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{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Kunchan Nambiar
| native_name = കുഞ്ചൻ നമ്പ്യാർ
| image = Kunchan memorial Ambalappuzha.JPG
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| caption = Kunchan Memorial in [[Ambalappuzha]]
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| birth_date = 1705
| birth_place = [[Palakkad]], [[Kerala]], India
| death_date = 1770
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| occupation = Poet, dietinv performer, satirist
| language = Malayalam
| nationality = Indian
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'''Kalakkathu Kunchan Nambiar''' ({{lang-ml|കുഞ്ചൻ നമ്പ്യാർ|translit=kuñcan Nambiār|translit-std=ISO}}) was an early [[Malayalam]] poet, performer, satirist and the inventor of local art form of [[Ottamthullal]]. Along with [[Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan]] and [[Cherusseri Namboothiri]], Nambiar completes the [[Malayalam triumvirate poets|ancient triumvirate]] of Malayalam poetry. He is considered by many as the master of Malayalam satirist poetry.

== Biography ==
[[File:Kalakkathu Bhavanam - House of Kunchan Nambiar.jpg|thumb|left|Kalakkathu Bhavanam: The house where Nambiar is believed to have been born]]
Nambiar is believed to have been born on May 5, 1705<ref name="Kunchan Smarakam Fort Palakkad - Kunchan Nambiar Smarakam Fort Palghat Kerala India">{{Cite web |url=http://www.kerala-tourism.org/forts-of-kerala/kunchan-smarakam-fort.html |title=Kunchan Smarakam Fort Palakkad - Kunchan Nambiar Smarakam Fort Palghat Kerala India |date=2019-03-02 |website=www.kerala-tourism.org |access-date=2019-03-02}}</ref> at ''Kalakathu Veedu'' at [[Killikkurussimangalam]] in [[Palakkad district]] of the south Indian state of [[Kerala]]; only unconfirmed reports are available about his parents, which state that he was born to a [[Namboothiri]] of ''Kidanganoor Kallampally Illam'' and his mother was a [[Nangiar]].<ref name="Major poets of Malayalam Literature">{{Cite web |url=http://www.keralaculture.org/ |title=Major poets of Malayalam Literature |date=2019-03-02 |website=www.keralaculture.org |language=en |access-date=2019-03-02}}</ref> He spent his early childhood at [[Killikkurussimangalam]], his boyhood at Kudamalur and youth at [[Ambalappuzha]], and learnt [[Kalari Payattu]] and [[Sanskrit]] from such masters as Mathoor Panickar, Dronaballi Naicker and Nannikod Unni Ravi Kurup, before moving to the court of [[Marthanda Varma]] of [[Travancore]] in 1748; later, he served at the court of his successor [[Dharma Raja]].<ref name="Kunchan Nambiar (1705-1770)">{{Cite web |url=http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/prd2/mala/lit21.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060323102704/http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/prd2/mala/lit21.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2006-03-23 |title=prd-Kunchan Nambiar (1705-1770) |date=2006-03-23 |publisher=Department of Public Relations, Government of Kerala |access-date=2019-03-02}}</ref> By the time he reached the royal court, he had already established himself as a poet.{{Refn|group=note|[[Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer]] propounded a theory that Kunchan Nambiar and [[Sanskrit]] poet, Rama Pānivāda, were the same person ("Pānivāda" means "Nambiar" in [[Sanskrit]]), but the argument has not been popularly accepted.<ref name="കുഞ്ചന്‍ നമ്പ്യാര്‍ - മലയാളത്തിന്‍റെ ഹാസ്യസാമ്രാട്ട്">{{Cite web |url=https://www.madhyamam.com/literature/literature-articles/kunjan-nambiar/2017/may/05/261431 |title=കുഞ്ചന്‍ നമ്പ്യാര്‍ - മലയാളത്തിന്‍റെ ഹാസ്യസാമ്രാട്ട് |date=2019-03-02 |website=Madhyamam |access-date=2019-03-02}}</ref>}} Towards the later part of his life, it is believed that Nambiar returned to Ambalapuzha where he died in 1770, at the age of 65, reportedly due to [[rabies]].<ref name="കുഞ്ചന്‍ നമ്പ്യാര്‍ - മലയാളത്തിന്‍റെ ഹാസ്യസാമ്രാട്ട്" />

