Vallathol Narayana Menon

One man is remembered as one of Kerala‘s three great modern poets. He is also remembered as the man who saved Kathakali from dying out.

Poet and Preservationist

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1878

Born in Tirur, Malabar

Present-day Malappuram district, Kerala

1913

Earns the title “Mahakavi”

After his epic poem Chitrayogam

1930

Founds Kerala Kalamandalam

Revives Kathakali, in Cheruthuruthy

1954

Receives the Padma Bhushan

Dies four years later, in 1958

Two legacies, one man: Vallathol is one of the “Kavitrayam” trio of modern Malayalam poetry — and the founder who saved Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, and Kudiyattam from near-extinction.

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Timeline

• 16 October 1878: Born in Mangalam, Tirur, in present-day Malappuram district, Kerala.
• November 1901: Marries Vanneri Chittazhiveettil Madhavi Amma, and moves to Thrissur.
• 1913: Earns the honorific “Mahakavi” (great poet), after his epic Chitrayogam.
• 1930: Founds the Kerala Kalamandalam, in Cheruthuruthy, Thrissur district.
• 1954: Receives the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour.
• 13 March 1958: Dies, aged 79.

Must Know

• Vallathol Narayana Menon (1878-1958) was a Malayalam poet and cultural revivalist.
• He is one of the “Kavitrayam”, the trio of modern Malayalam poetry’s founding figures. The other two are Kumaran Asan and Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer.
• He earned the honorific “Mahakavi” (great poet) in 1913, after his Mahakavya Chitrayogam.
• In 1930, he founded the Kerala Kalamandalam, in Cheruthuruthy, Thrissur district.
• The Kalamandalam revived Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, and Kudiyattam, all near extinction at the time.
• He received the Padma Bhushan in 1954, India’s third-highest civilian honour.

Good to Know

• He married Vanneri Chittazhiveettil Madhavi Amma in November 1901, and moved to Thrissur.
• His major works include Bandhanasthanaya Anirudhan (1914) and the eleven-volume Sahitya Manjari, begun in 1917.
• He also wrote narrative poems like Magdalena Mariyam (1921) and Kochu Sita (1928).
• He wrote a series of nationalist poems, supporting India’s freedom movement.
• See ArtnCulture0099 — Kathakali: The Dance-Drama of Kerala, and ArtnCulture0098 — Mohiniyattam, for the art forms his institution revived.

Test Yourself

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1. In which year did Vallathol Narayana Menon found the Kerala Kalamandalam, in Cheruthuruthy, Thrissur district?

1913

1922

1930

1954

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Great to Know

• Vallathol brought Kathakali artists from Olappamana Mana to teach at the new Kalamandalam. That family had patronised the art for around 300 years.
• Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, and Kudiyattam were all in decline by the early 20th century, overshadowed by newer forms of entertainment.
• His dual legacy is unusual. He is remembered equally as a major poet, and as an institution-builder who physically saved endangered art forms.
• Most classical-dance histories credit a single founding figure. Vallathol is unusual in having revived three distinct art forms through one institution, not just one.