Themes of Kathakali

PAPER 5 DANCE, POETS AND POETRY, RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY AND INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE MODULE 12 POETRY AND THEMES OF KATHAKALI

Painted those faces vibrant their drapes bright their crowns a king, a queen for throbbing crowd legends mystified expression epitomized poetic melodies resounding drums. without a word with style and pause, on stage to enact vision and wisdom, love and passion, war and bloodshed. epics cruise through their eloquent intelligence and at the end with their empty hands subtract paints and those crowns of a bright make believe world.

Rema Prasanaa / राम प्रसन्ना

This poem by Rema Prasanaa is about the Kathakali artsite. Yet the Kathakali artiste is matrixed himself in poetry, as the play unfolds to poetry. In an interesting quirk of fate, the revival of Kathakali and the formation of its most significant dance training school, the Kerela Kalamandalam, were by one of Kerela’s leading poets, the triumvirate of the Malyalam language’s modern day trinity of Vallathol Narayan Menon, Kumaran Asan / कु मारन असान and Ullooor S. Parmeswara Iyer. It is said that together with Kumaran Asan, Vallathol was responsible for bringing about a revolutionary change in Malayalam poetry in the nineteen-twenties. Asan concentrated on social themes and Vallathol championed the national movement; yet both made very significant contributions to the khandkavya / खंडका핍य, i.e. the short poem of the lyrical type. The performance arc of the Kathakali artiste whether from the Northern school of Kathakali and performing the Kallatikkodan form of Kathakali, largely groomed by the Kerela Kalamandalam in the 20th century, or from the southern school of Kathakali and performing the Kaplingadan sampradaya / कप्ऱंगदान संप्रदाय, or from the central part and performing the Kalluvazhi / क쥍ऱुव煍ही form, or the Malabarian Kadalhanad type, Kathakali remains an exotic and lesser understood form when considered at a pan Indian level. This is something that deserves to be set right for Kathakali is a beautiful; multi layered and sophisticated form, carrying effortlessly a series of codes- codes in costumes, colours, and signs and symbols, as well as multiple levels of poetic interpretations. Varied and numerous streams of imagination operate in a grid of song and percussion. It is an art that calls on the audience and the actor to participate actively in the process of meaning making. The kathakali dancers make a language with their eyes, eyebrows, hands, and cheeks. Everything is stylized. Admittedly, all of the Indian dance tradition is like that, and Kathakali is the greatest realization of

2 that. There is no realism in it. Dress is coded to convey the type of character- Pacha / ऩ楍च, Tadi / ताड़ी, Kati / कट्टई or Minukku / ममन啍कू . Although all this is included in aharyam / आहययम, the aharyam with its large Mudis and frilled skirts, successfully gives the performers an ‘other worldly’ feel. Reinforcing the ‘alaukik / अऱौककक’ presence is the supernatural stance with an inwardly turned foot, which constitutes the basic position of Kathakali. But while the Ahryam is busy reinforcing this otherworldly feel, the song that constitutes the Vachika element of Abhinaya, throws you off, and has an element of surprise, because of the sheer humanness of the character that it depicts. Another aspect in the performance of the text, that enhances the ‘alaukik’ nature of the play, is that fact that the characters do not address each other and appear to be addressing the great beyond! Critical connoisseurship is essential for appreciating the fullness of the impact. The music of Kathakali is beautiful enough as is the poetry that is rich in similes and metaphors, which permit long drawn ‘sancharis’. The poetry has to be followed carefully, to be appreciated. For instance Mandodari is described as the “Sharadindu Manohar vadande / शारदददं ु मनोहर वदंडे” or the one with the face as beautiful as the autumnal moon. However, while the words say this, the meaning will be conveyed in a more complex manner, with sancharis woven in. These sancharis will be of a pair of the Chakravaka birds, flying in the night sky, who on suddenly sighting the beautiful moon, which is Mandodari’s face, getting inspired, and invoking a rush of love. This kind of treatment of poetry calls for imaginative interpretational capacities and the skill of ‘prakaranattam / प्रकाराणआट्टम’ which is the taking up of many roles, within one song. Another fine example of this is in the play “Kalyana Saugandhikam”, where in one scene