==100% Literacy career==
{{quotebox|align = right|width=22em|Many of Nambiar's verses have transformed into proverbs in Malayalam.
1. ചെറുപ്പ കാലങ്ങളിലുള്ള ശീലം മറക്കുമോ മാനുഷനുള്ള കാലം (''cherupa kalangalillulla sheelam marakhumo maanushanulla kalam'')
:Translation: How can a man forget habits that he acquired at his young age?
:Closest English equivalent: Old habits die hard
2. ദീപസ്തംഭം മഹാശ്ചര്യം, നമുക്കും കിട്ടണം പണം (''dīpastaṃbhaṃ mahāścaryaṃ namukkuṃ kiṭṭaṇaṃ paṇaṃ'')
:Translation: Your ''Deepa-Stambham'' (A kind of multi-layered oil lamp) is magnificent, and we too want our share of money.
:Closest English equivalent: When it is a question of money, everyone is of the same religion.
3. മുല്ലപ്പൂമ്പൊടി ഏറ്റു കിടക്കും കല്ലിനും ഉണ്ടാം ഒരു സൗരഭ്യം (''mullappūmpoṭi ēṯṯu kiṭakkuṃ kallinuṃ uṇṭāṃ oru saurabhyaṃ'')
:Translation: The stone where the pollen of the jasmine flower falls acquires its fragrance.
}}
[[File:Mizhavu of Kunchan Nambiar.jpg|thumb|left|Mizhavu used by Kunchan Nambiar at Ambalapuzha Sri Krishna temple]]
Kunchan Nambiar is considered by many as the master of Malayalam satirist poetry<ref name="Kunchan Nambiar memorial in Ambalappuzha gets facelift - Times of India">{{Cite web |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Kunchan-Nambiar-memorial-in-Ambalappuzha-gets-facelift/articleshow/22128335.cms |title=Kunchan Nambiar memorial in Ambalappuzha gets facelift - Times of India |website=The Times of India |access-date=2019-03-02}}</ref> and is credited with the popularisation of a performing art known as [[Ottan Thullal]].<ref name="Ottanthullal - Dance Forms in Kerala">{{Cite web |url=https://www.kerala.me/specialities/dances/ottanthullal |title=Ottanthullal - Dance Forms in Kerala |date=2019-03-02 |website=kerala.me |language=en-US |access-date=2019-03-02}}</ref> The word, ''thullal'', means 'dance/jumping', but under this name Nambiar developed a new style of verse narration, interspersed with occasional background music and dance-like swaying movements. Popular belief is that Nambiar devised this art form for avenging the ridicule he had to suffer from a [[Chakkiyar Koothu]] performer who chastised Nambiar when he dozed of while accompanying the koothu performance on [[Mizhavu]].<ref name="Kunchan Nambiar - Veethi profile">{{Cite web |url=https://www.veethi.com/india-people/kunchan_nambiar-profile-2254-25.htm |title=Kunchan Nambiar - Veethi profile |date=2019-03-02 |website=veethi.com |access-date=2019-03-02}}</ref> He used pure Malayalam<ref name="Thullal and Aattakkatha">{{Cite web |url=http://www.keralaculture.org/ |title=Thullal and Aattakkatha |date=2019-03-02 |website=keralaculture.org |language=en |access-date=2019-03-02}}</ref> as opposed to the stylised and [[Sanskrit]]ized Malayalam language of Chakyar Koothu, and adopted many elements from [[Padayani]] and [[Kolam Thullal|Kolam Tullal]] as well as some of the other local folk arts. There are three kinds of Tullal distinguished on the basis of the performer's costume and the style of rendering, viz., ''Ottan'', ''Seethankan'' and ''Parayan''. [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] [[Metre (poetry)|metres]] are used throughout although there is a quatrain in a [[Sanskrit]] metre. Kunchan Nambiar is known to have written 64 thullal stories.<ref name="The dramatic language of Ottanthullal">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/dance/The-dramatic-language-of-Ottanthullal/article16083266.ece |title=The dramatic language of Ottanthullal |last=Srikanth |first=Rupa |date=2016-10-27 |website=The Hindu |language=en-IN |access-date=2019-03-02}}</ref> He also developed new metres (for example; ''Vaytari metres'') based on the vocal notation for various talas. The language is predominantly [[Malayalam]] with a large admixture of colloquial and dialectal forms.<ref>Biographicon, 'Kalakkaththu Kunchan Nambiar'</ref>

