Keralites strongly believe that Teaching is an Art and Artists become functional teachers. People who agree with this thought could help and inspire us and many others. Nobody in the world of art is expected to remain static. There is every active persons of Arts, Education & Life Science. Modernists are in the process of making information technology to evolve a new art and education culture. The main art forms of Kerala are in the following passages, when one hears about Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, etc lush greens and dove painted eyes flash through our minds.

KATHAKALI

Katha = Story. Kali = play (not the rigid meaning related to theatre). It is just enacting a story. The text for this purpose is referred to as "Aattakkatha" ie. a story written to be produced as a Kathakali. The ethnic groups of Hindus, which handle this art form, are several. The Nair community dominated in the early days of its origin, as they were mostly trained in the martial art, Kalarippayattu, which is diligently used in the training and in a mild form on the stage. Kathakali as we see today is just more than four centuries old. Its global identity and frequency of performance is much more compared to the relative ly older forms.

The popular legend behind Kathakali may be quickly reviewed to establish that there was a great revolutionary and socialistic philosophy that played into the evolution of Kathakali. Zamorin, a local chieftain in the northern Kerala was a patron of Krishnanattom, essentially a dance drama that deals only with the story of Krishna, only within the premises of Krishna-temples. A local chieftain from Kottarakkara, southern Kerala, invited the Zamorin to present Krishnanattom in Kottarakkara. This was turned down by the Zamorin, with a statement that Krishnanattom is not for the unscholarly audience of southern Kerala. With a vengeance, the royal chieftain of Kottarakkara gave rise to Ramanattom. Ramanattom enacted stories from Ramayana and other epics also. In due course of time, as it began to encompass many stories, Ramanattom evolved into a medium with bigger dimension, to 'Play any Story'. This is Kathakali.

Training begins around the age of ten. Each day commences at 3.30 am and ends at 8.30 pm, with short breaks in between. During the monsoon and winter there body massage sessions of 41 to 90 days. As in Koodiyattom each student learns the complete language of Kathakali. Hand-gestures and facial expressions are employed as they are in the case of Koodiyattom. Prepositions too are precisely employed in the use of gestures. The pure dance elements include abstract and meaningful aspects of the body language. As in the other two forms, costumes, ornaments and facial makeup together constitute a character type.

A fair skin tone (minukku) depicts very sober saintly characters and women of noble birth. Green (Pacha) face is for dignified ones or of royal birth. Those with red and white patterns on green cheeks and forehead (Kathi) represent those who very powerful, yet with one or many negative tendencies. White, red and black beards (Taadi) denote relatively low profiles, which increase from white to black, through red. Black females like the females among demons are referred to as Kari. They have small patterns of red, white and yellow on the complete black face. Actors involve deliberation of extempore narrations, as in the case of Koodiyattom; but less elaborately.

A Kathakali performance scheduled to begin at ten in the night will be announced in a special manner. During the evening Chenda, Maddalam (percussion) Elathalam and Chengila (metallic cymbals) will be played loudly. This is expected to be heard even at a distance. Kathakali lovers can identify this instrumental music, which is called kelikottu.

The use of pigments like greens, reds, whites blacks and their combinations, along with lines and patterns make well-classified facial make up types. This is quite in line with the concept used in Koodiyattom. The facial makeup is very elaborate and takes hours of labour by the actors and the trained person called 'chuttikkaran', who lays fine lines of rice paste and fixes white paper bits as prescribed for a type of character. The costumes are more elaborate and heavier than those used in Koodiyattom. The sculpture that each character assumes as the entire costume and facial make up are completed needs to be experienced than described. The intimacy an observer could perceive from such forms with the aesthetically required cut off from reality is the philosophy of visualisation in Kathakali.

The conspicuous reason for the wider exposure Kathakali has been able to attain in short is the process of democratisation that has gone into its performance aspects. Use of Malayalam, the spoken language of Kerala, in the lyrical compositions, the varieties of episodes from epics and otherwise, increased the possibilities of familiarisation and acceptance. Even plays based on Shakespearean stories and Biblical themes have been successfully tried out. While these attempts assured that such experiments are not taboo in Kathakali, they did not last long. Even new stories based on themes from different parts of India did not survive. This is essentially due to the cultural background of Kerala that has gone deep into the technology of acting. Such a phenomenon does not obliterate the essential tenets of Indian dramaturgy as a whole. Hence, the histrionic and aesthetic values are still satisfactorily maintained. The already existed non-rigid community oriented approach still broke the week barriers as top artists from the Muslim and Christian sectors scored high in different compartments of Kathakali. Traditionally, men alone participated in the entire presentation. Kathakali demands no rigid theatre specifications as far as the place of performance is concerned. The strenuous training, stage business and the nightlong performances did play their roles in restricting women. But during the last two decades many girls boldly stepped into this field. But there are just a few who have taken it up very seriously.

