Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Ottan Thullal
 Ottanthullal is characterised by its simplicity of presentation, wit and humour. Owing its origins to Kunchan Nambiar, one of Malayalam's eminent poets and a veritable genius, this art form is marked by rhythmic movements, songs and humour. Even though it is based on classic principles of Natya Shastra, the technique of this art is not rigid. The songs, written in simple malayalam, frank to outspoken wit and humour, the simplicity of presentation and the direct appeal to every day life made Thullal very popular. The instruments used in Thullal are the Maddalam and Cymbals. The Cymbal player who tunes the rhythm, also assists the actor - dancer in singing. Thullal is classified in to three different types. Ottan, Seethankan and Parayan. Of all Thullal dances the Ottan Thullal is the most popular. The face is painted green, the lips are reddened and the eyes are emohasised with black paint. The head dress is colourfully decorated. The metre and rhyme of the Ottan thullal songs are very fast, and the dance as such has a high tempo. There is an interesting story about the origin of the Thullal. Kunchan Nambiar, who used to play the Mizhavu, (a musical instrument) during Koothu performances, was once caught napping during a performance and the annoyed Koothu player sent him off the stage. To get his own back, the insulted young man created the new art form overnight and presented it himself the next evening. The audience were thrilled. However this story has been debated by scholar ever since, who believe that it is impractical to create a new art form Thullal overnight. Humour, satire and social criticism are the hallmarks of this art form. To view Thullal performance please click here Labels: Classical Dance, Kunchan Nambiar, Ottan Thullal |
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Padayani or Padeni - A colourful and spectacular ritual art from South Kerala
 Padayani is a ritual art form related to the Devi temples (temples of Mother Goddess) mostly in Central Travancore, Kerala. Padayani is performed two districts Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha of Central and Southern Kerala. Padayani or padeni colloquial speech, is one of the most colourful and spectacular ritual art associated with the festivals. The word padayani literally means military formations or rows of army, but in this folk art we have mainly a series of divine and semi-divine impersonations wearing huge masks or kolams of different shapes, colours and desingns painted on the stalks of arecanut fronds. It has tremendous theatrical value and very evocative language. It represents nature in its varied of North Kerala like Theyyam and Thora super-human characters. This ritual art possesses the sense of rhythm, vision, aesthetics and power of imitative quality of people, who are directly involved with nature. It elaborated man’s relationship to nature. For the ordinary people, it is the epitome of life. The text of this is derived from our tribal ethos and culminated in the Siva cult. In short, the hidden text of Padayani is rooted in the Siva and Shakthi cult, which have all tartaric rituals. It is ritual sacrifice performed by the village before the primal Goddess.  Any myth worth the name is the essence of a multi racial society. Padayani is the theatrical representation of this myth. Religious rituals or ceremonies are media for communication. The cardinal element is favouritism to the life. The activity of training the unnatural powers can be visualized through the extra body fitting for decorative attire and masks to reveal super-human appearance. The lyrics of Padayani eulogize the transparent love, courage, heroic deeds and all the other human emotions in its rustic purity. The chorographical elements beating of drums and the modulated recitation of poetic verses all reveal a robust purity of the fertile soil and the village. Photo courtesy: www.padayani.com To know more about Padayani please visit here To view video of Padayani please click here Labels: Padayani, Padeni, Ritual Dance |
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Kummattikkali - Famous Colorful mask-dance of South Malabar