3 the majestic elephant is slowly succumbing to a double attack of a python and a lion. The dancer describing this scene switches from one character to another in this three way struggle of impending death. There are two texts that are followed in Kathakali. One is the poetic text which is considered sacrosanct in the sense that it is complete and should not be added to or subtracted from. The other is the dance text which is called the ‘atakatha / अटकथा’. Even the atakatha is always written in poetry and never in prose. In all, according to well known scholar of the Kerela arts, G. Venu, there are atleast 400 attakathas. Of them 100 are well known and 50 are in regular performance. But the tradition of doing entire plays has reduced and excerpts are done for an evening of performance. However, skill at poetry does not automatically beget skill in preparing a brilliant ‘atakatha’. An Attakathak is a set performance score. Many theatrical forms like Kaathakali / कथकऱी, koodiyattam / कु डीयाट्टम, Japan’s Noh and kabuki have set performance scores. As a result of this set score, performance conventions change very little from performance to performance. This is in contrast to the western theatres priority to creating a fresh, new and unique performance score with each performance. An Attakatha is more than a set literary text. It contains all the literary markers that frame it as a performance. It contains the collective conventions established by tradition and handed down from teacher to student or from performer to performer. The enactment of certain roles by masters, end up becoming conventions, which is the reason why the immense influence of Ravunni Menon is often cited. The performance text therefore consists of what Phillip Zarrilli calls the “Outer Markers” that constitutes the skeleton of the play, within which each performer performs and gives it the flesh, muscles, sinews and live breath.

Performance knowledge is a highly specialised art arising from long years of traditional training. Only then are the elaborations, and the elaborations of elaborations, that mark Kathakali’s performance, and make all night performances and multiple night performances, possible. Despite being much more that a literary text, an Attakatha cannot ever give a complete idea of what the Kathakali performance actually is, but it is the starting point of the actual performance. It was to address this need that while originally in Kathakali, the lyrical contents (i.e. the Aattakatha / अट्टकथा) were prepared, recently Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair, retired Principal of Kerala Kalamandalam, created a more detailed treatment of the text of Kathakali, in his two volume book, titled Kathakalivesham / कथकऱी वेशं. Part one has the manuals for the invocation items viz. Thodayam / थोडयम, Purappadu / ऩुर्ऩाडू & Pakuthippurappadu / ऩकु थथ्ऩुर्ऩाडू. Part two has the manuals for Irayyiman Thampi’s Subhadraharanam / सुभद्राहरणं, Narakasuravadham / नरकासुरवधं and Kottayathu Tampuran’s Bakavadham / बकवधं. The first set of Atakathas was written by the Raja of Kottarakara followed by the Raja of Kottayam. However, over the years, originally authored Kathakali plays have spawned the creation of performance scores that may diverge radically from the received literary text. Different performance scores may exist for a the same play, arising out of the subtle variations introduced by the plays, when treated by different Kathakali schools.

Themes of Kathakali The themes of the Kathakali are religious in nature. They typically deal with the Mahabarat, the Ramayana and, Bhagavatha and the ancient scriptures known as the Puranas. This is performed in a text which is generally Sanskritised Malayalam. Recently, as part of attempts to further popularize the art, stories from other cultures and mythologies, has been the subject of several Kathakali plays. Mary Magdalene from the Bible, Homer's Iliad, and William Shakespeare's King Lear and Julius Caesar, Hamlet, and Othello, besides Goethe's Faust too have been adapted into Kathakali scripts and on to its stage. Further Western themes like John the Baptist, Sohrab and Rustum, etc. have also been tried out. Viewed by the prism of human and emotional themes, there are stories of infatuation like that of Urvasi, Soorppanakha, etc. In Kathakali there is also a story of jilted love - the Kacha-Devayani Charitham Other secular stories have included the story of Mahatma Gandhi and the Hindi version of Kuchelavrutham / कु चेऱाव配ृ तम. Many works on social and political themes have but had a poor reception, for as scholar Appukuttan Nair admits, “social reality is anathema to Kathakali.

