Much before the days when the practice of assigning the role of cultural ambassadors to celebrities was started, NetturP had taken up such a role on his own and worked for many years in a selfless manner.
NetturP was in the forefront of propagating and popularising the unique traditions of Kerala to the outside world. Even before Quit India movement, he had led cultural teams to different parts of the country and abroad on this mission. Case in point is his leading the ‘Kalaripayattu’ team under the tutelage of Kalaripayattu maestro C. V. Narayanan Nair of famous C. V. N. Kerala Kalari Sangham. His efforts during the forties made Kalaripayattu, Kerala’s own martial art, known to rest of the country, Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) and beyond.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru once attended one of the performances by the troupe organised by NetturP. Nehru was so much impressed by the team, and was greatly interested to learn more about this unique martial art form previously not known to him. The photograph of an excited Nehru trying to join the sword fight by wielding his walking stick was widely shared and subsequently aroused interest in the martial art in many all over India.
After seeing the 'kalarippayattu ''demo organised by my father at New Delhi for VVIPs excited Nehru pulls out a walking stick from an audience of folk, he was enacting the performance of the martial art he witnessed.
This interest and devotion were not only limited to Kalaripayattu but he was equally interested in propagating and popularising other folk arts of Malabar, like Theyyam, Thira etc. He held several positions of bodies organizing and popularising these village arts and traditions. He was always available for rendering his name, support and time for the nourishment and growth of these folk art forms of North Malabar.
Nettur P organized or facilitated visits by different troupes of folk artists and cultural troupes from Kerala to different parts of India. The tour of a Kalaripayattu Team to Srilanka (then Ceylon) was fully organised and managed by him. And whenever they visited Delhi, he made sure that they receive an audience with the topmost leaders of the country, and made arrangements for their performances.
Theyyam
A Troupe of /artists from Kerala With Lok SabhaSpeaker & Nettur P
