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Background.
Kathakali is, literally, story-play, a vibrant dance drama of the
classical tradition in Kerala, the southern most state in India. At
the deepest level it is ritualistic. It has all the elements of folk
dance, music, elaborate make-up and costume. All these formative
factors evolved gradually to become what we have today one of the
best, scientifically codified performances of the Classical Theatre of
the world. It is said to have originated from Ramanattam, a modified
and a more enriched form of Krishnanattam with the creative initiative
of the local political chieftain, Kottarakkara Thampuran.
Krishnanattam was a narrative performance in Sanskrit while Ramanattam
was written in Malayalam, thereby making it popular and accessible to
larger audience. Krishnanattam was the story of Lord Krishna, while
Ramanattam was based on the life of Lord Sri Rama, another incarnation
of Mahavishnu.
Song,
dance and percussion.
The
stories of Kathakali are mainly based on the epics, The Mahabharatha
and the Ramayana. Kathakali in Malayalam language is Katha (meaning
story) and Kali (meaning plays). It is a happy blending of Natyam
(dance with emphasis on facial expression), Nritham (Rhythmic dance),
Nrithyam (dramatic Enactment with hand gestures), Geetha (Vocal
accompaniment / Song) and finally, Vadyam (Instrumental
accompaniment). This combination is called Touryatrikam (Song, Dance
and percussion).
All
this springs from a highly developed branch of literature with
classical roots in plot, characters, vision and in metric expression.
Thus there are more than 101 stories (AttaKathas) written by
well-known poets and artists like Kottarakkara Thampuran, Irayimmen
Thampi, Unnayi Varier, Karthika Thirunal and others.
Training.
The
actor requires rigorous training at least for six years consecutively
to present a performance. He would be trained in all fine arts,
especially in classical (epic) literature, acting of different types,
music, movement, costume, make up etc. The training starts at a very
young age of the actor, mostly between the age of 11 and 14.
Acting.
Kathakali follows mainly the Indian classical concepts of acting in
the Natyasasthra, elaborated and embellished by later acting manuals.
The four types of Abhinaya detailed in the ancient Natyasashtra are
adhered to in the Kathakali performance. The Aharya (dress and
deportment), Vachika (Spoken words, sounds, singing etc), Angika
(Movements, physical acting, gestures, use of the whole body etc.) and
the Sattvika (mental, spiritual and creative acting expressing various
emotions and sentiments) are the four types of Acting.
Make-up.
Another very striking and
attractive elements of Kathakali its elaborate make up depicting
different kinds of characters. The make-up has many strands,
typically native of the folk traditions of Kerala, a region blessed by
greenery, valleys mountains and waters. The colours used in the
Kathakali make up are the original natural contributions of the
country. This traditional colour combination symbolises various traits
of characters, emotions and their motif. The make up (or roles) is
mainly divided in to five types.
1.
Pacha
- deep green face and chutty is fixed on it - for Gods, righteous
heroes of moral excellence, noble characters like Krishna, Rama, Nala,
etc.
2.
Katti
– (literally, knife) Green face, sides of the noses in red, shapes of
their colour positions resemble sharply bent daggers - for
anti-heroes, Asuras, villainous, arrogant like Ravana, Dussasana,
Kamsa etc.
3.
Kari
– Black faces for vile and evil characters - for Suurpanaka, Simhika
etc.
4.
Minukku
– A smoothening make up with yellow and red pigments - for Brahmins,
saints and noble women.
5.
Taadi
– (Beard) Vella (White for Hanuman), Karuppu (Black for
Kali, Kattalan), Chuvanna (Red for Bali, Sugriva), depending
upon the traits of the characters.
Kathakali is the model of Total Theatre.
It is acclaimed and accepted by world renowned theatre personalities
like Grotovski, Eugino Barba and others.
Elegance and aesthetics.
It is a vigorous classical
performance, colourful and other-worldly with different layers of
cultural and aesthetic codes. The characters are super natural and
larger than the real in their religio-theatrical appearance. Enlarged
make up, costume, codified mudras for communication etc make it very
distinct. The use of Chenda (percussion instruments) and symbols
highlights the depth of the classical dimension of the strenuous
physical acting and the equally powerful singing of the musicians from
behind. The hand gestures of the actors numbering sixty-four basic
poses communicate about five hundred words.
Normally Kathakali is an
over night performance starting at about 6 pm and ending at 6 am next
day. It is performed in and around the temple premises and in
general public performance spaces as well. The KeliKottu, the
invocation on the percussion (Chenda) is a kind of announcement and
the people around from all walks of life flock to the performance
spot, ready to spend the whole night seeing Kathakali. It is
performed in front of a large bronze lamp lit by coconut oil. Behind
the lamp is the half curtain held by two persons on either side, when
required. There is no other property except a stool, to be used for
some characters to stand on it or for others to rest on it if needed.
Different sequences.
The performance has usually
seven – Sequences or stages :
1.
Purappadu
(first appearance of a character on the stage),
2.
Todayam
(the basic Nritt or Dance),
3.
Tira nottam
(curtain look, by heroes and kings on their appearance),
4.
Kummi
(dancing entry of the female characters),
5.
Kathakali
(the enactment of the main story),
6.
Kalaasham
(a passage of vigorous dance in between two pieces of verse –
play) and
7.
Finally, the Benediction Dance.
Dramatic.
Most of the stories of
Kathakali are highly dramatic with characters of conflicting nature
and intense emotional development. The process is gradual, enabling
the spectators to go deeper and deeper in one’s relationship with the
entire universe. The purpose is to ennoble the audience and to have a
better system of moral and spiritual life. For instance, the story of
Dussasana vadham presents mainly Bhima and Dussasana at logger
heads with each other with the former killing the latter by way of
vengeance for denuding Droupati (the wife of the five Pandava Princes
including Bhima). Their encounter is shown on the stage and the rest
of the events in their improvisations (Manodharmabhinaya). Similarly,
Kiratham is another story presenting Lord Siva and his spouse
Parvathi in the roles of Kattalan (Hunter) and his wife, testing his
disciple Arjuna’s devotion and ability and finally bestowing on the
latter all blessings.
Prof.
Vayala Vasudevan Pillai
E-mail :
vayalavpillai@yahoo.com
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