Some of the key Kathakali Poets and their works Some of the brilliant poets that have written for Kathakali include Unnayi Varrier famed for his chef-d'oeuvre “Nalacharitam / th नऱचररतम”. Varriar was born in the second part of the 17 century, and there is a temple record that states that an excerpt of it was performed at the Padmanabhaswamy temple festival, as early as 1752. Nalacharitham elevated the literary standards of Kathakali and is widely recognised to be path breaking and pioneering in its approach to make Kathakali a complete art form. The fundamental

6 influence that Unnayi Variyar has had on Kathakali is on the emergence of importance being given to the creation of Rasa as against a more dominant Bhava oriented presentation. That is why, Nalacharitham is considered to be the complete atakatha via its perfect storyline, masterly rendering and consistent aesthetics. This four part version of the Nala Damayanti story has been singled out as the highest peak in Kathakali literature and finds its way into Malayalam literature courses. However let us look back at the origins of Kathakali as we have the first significant literature emerging from that period. Ramanattam is a temple art in Kerela, which via a dance drama presents the story of Rama in a series of eight plays that tells the story of Rama from his incarnation to his coronation as the King of Ayodhya. The eight sections are “Puthrakameshti / ऩुथ्राकामेपटट”, “Seetha swayamvaram / सीता स्वयंवर ”, “Vicchinnabhishekam / ववप楍चन्नामभशेकम”, “Kharavadham / खरवधम”, “Balivadham / बामऱवधम”, “Thoranayudham / थोरानायुधम”, “Sethubandhanam / सेतुबंधनं” and “Yudham / युध्धध्धम”. It was created under the patronage of Veera Kerala Varma (AD 1653-1694) also known as Kottarakkara Thampuran. The story was also written by Kottarakkara Thampuran and is enacted over eight days with each section being enacted each day. Ramanattam is widely believed to be the immediate forerunner of Kathakali.

It is believed that internecine rivalry between Thampuram and the then Zamorin of Calicut resulted in the initiating of a mode of entertainment by the Thampuram, called Ramanattam / रामानाट्टम, to rival the Zamorin’s pet Krishnattam / कृ टणाट्टम form. While the Zamorin of Calicut, Manaveda's Krishnattam was written in Sanskrit,

7 which was the "language of the gods"; Ramanattam was in Malyalam, the language of the people.

Subsequently, the Raja of Kottayam (Kottayathu Thampuran) of northern Kerala (Malabar) refined Ramanattam into Kathakali. Kottayathu Tampuran who belonged to the first part of eighteenth century was a poet and a preceptor of dramatics who gave a scientific basis to Kathakali and Attakkatha literature. “Bakavadham / बकावधम”, “Kirmeeravadham / ककमीरवधम”, “Kalyana saugandhikam / क쥍याण सौगंथधकम ” and “Nivathakayacha Kalakeyavadham / ननवाथकायाच कऱाकेयाव धम” are the four perfect Kottayam works. And these works are foremost in literary beauty and musical quality and have substantial acting possibilities. Simple arrangement of padams, sweetness of expressions, and depth in conception appear in the works of Thampuran from start to finish. The contributions of Kottayathu Tampuran are invaluable as far as literature, music and technical aspects are concerned. The most important contribution of Tampuran towards refining Ramanattom to Kathakali was that he steadied the scientific basis of its literature, music and acting.

“Santana Gopalam / शांतना गोऩाऱं” by Mandavapalli Illiaricha Menon (1747-94) was a popular household production directed towards gaining the benefit of future progeny in the family. “Duryodhana Vadham / दयु ोधन वधम ” by Vayashara Aryan Narayan Moosad (1841-1902) and “Kiratam / ककरातम” by Irralakulanjara Rama Variar (1801-1845) were some of the other well known plays.

Irayimman Tampi, whose real name was Ravi Varman Thampi(1782– 1856), was a Carnatic musician and a composer based in Travancore. He is the one who wrote the famous Lulaby in Neelambari raga-

“Omanathinkal Kidavo / ओमनाथथकं ऱ कक蕍वो ”, which he wrote for the child Swati Tirunal, and which is today an absolute favourite in the Mohini attam repertoire. He is also famed for his Kathakali plays, “Kichakavadham / कीचकवधम”, “Uttaraswayamvaram / उ配तरास्वयमवर” and “Dakshayagyam / दऺयऻम”.

K. C. Kesava Pillai (1868–1914) was a composer of Carnatic music. He was the Poet Laureate of Travancore and extensively contributed to Malayalam literature. As a composer of songs, his standard is comparable to that of Swati Tirunal and Irayimman Thampi, both Kerala musicians. An avid viewer of Kathakali plays, he learnt the basics of Kathakali literature, costumes and mudras. When aged 15, he wrote his first attakatha, “Prahlaada Charitham / प्रह्ऱाद चररतं ”, later renamed, “Hiranyasuravadham / दहरान्यासुरवधं”, but was encouraged to learn Sanskrit so that he could correct his work himself. Later he wrote “Surapadmasuravadham / सुरऩदमासुरावधम” and “Sreekrishnavijayam / श्रीकृ टणववजयम”.

