Ajayan
This year, the resplendent spectacle of Thrissur Pooram on April 26 unfolds with a special radiance for Cherusseri Kuttan Marar, as he ascends to command the Tiruvambadi melam; a moment long awaited by rhythm and tradition buffs.
The grand melams of Thrissur are no unfamiliar terrain to Cherusseri. Between 1997 and 2003, he lent his artistry to the Paramekkavu melam, standing amidst towering maestros like Pallavoor Appu Marar, Chakkamkulam Appu Marar, Ramankandathil Krishnankutty Marar and Peruvanam Kuttan Marar. After a passage of time, he joined the fold of Tiruvambadi in 2011, performing under Kizhakoot Aniyan Marar. When Kizhakoot moved on to lead the Paramekkavu melam, the baton of mentorship passed to Cheranellur Sankarankutty Marar and now to Cherusseri.
As he takes centrestage for Thrissur Pooram, it is a legacy he embodies, each chenda beat echoing the years of devotion and an unbroken lineage of musical grandeur.
For twenty-seven years, Pooram aficionados have gathered like devotees of rhythm to witness Cherusseri’s commanding artistry; be it the Rohini vilakku pancharimelam and Makayiram purappad pandimelam at Urakam, or Ammatiruvadi’s panchari at Peruvanam as part of the Peruvanam-Arattupuzha Pooram, each unfolding as a timeless classic.
Old-timers recall a twilight in 2000 along the Peruvanam pathway, where the centenarian scholar RS Poduval and his elder brother watched with quiet concern as a 32-year-old Cherusseri stepped into the lead after formidable legendary Tripekulam Achutha Marar. Yet, as the melam crossed pathikaalam, their apprehension melted into awe, the music rising gracefully to meet the towering expectations set before it. A decade later, at that very spot, they were heard reflecting with the same sense of wonder: the once-young percussionist had only continued to ascend.
And true to his nature, Cherusseri speaks with quiet humility, calling the Tiruvambadi stewardship a sacred responsibility bestowed by divine grace, one he vows to honour with devotion, striving always to serve in faithful tribute to the legends and masters who came before him.
Cherusseri’s journey into rhythm began in childhood, under the watchful guidance of his father, the legendary Kumarapuram Appu Marar, himself a revered guru to many stalwarts. An undisputed authority on melams, Kumarapuram was a trusted adviser to several greats of his times. The steady stream of such masters to their home, and the profound musical discourses they shared with his father, became for young Cherusseri an unspoken gurukulam, helping shape his sensibilities and deepening his mastery in percussion.
From his maternal lineage, Cherusseri traces his roots to the illustrious Pandarathil family, long entwined with pancharimelam. Nearly five centuries ago, the scholar Mazhamangalam Narayanan Namboodiri is said to have shaped this majestic form alongside Pandarathil Rama Marar, who then presided over the festivities at the Urakam temple to whose deity the melam was offered in devotion.
As a young boy, Cherusseri was already immersed in the rhythms of devotion, offering percussion for temple rituals as part of his familial calling. Yet his father insisted he first complete his education before surrendering fully to the art. Honouring that wish, Cherusseri went on to graduate, and soon after, in 1988, marked his arangettam at Tiruvallakavu temple. From there, his illustrious journey in percussion took flight.
After his father’s passing, the weight of the family fell upon a young Cherusseri, compelling him to make percussion as his full-time calling. Yet, what began as necessity soon became refinement, placing him in the company of stalwarts, where each encounter shaped his craft and sharpened his artistry.
He has led melams at festivals across several temples in Kerala - Kuttanellur, Irinjalakuda, Triprayar, Kodungaloor, Ernakulam, Tripunithura, Chottanikkara, Kottayam, Sree Padmanabhaswamy, Koduntharappilly, Puthucode, Nenmara, Chinakkathoor and Angadipuram.
While Thrissur Pooram is famed for the iconic Ilanjithara melam of Paramekkavu, the Tiruvambadi pandimelam unfolds in parallel, drawing its own devoted circle of connoisseurs. Following the celebrated Madathilvaravu panchavadyam of Tiruvambadi, the melam rhythm rises from Naduvilal, beginning in chembada, swelling and transforming into the vibrant pulse of pandi, and moving in measured grandeur towards the Sreemoolasthanam where it ends around 4:45 pm. After this comes the visual splendour of kudamattom.
Equally enchanting is the pandimelam of the pakalpooram that follows at dawn’s edge. It begins, as if echoing the previous day, at Naduvilal, chembada unfolding at 8:30 am, then swells and transforms into pandi as the procession drifts toward Sreemoolasthanam. By noon it fades, a quiet 15 minutes after Paramekkavu melam, in faithful tradition. The kolumbal surges like a rising tide, the vilambakaalam breathes its measured grace, and at last, the thurannu pidikkal bursts open in splendour; each moment weaving the spell of pandimelam, the singular heartbeat of Thrissur Pooram.
Cherusseri sees melam not as a solitary art, but as a living confluence where all the artistes of chenda, kombu, kuzhal and ilathalam breathe as one. In that perfect mingling lies its splendour. A close follower of Poorams and melams, Nandan Vaakayil of Thrissur notes that Cherusseri’s true gift is stewardship; the quiet command that gathers every strand into harmony. Even without a constellation of big names around him, he shapes a sound so full, so luminous, that the melam itself rises as his signature.
Melam enthusiast TM Narayanan of Thrissur complements this. Cherusseri’s leadership carries a rare grace, time itself seems to listen to him, says Narayanan. A keen ear, an unblinking gaze and a confidence that hums beneath the surface shape his art. His kaala pramanam flows smooth; each beat, each pause, each swelling crescendo breathing in seamless accord. As though guided by an inner clock, he steers the melam with delicate precision; the ascent unfolds unbroken rising not in leaps, but like a tide that knows its shore. “A miser in words, Cherusseri’s shraddha reveals itself in the way he leads - silent, composed, steadfast and wholly present,” adds Narayanan.
And so, many hear in Cherusseri’s melam a melody more than a rhythm, making him the very embodiment of a tradition that sings in its own rare, unmistakable voice.
