sri. C. V. Govindankutty Nair organized the first modern association of the Kalaris of Kerala, the Kerala Kalarippayat Association, affiliated to the Kerala Sports council with the help and guidance of late Sri Col Godavarma Raja with goals to set standards of practice and to accredit Kalari Schools. The association also organized annual Kalarippayat Championships providing a common platform for kalaries to come together and standardize their practices. He also established a traditional Kalarichikilsa clinic specializing in treatment of orthopaedic and neuro muscular injuries and diseases using the Marma chikilsa system of Kalarippayat which is serving the public of Trivandrum even today at the CVN Kalari at East Fort.
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