== Honours ==
The Government of Kerala observes Nambiar's birthday, May 5, as ''Kunchan Day''.<ref name="Kunjan Nambiar Memorial Society, Ambalappuzha & Killikurissi Mangalam">{{Cite web |url=http://www.keralaculture.org/ |title=Kunjan Nambiar Memorial Society, Ambalappuzha & Killikurissi Mangalam |date=2019-03-02 |website=www.keralaculture.org |language=en |access-date=2019-03-02}}</ref> A society, ''Kunjan Nambiar Memorial Society'', has been established by the government overseas the management of various memorials which include ''Kunjan Nambiar Memorial'' in Ambalappuzha,<ref name="Kunchan Nambiar memorial in Ambalappuzha gets facelift - Times of India" /> ''Kalakathu Bhavanam'', Nambiar's house in Killikkurussimangalam,<ref name="The Kunchan Nambiar Smarakam, Killikkurissimangalam, Palakkad">{{Cite web |url=https://www.keralatourism.org/kerala-article/kunchan-nambiar-smarakam-lakkidi/119 |title=The Kunchan Nambiar Smarakam, Killikkurissimangalam, Palakkad |date=2019-03-02 |website=Kerala Tourism |language=en |access-date=2019-03-02}}</ref> ''Kunchan Memorial Library'', ''Kunchan Memorial Arts Society'', and ''Kunchan Memorial Society''.<ref name="Kunjan Nambiar Memorial Society, Ambalappuzha & Killikurissi Mangalam" /> ''Kunchan Smarakam Fort'' is a fort built by the state government in honour of the poet and the monument houses an institution which promotes teaching of satirist art forms.<ref name="Kunchan Smarakam Fort Palakkad - Kunchan Nambiar Smarakam Fort Palghat Kerala India" />

Kunchan Nambiar's body of work is composed of at least 21 Otttan, 11 Seethankan and 9 Parayan compositions.<ref name="Kunchan Nambiar (1705-1770)" /> The most important of Nambiar's Thullals are: ''Syamanthakam'', ''Ghoshayathra'', ''Kiratham'', ''Santhanagopalam'', ''Patracharitham'', ''Karthaveeryarjunavijayam'', ''Bakavadham'', ''Kalyana Saugandhikam'', ''Hariniswayamvaram'', ''Thripuradahanam'' and ''Sabha Pravesham''. Nambiar was critical of the social evils he saw around him and incorporated his satirical views in his compositions even when the main story is from the [[Hindu]] [[Purana]]s; he would introduce digressions and use such occasions to comment on society.<ref name="Kunchan Nambiar (1705-1770)" />

== Extracts from Kunchan Nambiar's poems/writings ==
[[File:Ambalappuzha Temple.JPG|thumb|235px|[[Ambalappuzha Sri Krishna Temple]], the place where Nambiar is believed to have performed [[Ottan Thullal]] for the first time. ]]
*[[Ravana]] is speaking to [[Narada]] about his own prowess (Kartavirarjuna Vijayam):
The kingdom of the Gandharaka ruler
Has turned into a mere desert.
The land of the Simhala King
Is now filled with lions and leopards.
The lord of the Chera people
Feeds himself on cheap vegetables.
The Chola King has nothing to eat
Except the maize of low quality
The kings of the Kuru house
Have nothing but jackfruit seeds.
The lord of the land of Kashmir
Is busy eating cucumbers.
The ruler of the Champeya land
Eats only tubers and broken rice.
The Konkan prince is about to die
Thinking of his wives' breasts.

*Another passage from the same work:
Tributes must be paid from time to time;
Half the yield should be given to me.
The whole of pepper yield should be handed over
Coconut, arecanut, mango, jackfruit:
All the trees should be confiscated.
There will be no place in my country
For the pomp of local barons.
Double the seed crop should be given
To me by houseowner.
The Tamil Brahmins (Pattars) staying here
Should also give one fourth to me.
The Nayars who stay at home
Should take their bows and spears
And stay at the residence of Ravana
And do whatever chores are assigned.
Nayars who drink toddy
Would be beaten up, beware!

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Kunchan Nambiar}}
*[http://www.jaimalayalam.com/malaindex.htm Two poems by Nambiar (scroll down to "Poetry Section #1")]
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060323102704/http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/prd2/mala/lit21.htm |date=23 March 2006 |title=Kerala Government site on Kunchan Nambiar }}
*{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1DQR7x_OW8 |title=Kunchan Nambiar Biography |last=Terms UP Malayalam |date=2015-11-17 |access-date=2019-03-02}}

{{Triumvirates of Malayalam poetry}}
{{Malayalam Literature |state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nambiar, Kalakkaththu Kunchan}}
[[Category:Theatre in India]]
[[Category:Malayalam-language writers]]
[[Category:Poets from Kerala]]
[[Category:1705 births]]
[[Category:1770 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:People from Palakkad district]]

Kunchan Nambiar - Revision history

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2401:4900:266C:CC53:0:6D:654F:901: This is the best giving answer