Kalamandalam Kesavan ( 1938- 2009) was a Kathakali percussionist, playwright and actor in films. He penned several poems and has written more than 40 short plays for kathakali. He has had an important role to play in the upliftment of Kathakali’s music. He also acted in the iconic film “Vanaprastham” (The Last dance) which is about a Kathakali dancer. Kesavan joined the Kerala Kalamandalam in 1954, where he came under Kathakali masters like Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Poduval and Appunni Poduval. After graduating from Kalamandalam, Kesavan worked with Kala Sadanam, Chunangad and RLV Institute, Thripunithura, and also worked as a teacher at F.A.C.T Kathakali School, as chenda master in Aluva for 30 years. He was the recipient of Kerala Kalamandalam Award, Ravunni Menon

Memorial Award and N.K. Pisharadi Award. After that he appeared in many films and television serials, portraying important characters. He wrote “Sohrab and Rustum” (adopted from Mathew Arnold's work with the same title), “Bheema Bhandhanam” and “Ekalavya Charitam”.

Many plays heave been written for Kathakali in the twentieth century. The biggest success amongst recent plays was experienced by “Karnasapatham”, which has turned out to be so iconic that it is placed on the same pantheon as the all time greats. Karnasapatham, was written by late Madhavan Nair under the pen name Mali.

Given the fact that the revival of Kathakali has been simultaneous to the development of the feelings the rise of nationalism, Kathakali could not escape the powerful attraction of political themes. Vallathol Narayan’s “Aushaddaharanan” and “Jap Kallatan” were based on the political situation. Iyyangode Sreedharan’s “Manava Vijayam” was inspired by communist ideals and was aimed at the non traditionalist communist audience.

Sardar K.M. Pannikker’s attakatha, “David Vijayam” was based on an episode from the Bible. In the 1960s the Old Testament story of the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham was choreographed into Kathakali. Bible stories were choreographed by Kumaran Nair and produced by the International Centre for Kathakali. It was in the seventies that Goethe’s “Dr. Faustus” and the Persian classic “Sohrab and Rustum” were choreographed. Their larger than life quality and other worldly fantastical feature helped in making such experimentation possible. The trend of the adaptation of western stories became rather popular and followed two streams. One is the adaptation of

Shakespeare for Kathakali. This included Lear, Macbeth, Caesar and Othello. Lear and Othello worked very well. In Othello, the scene of Desdemona;s death, as enacted by Sadanam Balakrishna was memorable. For Julius Caesar, special Chutti, new costumes and headgear were created, to resemble what ancient Rome wore. But this excessive interference with the core look of Kathakali was found to be excessive interference and alteration. It was in 1989 that Kalamandalam and the association of Keli in Paris collaborated to present King Lear. Its reception in Europe was better than in India. In 1991 when presented in Scotland it earned great reviews. The second stream of western stories included the presentation in Kathakali of western classics. In this line up were included the Illiad, which was produced by Kalamandalm in collaboration with the Canadian choreographer Richard Tremblay. The 1988 version using an English libretto failed but the version with the Malyalam translation by Marumakan Raja worked better. While these association did not go far themselves, they opened the bridges for future collaborations. The organisers of the European Theatre Festival in Delphi in Greece approached the International centre for Kathakali to choreograph Bacchae, for the European Theatre Festival. This turned out to be very challenging, with the music being set to different Carnatic ragas to suit the changing moods. The chorus was the biggest challenge since such a concept had never been attempted in Kathakali. Non traditional elements were included like the Kombu, the semi circular trumpet instrument of Kerela used in temple festivals, which imparted a mystical sound quality to the aural landscape of the production. Even the visual treatment was adapted to have a larger number of characters on stage, as if to suggest a crowd scene. The costume too was adapted but not radically. For instance, Dionysus was in Pazhuppa makeup, identifiable by its slightly reddish colour used for heroes. The Pazhuapau makeup is a subdivision of the Pacha

