In 1988, I had just been appointed the Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and had finished chairing the first meeting of my Governing Council, when I was approached by a frail figure, grey-haired and bearded, clad, if I remember correctly, in saffron. He introduced himself as Appukuttan Nair, a name I recognized immediately as that of a scholar of Kerala performing arts.
‘If nothing is done immediately, Kutiya-ttam will die,’ he said, in a voice which imme-diately grabbed my attention, since it had a note of genuine panic very different from the usual wheedling tone of the fund-seekers. ‘The last Guru, Ammanur Madhava Chakyar, is old and extremely depressed. He is afraid he may live to witness the form die. There are no students and there is no money to pay for the basic facilities of performance or teaching.’
I was taken aback, because my predece-ssor, Dr. Narayan Menon, was from Kerala and yet, in my discussions with him after I had taken over, hadn’t even mentioned the problem. ‘Didn’t Dr Menon do anything?’ I asked and got the answer, ‘He had time only for Balasaraswathi.’