Recalling His Days with the Sultan of Beypore

TRIPUNITHURA: K P Achuthan is neither a known face in the literary field nor in performing arts world.But this soft spoken art lover has never missed a chance to make friends with legendary writers and stalwarts in performing arts. The  interactions of Achuthan that commenced somewhere in 1951 still continues. He is associated with International Centre for Koodiyattom, Government Sanskrit College Committee, Tripunithura Kathakali Kendram and many other cultural organisations.As he turns 83, his friends and well wishers are readying to celebrate his 60 years of participation in the cultural field of Kerala.To mark the completion of 60 eventful years in the cultural field, Achuthan’s friends and well-wishers are getting ready for an informal get-together at 6 pm on July 9 at Government Sanskrit College.Eight-year-old Nepathya Sreehari will present a Chakyar koothu as part of the programme.“From my college days (late 1940s) I got opportunities to become part of the cultural scene of Kerala, especially in the literary field. Circle Book House, near Boat Jetty, was our meeting point, which later came into the hands of Basheer who renamed it Basheer Book House,” Achuthan said. Achuthan made it a point to attend the intellects’ meet at the Book House even if it meant skipping classes. “It was a  worthwhile experience to have shared invaluable moments with Ramu Kariat, Vayalar Rama Varma, actor Sathyan and others,” said Achuthan.Later the location shifted to Krishnan Nair Studio (upstairs) “where I got to know the think tank M Govindan. That was a turning point. I began to work with him for the journal ‘Sameeksha’.When he started his career as research assistant in Coir Board, Achuthan became an ardent adorer of kathakali. Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Pothuval and others became his intimate friends. His close association with Guru Ammannoor Madhava Chakyar inspired him to become a part of the International Centre for Koodiyattom as one of the founder members of the Centre along with K G Paulose.Even while maintaining such a wide network of friends, Achuthan maintained his close bond with Basheer and his family. “Basheer influenced me in many ways and I was attracted to the Sultan of Beypore because of his simple and straight forward attitude to life,” Achuthan said.Actually our relationship started in the late 1940s when I was a student of Ernakulam Law College. It was Ponjikkara Raffi who introduced me to him. Basheer maintained the  warmth of the friendship through letters, said  Achuthan displaying a few of his treasures.Almost all the letters contained some characters or indications of his future projects like ‘Manthrika Poocha’, ‘Ormayude Arakal’ and ‘Thara Specials’. “Knowing my voracious reading habit Basheer sent me a copy of all his books with a specially designed covering letter.”Basheer always addressed me as Periya Nair and my wife as Omana Kunjamma. He picked his characters from real life, from his intimate friends to his pets.Tuesday is the 17th death anniversary of Basheer. Achuthan and his wife Shyamala Kunjamma often visit Basheer’s house in Kozhikode.