MOHINIYATTAM:

Mohiniyattom, the soft and serene classical dance of Kerala has achieved its classical status during its evolution through the last five decades. Having evolved from the dance styles of the Devadasis of the lore, it had its shortcomings. The lyrical components and acting modes involved too much oh humanistic realism. Such practices led to the decadence of the art as such. These were rectified by the late Maha Rajah Swathitirunal of Travancore. He was a great ruler, an artist and a social reformer. Later, the great poet Vallathol Narayana Menon brought Mohiniyattom to Kerala Kalamandalam and nurtured it with the assistance of the great teachers and connoisseurs.

The traditional repertoire has, Cholkkettu, Jatiswram, Varnam, Padam, Slokam & Tillana Similar to the one practiced by the schools of Bharathanatyam. According to late Smt. Kalyanikkutty Amma there is a seventh one called 'Saptham'.

Mohiniyattom is known for its slow pace and aesthetically beautiful curvaceous movements of the torso. Centered around the cult of devotion, the lyrical contents were mostly based on the hero-heroine relationship, in which the heroine always sought for the proximity of her dear one, the lord himself. Very simple yet captivating traditional costumes are used. The music is fundamentally based on the classical style. The last two decades saw dynamic revival and daring experimentation in Mohiniyattom. Compositions by the recent poets and subjects of contemporary relevance have been successfully tried out. Group choreographic approach is welcomed by the exponents as well as the audience.

THULLAL:

Thullal is stage art form evolved in Kerala, as a brainchild of the great artist Kalakkath Kunjan Nambiar during the 18th century AD. Nambiar is a multifaceted maestro hitherto second to none. Thullal, the solo form involves verbal rendition of lyrical contents in the language, Malayalam, the mother tongue of people born in Kerala and as well as Sanskrit wherever required. The contents based on epic stories contain a lot of satire and plane humour that strikes the very heart of the elites as well as the common man. Artists have enough scope to innovate so as to draw parallels with contemporary matters and thus interact with the audience. Identifying and bringing into public the ills of the society and rectifying them is a hidden objective of this approach. A vocalist and a percussionist provide the orchestral support. The vocalist plays a pair of small cymbals (kuzhitaalam) and the percussionist plays on the Mridangam.

Facial expressions, hand gestures and stylized footwork form the pertinent components of the body language. The art calls for a profound stamina and tenacity on the part of the performer as continuous body movements and verbal rendering go together for two or three hours. Often they need to perform twice or thrice in a day, on stages far away from each other. The basic tenets of the body language follow those observed by the schools of Kathakali and Krishnanattaom, two of the colourful dance drama styles popular in Kerala. However, in these forms the dancer-artists do not verbally delineate any of the subject contents, but Thullal artist does. The musical tunes and rhythmic scales are exclusively those of Kerala. Artists perform in front of a lit oil lamp, considering it as the presence of the Almighty.

The Three Styles Of Thullal

The 3 styles of Thullal are, Seetangan, Ottan and Parayan. An artist does facial make up by using the native pigments called Manayola (Yellow), Chayillyam (Red) Neelam (Blue) and Mashi (Black) mixed in coconut oil or water as required. Artists insert a specially processed floral part into the lower eyelids that turns the eyes red. This adds the aesthetic colour sensation and cools the eyes. In Seetangan and & Parayan styles the facial makeup is more realistic - a brightened skin tone with black lines to mark the eye definitions and red on the lips. Seetangan has decorations freshly made out of tender coconut palm leaves, golden beads and broad white and red cotton flaps around the waist. Ottan has no palm leaves used. Face is coloured green. Ornaments made out of light wood, golden beads and woolen fibbers and a very colourful headgear also made of wood decorated with gold foil, silver, mirrors and beads, render to the Ottan artist the stylized identity and concept of Lord Vishnu. Seetangan is supposed to represent a jungle goddess who tells the stories of wisdom to the yearning audience. Parayan wears the least of decorations. He wears a wooden headgear symbolizing Lord Shiva who tells stories of devotion and spiritual truth to the audience. In Parayan the broad cotton flaps are substituted by a white cotton cloth above which a red one is worn. Unlike the other two types, the Parayan wears anklets only on the right leg.

Serious readers may note that there are other types of Thullal viz. Sarppam Thullal, Gandharvan Thullal etc. which are ritual arts with rich audio-visual elements.

KOODIYATTAM:

Koodi = combined. Aattom = play, performance etc. Koodiyattom is the most ancient Sanskrit theatre of Kerala, which has recently been recognised by the UNESCO, as the most tangible theatre form that maintains and propagates the verbal modes in theatre styles. Historians have traced its antiquity to pre-AD days. The Chakkyar community has been practising for centuries, this histrionic art as a hereditary family profession. The Nangiars (women) alone handle the female characters. They are from the central as well as the southern regions of Kerala.