 Kummattikali is the famous colorful mask-dance of South Malabar, Kerala. It is also a ritualistic offering made to appease the Goddess, where masked performers adorned in grass and leaves go singing and dancing to every homestead. The Kummatti players don a heavily painted colourful wooden mask depicting faces of Krishna, Narada, Kiratha, Darika or hunters. The Dancers wear skirts woven out of plaited grass. Some performers cover their whole body with bunches of grass for a more bushy appearance. The semblance is made more joyful with the 'talla' attached externally to the mask giving the appearance of a toothless open mouth. Dancers also hold and manipulate long sticks of residuary agricultural produce called 'Kummattikali', it is from this that the dance derives its name. Their dance is related to Shaiva myth. 'Thamma' (an old woman) walks in front with the help of a stick. Thamma is symbolic of mother of every being and everything. Rhythm for the dance movements is provided by vibrating the string of a bow like instrument called onavillu. Arecanut wood is used to make the bow and the strings are beaten with a narrow bamboo stick. Kummatti dancers are a sight to watch as they move around from house to house collecting jaggery, rice, or small amounts of cash. Onlookers, specially children take great delight in their performance. Themes of Kummattikali are mostly taken from the stories of Ramayana, Darika Vadham, the story of Shiva and folk tales like Manjan Nayare Pattu. To view video of Kummattikkali please click here Courtesy: www.invismultimedia.com Photo courtesy: Smevin Paul Labels: Kummatti, Kummattikkali, Ritual Dance |
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Koodiyattam - Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
 Considered to be oldest surviving form of Sanskrit theatre in the world, Koodiyattam is a blend of Sanskrit drama, theatrical, religious and other unique traditions of Kerala, India. Koodiyattam has been recognised by UNESCO as a Human Heritage Art. It is considered to be at least two thousand years old. It is the only art form, which has survived for the past 2000 years in the world. After getting recognition from UNESCO, the contemporary theatre has now accepted the potential of Koodiyattam and absorbing the techniques in its own form. According to UNESCO , intangible heritage might be defined as embracing all forms of traditional and popular or folk culture, i.e., collective works originating in a given community and based on tradition.  Traditionally, Koothu and Koodiyattam are the privilege of the templecastes Chakyars and Nambiars. Chakyars enact the male-characters and the Nangiars (the women of the Nambiars) enact the female-characters. Unlike in Kathakali, women traditionally perform the female characters in Koodiyattam. The Nambiars play Mizhavu, the major percussion-instrument in Koodiyattam. Kulasekhara Varma Cheraman Perumal, an ancient King of Kerala was known as the creator of Koodiyattam in the present form. His book "Aattaprakaram" describes various aspects about how to perform Koodiyattam. Till date this is considered the most authoritative work on the art form. Acting in Koodiyattam is based on a highly evolved mime language. Stylized facial and eye expressions, a language of mudras, a unique style of chanting together with elaborate dresses and the symbolic use of color through the makeup constitute the drama. The "grammar" of performance is entirely based on the stipulations of "Natyashasthram" by Bharatha Muni, the most authoritative book on the science of acting. The plays of Kulasekhara, Sakthibhadra, Bhasa Kalidasa and Bodhayana are performed act by act in Koodiyattam. Since Koodiyattam performances were proffered as offerings to the deity, they were enacted only in temples. Many temples have beautiful pavilions within their precincts which are known as Koothambalam with high sloping roofs covered with metal sheetings. A Koodiyattam performance is a long drawn-out affair, taking place at night and lasting for days. Politics, philosophy and social behaviour are covered in the comments. The pivotal role in these performances belong to the jester as he is the only one who speaks and the language is Malayalam. He translates the Sanskrit version with a touch of humour and also acts as a bridge between the actor and the audience. For the past few decades the popularity of this art has been declining but after the UNESCO's recognition, the art, which used to be a ritual theatre has now become a world theatre with more non-traditional audience seeking it out. Additional information To read a detailed article about Koodiyattam please click here Courtesy: Sudha Gopalakrishna To view a sample video of Koodiyattam please click here Courtesy: www.amritapuri.org To view contact details of Koodiyattam artists please click here Courtesy: www.artindia.net Photo courtesy: Benoy.K.B. Labels: Intangible Heritage of Humanity, Koodiyattam, UNESCO |
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Mohiniyattam