11 makeup, where the green and yellow is replaced by a reddish colour. Additionally he wore Krishna’s headgear that had vines entwined around it and a cobra hood on top. The antagonist king, Pentheus, was conceived of as a Kathi character, and the queen was in minukku. It had such an impact that it was declared the best production at the European Theatre Festival. But what usually work well are the episodes from the Indian epics. Even among recent plays those based on epics had a far better response. Kathakali and Flamenco came together in an encounter between Kalamandalam and Spanish theatre person, Cesar Lorente Raton, who in 2009, facilitated by Kerela Tourism presented “Dushashan Vadha”, in which Tamar Gonsalez was Panchali, accompanied by Gulien Vaquero as guitarist. Kalamandalam Biju Kumar was Raudra Bhima in this memorable performance. The International Centre for Kathakali has experimented with a host of plays, like “Bhakti Deepika / भप啍त दीवऩका”, written by K.N. Gopala Pilla and performed in the 'Janma Sathabdhi' celebrations of Mahakavi Ulloor, “Bhakti Nandanar / भप啍त नंदनर” and “Tiruvilayadal / नत셁ववऱायादऱ”- on the theme of social integration. “Urvashi Viyogam”, “Mary Magdalene” and “Ananda Matangi” are some of the other ones. Tagore’s “Chitrangada / थचत्रंगदा” and” Bidoi Abhisshap / बबदोई अमभशा ऩ” as well as Kalidas’ “Meghadootam / मेघदतू म” and “Kumara Sambhavam / कु मार संभवं” are among those Kathakali productions created by the International Centre for Kathakali.

IN HER BOOK ‘GOD OF SMALL THINGS’ ARUNDHATI ROY HAS WRITTEN THAT “THE SECRET OF GREAT STORIES IS THAT THEY HAVE NO GREAT STORIES. THE GREAT STORIES ARE THE ONES THAT YOU HAVE HEARD AND WANT TO HEAR AGAIN AND AGAIN. THE ONES YOU CAN ENTER ANYWHERE AND INHABIT COMFORTABLY. THEY DO NOT DECEIVE YOU

WITH THEIR THRILLS AND TRICK ENDINGS, IN THE GREAT STORIES YOU KNOW WHO LIVES AND WHO DIES, WHO FINDS LOVE AND WHO DOESN’T. YET YOU WANT TO KNOW AGAIN. THAT IS THEIR MYSTERY AND THEIR MAGIC.” FURTHER SHE WRITES ABOUT HOW THESE THEMES BECOME AN INSEPARABLE PART OF THE PERFORMER- “TO THE KATHAKALI MAN THESE STORIES ARE HIS CHILDREN AND HIS CHILDHOOD. HE HAS GROWN UP WITHIN THEM. THEY ARE THE HOUSE HE WAS RAISED IN, THE MEADOWS HE PLAYED IN. THEY ARE HIS WINDOWS AND HIS WAY OF SEEING. SO WHEN HE TELLS A STORY, HE HANDLES IT AS HE WOULD A CHILD OF HIS OWN. HE TEASES IT. HE PUNISHES IT. HE SENDS IT UP LIKE A BUBBLE. HE WRESTLES IT TO THE GROUND AND LETS IT GO AGAIN. HE LAUGHS AT IT BECAUSE HE LOVES IT. HE CAN FLY YOU ACROSS WHOLE WORLDS IN MINUTES, HE CAN STOP FOR HOURS TO EXAMINE A WILTING LEAF. OR PLAY WITH A SLEEPING MONKEY'S TAIL. HE CAN TURN EFFORTLESSLY FROM THE CARNAGE OF WAR INTO THE FELICITY OF A WOMAN WASHING HER HAIR IN A MOUNTAIN STREAM. FROM THE CRAFTY EBULLIENCE OF A RAKSHASA WITH A NEW IDEA INTO A GOSSIPY MALAYALI WITH A SCANDAL TO SPREAD. FROM THE SENSUOUSNESS OF A WOMAN WITH A BABY AT HER BREAST INTO THE SEDUCTIVE MISCHIEF OF KRISHNA'S SMILE. HE CAN REVEAL THE NUGGET OF SORROW THAT HAPPINESS CONTAINS. THE HIDDEN FISH OF SHAME IN A SEA OF GLORY.” FOR ROY, THE KATHAKALI DANCER’S BODY IS HIS SOUL.