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If you watched him closely, you would say, "Look how amazingly he manages everything here, even at this age!" Navodaya Appachan is in his late 70s; yet age cannot whither the youthfulness in him. That is why he says, "I can work 24 hours; my office is wherever I go". Appachan wakes up at 0500 hrs, goes to Fatima Church at Tambaram for Service, comes back at 0730 hrs and by 0800 hrs he is in his office. He goes all around the park three or four times a day, supervising everything in it. Where has he got this spirit and energy from?
For an answer, I would like to take you on a 'water scooter' to Kuttanadu in Kerala, okay? Kuttanadu is a land which offers many hardships to its people, mainly in the form of frequent floods. This beautiful bosom of backwaters lies below the sea level and is the granary of Kerala thanks to its adventurous people. Maliampurackal Mani Chacko symbolised the enterprising nature of the Kuttanadu people. He began the first boat service in Kuttanadu. It is this exploring nature and urge which Navodaya Appachan has inherited from his father Mani Chacko. Born in 1924, Appachan did his studies in Pulinkunnu, Mannanam and St Xavier's College in Palayamkottu. After intermediate, Appachan began to help his brother Kunchacko in managing the Udaya Studio. Yeah, the family had the credit of having the first film studio in Kerala.
Till Kunchacko's death, the family was united. Afterward, a rift ensued and Kunchacko's sons took over Udaya while Appachan and his sons started the Navodaya Studio (in 1976). Navodaya produced many a good film and introduced directors and actors like Fazil and Mohan Lal. Its first film 'Kadathanattu Makkam' was directed by none other than Appachan himself. Its second film, also directed by Appachan, was the first cinemascope film in South India. It started a cinemascope revolution in the Malayalam film industry. Navodaya's interest in novelty and experiments resulted in 'Padayottam', the first indigenous 70mm picture in India. Appachan and his sons' (Jijo and Jose) search for novelty made them go to the US to learn the techniques of 3-D pictures. And the result of their perseverance was 'My Dear Kuttichanthan', the first 3-D film in India. Appachan and Jijo got President's gold medals for this film in 1984. After many years, 'Kuttichathan' reincarnated as India's first 3-D picture with DTS - three dimensional images and three dimensional sounds; a near reality film indeed! During their visit to the US, Appachan and his sons visited Disney Land. Inspired by it, Appachan immediately thought of creating such an amusement park in India. He bought 115 acres of barren land near Tambaram and turned it into 'India's No 1 theme park' by planting saplings, transplanting trees, digging lakes and creating rides in natural surroundings. Appachan gives the reason for calling Kishkinta a theme park: "Each ride in the park is set against the natural background. Water scooter gives you the feeling that you are in Goa and the boating in the lake takes you to Kodaikanal. Similarly, Chennai Coutralam puts you near the real Coutralam falls. Besides amusement, you can learn many things in the park." When the entire Chennai is reeling under water scarcity, from where does Kishkinta get water for all these? Don't worry. Kishkinta can teach you the advantages of water harvesting. You can learn many things from the park. Moreover, you can have a day of serenity here.
I visited Kishkinta for the first time five years back. At that time, the rides, especially the White Water Ride, instilled an adventurous spirit in me and strengthened my self-confidence. But I got more inspiration last week when I listened to Navodaya Appachan - an inspiration to search for novelty. And I felt quite at home. - Salil Jose Readers' response/inputs can be e-mailed to salil@chennaionline.com.
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The last time you visited Kishkinta, you might have seen an aged man in white. You might have whispered to your friend: "Look, that is Navodaya Appachan. You know, he is the man behind all these".
Udaya produced and released many famous films like 'Jeevitha Nauka' 'Nalla Thanka', 'Bharya', 'Umma', and many a film based on 'Vadakkan
Pattukal'.
Appachan is staying in the park with his wife Baby. The couple has two sons and two daughters.