| Kerala, the God's own country holds the world enraptured with her extensive pertoire of performing arts. From the spectacular Theyyam to spellbinding Kathakali, Kerala art forms are vivid expressions of the land's rich heritage and reflect its unparallelled beauty. I have posted an article about theyyam. Now I would like to unwrap another contemplative art form of Kerala Mohiniyattam. Mohiniyattam is the female classical solo dance of Kerala, India. The term Mohiniyattam or Mohiniattam comes from the words "Mohini" meaning a woman who enchants onlookers and "aattam" meaning graceful and sensuous body movements. The word "Mohiniyattam" literally means "dance of the enchantress". Noted for its graceful and sensuous movements with no terse footwork, Mohiniyattam reminds one of the gentle swaying of the green paddy fields and coconut palms of the fairy landscape. Mohiniyattam is older than Kathakali. The first reference to Mohiniyattam is found in a 16th Century text. Useful links about Mohiniyattam: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohiniattam http://chintha.com/kerala/mohiniyattam-introduction.html Watch mohiniattam just click below: Clip Courtesy: VS Paniker Labels: Kerala, Mohiniattam, Mohiniyattam, Ritual Dance |
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Theyyam - A vibrant ritual dance from North Kerala
| Dear Readers, I have just started a blog to write about Indian heritage, culture, art forms etc. The first post is about Theyyam which is a folk-art form being performed at the Northern parts of Kerala State, South India. Normally the Theyyam festival is being celebrated between October and May. Known as the divine dance, Theyyam with its elaborate costume and surreal magic is largely performed in temples, where the performer(Theyyam) acts as a medium between the deity and devotee. Just have a look at the photo of Kshethrapalan Theyyam.  Kerala, the Gods Own Country, is rich in folk-culture, visual arts and festivals. One of the most important ritual art form is Theyyam. It is mainly performed at the northern parts of Kerala (mainly Kannur and Kasaragod districts), south India. It is a combination of music and dance and shows great features of a tribal culture. People at these districts considers Theyyam as God. Theyyam is also described as an artistic dance form where metaphysical thoughts and expressions of immortal souls are impersonated to a believer through a mortal body. Theyyam is generally performed in front of the village shrines called Kavu, Sthanam, Mundya, Koolom, Kshethram etc . It is also performed in the houses as ancestor worship with elaborate rite and rituals. There is no stage or curtain and other arrangements for the performance. The audience would be standing or some of them would be sitting in front of the shrine. Normally the first part of the Theyyam performance is known as vellattam or thottam. It is performed without proper make-up or decorative costume. Only a small red dress is worn during this performance. The dancer along with drummers (Chenda, Ilathalam, Kuzhal etc) recites the Thottam Pattu (particular ritual song). Thottam describes the myths and legends of the particular deity of the shrine or the folk deity to be propitiated. This is accompanied by the playing of folk musical instruments. After finishing this primary ritualistic part of the invocation the dancer returns to the Palliyara(green room). After some time he appears with face painting, make-up and costumes. The perofomer comes in front of the shrine and gradually “metamorphosises” as the particular deity. He, after observation of certain rituals start the vibrant steps/dance. In the background folk musical instruments like chenda, kuzhal, ilathalam and veek are played with rhythm. It is at this point that, almost imperceptibly, he slips into another state of being, his eyes widening as they focus not on his own reflection, but on the enigmatic features of a divine being. It is the moment when a mortal becomes a god.The unique quality of Theyyam is that it can manifest themselves in the bodies of empowered men as dancer-performers, and appear before their devotees while interacting with them by answering questions. Those who wish to visit Kerala and watch theyyam may contact the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (www.ktdc.com) or the District Tourism Promotion Council (DPTC), Kannur (www.dtpckannur.com). You can reach DTPC, Kannur by phone ++91-497-2706336 and email info@dtpckannur.com Watch theyyam from Cherukunnu Panchikeel Kottam click below:- Video Courtesy: Balabhaskaran Labels: Folklore, Ritual Dance, Theyyam |
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