Chapter – 1

INTRODUCTION

The culture of a place can be acknowledged from its art and dance form.

Dances are considered as an integral part of culture of any region. Dance forms in

Kerala has a rich and vital tradition dating back to ancient times. Kerala, ‘God's own

country', has several dance forms. Kerala has numerous style of dances , generally

classified as classical or folk. Among the many folk dances some are native and have

gained recognition only within the state whereas, some have gained popularity

worldwide. Many of these dances are unique in their way of presentation with

wonderful expressions, which are performed by finest dancers. The performers are

adorned with attractive costumes and ornaments that add charm to the dance.

Kerala has around fifty forms of dances. Among them Theyyam,

Thiruvathirakali, Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Chakyarkoothu, Koodiyattam, and

Ottamthullal are some of the prominent dances in kerala. Sangeeth Natak Akademi

the National Academy for performing arts in India, recognizes Kathakali and

Mohiniyattam as Indian classical dances from Kerala.

Kerala is a traditional place and the people are proud of their rich heritage and

culture. A very lively example of that is the fact that folk dance in Kerala is still very

much prevalent and is performed with as much zest as it used to be in the earlier days.

In Kerala, traditional dance is given as much importance as education for any other

important realms of life. The people of Kerala have art in their blood and performing

arts are also their livelihood. The dances of Kerala are brilliant in nature and usually

depict scenes from ancient mythology.

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Kahakali ; the cultural dance-drama is socked in the essence of Indian spirit. It

echoes the culture of Kerala throughout the world is its most stylish form of this

`Kathakali`. The most beautiful and ethnic part of this traditional style of dance is that

the entire art is made of components like colourful costumes, distinctive make-up of

the participating characters, soulful expressions and perfectly tuned body language

moulding with the rhythm of the classical music. Kathakali is a classical dance form

of Kerala, demanding long years of training. Believed to have evolved from

Ramanattam, another classical art form composed by Kottarakkara Thampuran,

Kathakali incorporates the techniques of some of the major ritual art forms of kerala.

The characters of Kathakali do not speak and the story is presented through

songs in the background. This makes Kathakali music a very important component.

The text of Kathakali songs is known as Attakatha. Chenda, Maddalam, Chengila and

Elathalam are the instruments used with Kathakali music.

Like most other classical dance forms of India, Kathakali is also based on

Natyashastra, ancient treatise on dance, written by Sage Bharata. However, Kathakali

relies on Hasthalakshana Deepika, another classical text for its hand gestures.

Kathakali performance has different components or steps. They are Keli, Arangu Keli,

Thodayam, Vandana Slokam, Purappadu, Melappadam, Kathabhinayam and

Dhanaashi. It needs six to eight hours to present the complete version of a Kathakali

play.

The costume and make-up are extensive in nature and can take up to five

hours to be applied on a single participant. The colours used for make-up have their

own significance and are made up of natural products mixed with coconut oil so as to
form a paste. Expert make-up artists then apply these colours with much precision on

the faces of the dancers. The music that accompanies these dancers are either

instrumental or are sung by people who give the beats. The major dances that we have

covered are Kathakali, krishnanattam and Mohiniattam.

The spectacular costumes and colourful makeup are the other major features

of Kathakali. It makes three to five hours for the facial makeup of most of the

characters. To perform Kathakali, the artists need minimum four to five years of

training. In peril and on the verge of extinction in the beginning of twentieth century

top renowned poet Vallathol Narayana Menon and Manakkulam Mulrunda Raja took

the initiative to setup Kerala kalamandalam, centre of excellence for classical art

forms at Cherthiruthi in Thrissur. Since then Kerala kalamandalam works for the

revival of this art form.

Stories for Kathakali are often taken from Hindu mythology and Indian epics.

Kottayathu Thampuran, Unnayi Warrier, Irayiman Thampi, Vayaskara Moose etc. are

some of the major contributors of Attakkatha or the text for Kathakali plays include

kalyanasougandhikam, Nalacharitham, Uththara Swayamvaram, Duryothana

Vadham, Balivadham, Santhana Gopalam etc

Kathakali and Kottarakkara :-

Historically Kottarakkara, a small town in Kollam, was known as the land of

palaces of kings in Kerala. Its earliest known palace construction is traced to the

fourteenth century. It is the home of Kathakali. In the 17th century one of the kings of

Kottarakkara, Kottarakara Thampuran, wrote the first story of Kathakali

performance. The story was divided into eight poetic sections depicting various

incidents of the great Indian epic the Ramayana.The eight plays written by
Kottarakkara Thampuran are Putrakameshti, Seethaswayamvaram,

Vicchinnabhishekam, Kharavadhan, Balivadham, Sethubandhanam, and Yudham.

Later it was patronized by Raja of Kottarakara in the early 19th century absorbing

other dance forms of Krishnattam with further innovations.

Kathakali traced its origin to the ritualistic (tantric) period of the Vedic Age

and connected its growth from the popular folk dance dramas. It was believed that

Kathakali was conceived from Krishnanattam, the dance drama on the life and

activities of Lord Krishna created by the Samoothrippadu(Samoothiri, Swamy

Thirumulpad or Zamorin) of Calicut. The legend is as follows:Once Kottarakkara

Thampuran the Raja of Kottarakkara who was attracted by the tone of the

Krishnanattam requested the Samoothiripadu for the loan of a troupe of performers on

the eve of some festive occasion. Due to internal feuds and political rivalry between

them, the Samoothrippadu refused to send the performers and insulted with the

remarks: “It is useless to depute the troupe, because Kottarakkara Thespian’s court

would be neither able to appreciate nor understand anything of the highly artistic

Krishnanattam and the high standard of the performance”. Here the political rivalry

between the two chieftains leads to the art rivalry. So Kottarakkara Thampuran

initiated a parallel mode of entertainment, which he called Ramanattam which was

later transformed into Attakatha, and yet later into Kathakali. While Krishnanattam is

based on the stories of Lord Krishna’s activities, Ramanattam described the complete

story of Lord Raman. Krishnanattam was written in Sanskrit, “the language of the

Gods”.Ramanattam was in Malayalam, the language of the people. The use of

Malayalam, the local language (albeit as a mix of Sanskrit and Malayalam, called

Manipravalam), has also helped the literature of Kathakali became more

understandable for the average audience. By the end of the seventeenth century, the
finished product of Ramanattam was placed before the world under the title

Kathakali.

Kottarakara, also dubbed as the ‘birth’ place of Kathakali, has a museum,

which is now one of the major tourist attractions. Kottarakara Thampuran Memorial

Museum of Classical Arts in Kottarakara near Ganapathi Temple is a fitting tribute to

the father of Kathakali. The Museum is a treasure house of object related to Kathakali.

The Museum boasts of a fabulous selection of antique ornaments, Kathakali

costumes, musical instruments, Kathakali sculptures and models of dance forms. The

museum has a good library too.