V S ANDREWS (05.05.1872 – 27.08.1968)

Founder of Opera in Malayalam. Also known as Sarasa Gayaka Kavi, Kerala Shakespeare, Anthappanaasaan.

Native place and family

V S Andrews, the malayalam poet, playwright and theatre legend, belongs to the Vazhakkoottathil family of Chellanam village, Kanayannoor Taluk, Ernakulam District, Kerala, India. He was born as one of the five children of Sanjohn and Johnamma, married Presteenamma Alexander of Thuruthel family, and had four sons – Cherian, John, George and Jimmy.

Adolescence

After completing his education following the gurukula system, where he, the shishya (student) lived in the home (Gurukul) of the teacher (Acharya/ Aasaan) and trained in Malayalam, Tamil, Sanskrit and Carnatic music; he joined his father’s village school as a fellow teacher. But drama and theatre were a great attraction.

The beginnings of creative writing

V S Andrews began his literary career at a time when the very genre of Sangeetha natakam was non-existent in Malayalam language. He started by writing plays in Tamil and then transliterated them using Malayalam alphabets for the Malayalee actors whom he scouted for, selected and trained for performance. He indulged in these literary adventures, in spite of strong objections from the priests, as even watching dramas was forbidden to the Christian community at the time. Sukumara suthandiram and Jnanamohini Sangeetha natakams written in Tamil language were his first works.

It was Kandathil Varghese Mappila, who happened to witness the performance of these Tamil plays in Amaravathy, Fort Kochi, that advised Andrews to start writing in Malayalam. Following this advice, he immediately set to work and published the play titled Isthaakki Charitham in 1891. As the play was a sharp criticism of rampant conservatism, and the performance so effective that the author’s very life was threatened by enraged social miscreants. In a short while, Andrews had gained hundreds of disciples both in Kochi and in Thiruvithamkoor, that bans from church authorities started becoming ineffective.

Andrews was different from other dramatists in that he himself scouted for and selected actors suitable for his plays on his own. The illiterate among them were first taught the alphabet by writing on the sand. Songs dialogues and acting training followed before they could be presented on the stage.

He was adept at emoting for all sorts of male and female characters alike. His prime protégé Sebastian Kunjukunju Bhagavathar in his memoir ‘Nataka Smaranakal’ has given a detailed description of these qualities of his guru.

Amateur theatres and disciples

As amateur theatres sprouted all over the land under the leadership of local elders, Andrews wrote plays and farces, trained personnel and staged them. Local talent from places where performance were held, started joining the theatre.

Professional Theatre Companies

Early Sangeetha Nataka companies were formed by theatre loving local elders. In the early decades when the common man had no special means of entertainment other than drama Sangeetha Natakam was very much in demand. V S Andrews served as the playwright, tutor and director, all in one.

Prominent actors trained by V S Andrews

Of the hundreds of drama students some well-known personalities are:

• Sebastian Kunjukunju Bhagavathar,
• Anjalose Bhagavathar,
• Ouseph Aasaan,
• Ochira Velukkutty,
• Artist P J Cherian and family,
• P A Joseph,
• Ammunni Bhagavathar,
• Bhagavathar Augustine Joseph,
• Pappukkutty Bhagavathar,
•  P B Augustine,
• Mathappan,
• Vaikkom Maani,
• S J Dev,
• Andrews was different from other dramatists in that he himself scouted for and selected actors suitable for his plays on his own. The illiterate among them were first taught the alphabet by writing on the sand. Songs dialogues and acting training followed before they could be presented on the stage.
• He was adept at emoting for all sorts of male and female characters alike. His prime protégé Sebastian Kunjukunju Bhagavathar in his memoir ‘Nataka Smaranakal’ has given a detailed description of these qualities of his guru.

•  Coming around of the priestly class: a turning point

• The Christian who had gone to watch a drama performance had to publicly hold a cross in hand while participating in the Holy Eucharistic Celebration in church on Sunday. This system of penance changed only as a result of the popularity of the plays of V S Andrews and through the interventions made by him with church leaders and authorities. Thus, the successful transformation of theatre haters to theatre lovers was yet another turning point in the history of drama. It was in compliance with the request from the famous puthenpally seminary to write a drama with all male characters (w/o female parts) for performance by the seminarians, that V S Andrews wrote the farce Muttala Pattalam. Such a play was described by the author himself as ‘chukkillatha kashayam’.
• At Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam
• The practise of performing only Tamil dramas was broken with the performance of Muttala Pattalam. The main actors who were college students of the time, included Parayil Urumees Tharakan, E M Kovoor, Thomas Arakal (later known as Vimal Kumar, the film director) etc. The college authorities were so pleased with the play and its performance that they invited V S Andrews to put up one the very next year too and Akbarmahan was staged.
• Appreciation from V K Lakshmikutty Netyaramma of Thripunithura Palace
• When the historical plays Paduka Pattabhishekam and Ramaranya yathra by V S Andrews were staged at the palace V K Lakshmikutty Netyaramma, a lover of art and Literature, congratulated the author and presented him with a ‘panakkizhi’.

• Fight for justice through journalism
• Social service through political criticism was the general trend of his journalism. He published
• which were all owned and edited by V S Andrews.
• Together with Francis Pappaly, V S Andrews published Verum chiri from Ernakulam as an entertainment media which gave emphasis to social criticism through humourous cartoons.
• Samatwavadi weekly was started later under his ownership and editorship. In addition to cartoons satirising the corruption among the officers of the Kingly State, efforts to create awareness of minority community rights and need for optimum representation, literary pieces like poems and drama were also given importance. Prof Joseph Mundassery who was the Education Minister of Kerala has recorded in his autobiography that many of the articles written by him as a student found the light of day through Samatwavadi. This weekly was also short-lived due to acute financial crisis.
• Sarasa sevini magazine, while critically analysing political and social issues through satirical treatment, also published literary discussions, debates and creative writing along with illustrative cartoons.
• Over and above all these V S Andrews published his creative writings in most of the contemporary publications. Taking into consideration the variety and range of his dramatic creations the contemporary media often referred to V S Andrews as ‘Kerala Shakespeare’.