Awards, Titles and Honours
Mani Madhava Chakyar received many titles, awards and degrees. He is one of the most felicitated artist from Kerala. His first major recognition came from HH Bhattan Thampuran (Bhatta Raja) of Kodungallur Kovilakam Kodungallur Kovilakam himself at the age of 22. Bhattan Thampuran awarded him with a Mudramothiram (signed ring) (1921). Mani Madhava Chakyar considered this Mudramothiram as the prestigious award that he ever got.
He received the most prestigious sacred Vīrasringhala or Veerashringhala (It’s a kind of Golden Bracelet, given to the greatest artist/scholar of that era) from Taliparamba Rajarajeshwara Temple (1923). He is the youngest one to receive this award, which is being given to the scholars of the supreme rank, only by the unanimous approval of a special body of temple consisting of eminent scholars. Till date no one else has received a Veerashringhala from there after Mani Madhava Chakyar. Another major Vīrasringhalas that he received are; from Valiya Thampuran of Kottakkal Kovilakam (1952), from Urpassikkavu of Thalassery, from His Holiness Jagadguru Shri Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham (1961), from Samoothiri Raja of Kozhikkode, given at the eve of Koodiyattam performance at Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple (1964) and from Tripunithura Kovilakam (1989).
He was honoured with ponnada (a kind of silk cloth given as a gesture of honour and respect) from Maharani (Queen) Of Travancore, presented through Mahakavi Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer at Vaikom Mahadeva Temple. He was honoured by HH. Rajah of Palakkad with a Keshabharam Kireetam at Hemambika Temple of Kallekkulangara (1962). He has received Gold Medals from Valiya Raja of Katathanadu, Pallikkunnu Bhagavathy Temple of Kannoor, Avittathur (1962), Delhi Experimental theatre (1964) etc.
In 1930, he was awarded the title Nātyāchārya (Guru of Natya) by Kadathanadu Valiya Thampuran (Raja of Kadathanadu). He received the title Vidūshakaratna, again from the Taliparamba Rajarajeshwara Temple (1954) for his excellence in performing “vidūshaka” in Koodiyattams. He was honoured by Fine Arts Society of Kochi by giving the title Anushtanakalapravina.
Government of India conferred Padma Shri (1974) and Emeritus Fellowship (1982) on him. He was conferred by an honorary degree from Banaras Hindu University in 1964.
He has received major National and International Awards and Fellowships such as
- 1964 - Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (New Delhi)- first national recognition for a Koodiyattam/Chakyar Koothu artist.
- 1964 - Paderewski Foundation (New York) Certificate of Merit - first international recognition for Koodiyattam.
- 1974 - Padma Shri
- 1975 - Kerala Sahitya Academy Award - for the book Nātyakalpadrumam
- 1975 - Kerala Sangeet Natak Academy Fellowship
- 1982 - Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (New Delhi)
- 1982 - Government of India Emeritus Fellowship
- 1982 - Kalidasa Academy Fellowship ( Ratna Sadasyata ) (1982)
- 1983 - Kerala Kalamandalam Fellowship
- 1987 - Tulsi Samman of Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
- 1991 - Guruvayoor Devaswam Award etc.
He was the first Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam artist to receive these.
He has received numerous Honours and Certificates from distinguished institutions and individuals such as Akhila Bharata Sanskrit Sammelan (World Sanskrit Conference) - New Delhi, Samskrita Ranga - Chennai, Fifth World Sanskrit Conference - Banaras, Dr.S. Radhakrishnan, Dr. Vibhuti Narayan Singh ( Maharaja of Kasi ), Satyanarayana Sinha, Bishnu Ram Medhi (Chief Minister of Assam), Sir C.P. Ramaswami Iyer, Maharaja of Kollengode, Vallathol Narayana Menon, Dr. V. Raghavan, Rukmini Devi Arundale, Dr. V.K Narayana Menon, Dr.Kapila Vatsyayan etc. etc.
Even though Guru Mani Madhava Chakkiyar received lot of national recognitions art critics widely believe that he truly deserved a lot more and recognitions came very late. RKG (Editor, The Illustrated Weekly, Columnist for Times of India) observes,
| “ | ..I felt angry when I learnt that a great artist like Mani Madhava Chakyar was awarded a mere Padma Shri. A man of his artistic genius and erudition deserved to be decorated with the highest state honour | ” |
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