Koodiyattom is traditionally performed within the specially built building called 'koothambalam', within the precincts of certain temples. There is a specific area, defined for the performance. The audience require certain amount of scholarly preparation to fully enjoy the text and the nuances, as there is profound stress on the use of Sanskrit language, in methods specified by the concepts strictly adhered to in Sanskrit theatre. The plays are so elaborate and long, that hardly one sees the whole play being staged. Only an act is often presented, which itself will take several days to be completed. The preparatory procedures and stage business are highly intricate and precise, that one needs to go through years of training beginning at a young age of eight or ten. Even during the performance, it is not just the text that is enacted. Several extraneous matters are brought in for elucidation and didactic appeal. There is, however, a male domination in the plays and performance. In 2002, Natanakairali in association with the Ammannur Chachu Chakyar Smaraka, Gurukulam, Irinjalakkuda, staged Sakuntalam, which has prime importance to Sakuntala, a female character.

No special vocalist is involved. The actors and actresses themselves render the Sanskrit verses prescribed by the playwrights. Use of hand-gestures (hastamudra) and facial expressions, to interpret the text in terms of words and moods strike high levels of perfection and precision. Facial makeup, costumes and ornaments bear similarities with those used in Kathakali; of course with precise differences. Specific colours and patterns used for facial makeup constitute 'specific types', based on the innate qualities of the characters. Tirasseela and oil lamps are used as essential stage supports.

Mizhavu is the chief percussion musical instrument used, accompanied by a pair of cymbals. Edakka (soft percussion), conch as well as kurumkuzhal( wind instrument) are used in specific situations. The trained experts, who belong to the community called Nmbiar, play Mizhavu. Nangiars (women of the Nambiar families) keep the continuous rhythm with a pair of cymbals. The vocal renderings by the performers are believed to bear close relationship with the mode of chanting the Vedic hymns. The performers observe strict austerities and consider the presentation of an act or a play as a visual yagna. To this extent Koodiyattom has refined rituals. The stress however is on the fine tuned theatre elements.

KRISHNATTOM:

Krishnaattom or Krishnanaattom is an audio-visual presentation that enacts only the story of Sree Krishna. It is mostly performed in temples in which the presiding deity is Sree Krishna. It's presented as an offering to the lord by the devotees. Therefore at least at the level of the psyche, Krishnaattom is a ritual. By legends and history this is an early precursor of Kathakali. No story can thus be enacted using Krishnaattom as a theatre style. Maanaveda, a great devotee of Krishna and a well-known ruler of the Zamaorin's dynasty of North Kerala, has been recorded as the foremost known connoisseur and patron of Krishnaattom. The roots of Krishnaattom could thus be traced to the mid-seventeenth century.

The younger age to commence training and the martial elements involved in training are similar to those observed in Kathakali. The story of Krishna divided into 8 episodes constitute the entire repertoire based manual of Krishnaattom. Since 8 episodes are involved it was referred to as 'Krishnaashttakom', which through semantic changes came to be known as "Krishnaatom".

To an untrained eye Krishnaattom has close similarities with Kathakali, especially in costumes and facial makeup. However, there are several major characters which use wooden facial masks. This practice is nearly absent in Kathakali. In the technique of acting the stress is on total body kinesthetic approach, and not the detailed elucidation with the help of hand-gestures and facial expressions.

Two vocalists render Sanskrit lyrical contents in a style prevalent among the singers of the temple based rituals and rites. Some scholars refer to it as the 'sopaana style'. A percussion instruments called Edakka & madhalam, the metallic cymbals called Chengila & Elathaalam, provide the required rhythmic support. Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple is one place where daily shows are still continuing, except for few months during the monsoon and later. The presentation begins around 10 pm and ends by 2 am. The devotees present each day in the temple premises attend the devotional presentation and leave with a sense of solemn contentment.

FOLK ARTS:

FOLK ARTS of any region are audio-visual reflections of the geography, history, politics, sociology, aesthetics and cultural evolution of that region. The links which the Folk Arts establish between the ancient and the recent are to be experienced.

All "Classical" art forms evolve from folk forms by way of stylisation and cannonisation. They are 'Classical', as they are meant for a 'Class' of conditioned audience, if complete acceptance is aimed at. Folk Arts, without much intellectual exercise or conditioning are easily accessible and widely accepted. Often they stand to commute the social beings between the metaphysical and the materialistic planes. Spiritual evolution through aesthetic & ritual interactions is one of the prime objectives of Folk Arts.

Pages: [< Previous] 1 2 3