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Unit 4 Kat Ha Ka Li UNIT 4 KAT HA KA LI Structure 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Objectives 4.3 Kathakali- the Total Theatre. 4.4 Uniqueness of Kathakali - Its Message 4.5 A Brief History of Kathakali 4.6 Technique 4.7 The Actor Prepares 4.8 Nritta 4.9 Nritya 4.10 Aahaarya in Kathakali 4.11 The Curtain Look 4.12 Orchestra 4.13 Repertoire 4.14 Some Wellknown Exponents and Performers 4.15 Self Assessment Questions 4.1 INTRODUCTION It is now evening in Kerala. From far away you hear the playing of drums and cymbals. You are visiting your friend who is very knowledgeable. He tells you that the drums are announcing to the people around that a Kathakali performance will take place later in the evening. Both of you decide to witness the performance. People arrive in twos and fours, leisurely chatting with each other. They are discussing the performance that is going to take place. You are surprised that most of them knowthe story that is going to be performed; they are most excited that one of the greatest Kathakali artiste is going to enact the central role. Gradually everyone take their seats. There is a huge brass lamp placed in the centre of the stage near the frontline. It has two wicks made up of twisted strips of cloth. A man enters the stage, pours oil over the two wicks and lights them. Two drummers and two singers now enter the stage and take their positions almost at the back of the stage. One of the singers holds a metal disc which he sounds with a flat piece of wood the other holds huge cymbals in his hands. Now two men enter the stage and hold aloft a colourful curtain just behind the lamp. With a crash of sound the two drums play a thundering pattern accompanied by the disc and cymbals. And then you see the top portion of a fabulous headgear when the dancer enters behind the curtain. You do not see his face but realize that he is performing some rituals. Then he turns towards the audience and slowly grabs the edge of the curtain and slowly lowers it shaking it all the while. And then you see the colorfully made up face, ornaments which do not resemble any that you have seen; from waist downwards there is a bellowing white skirt made up of layers and layers of cloth. But 27 what rivet your attention are the fluttering eyebrows and mesmerizing gaze out of reddened Understanding Indian eyes which convey an astonishing range of emotions. On the fmgertips of the left hand Classical Dances he is wearing elongated false nails made up of steel. His hands are like two lotuses whose petals fold and unfold to form stylised gestures which you indentify as hasta mudraas which translate words of the song being sung. Then another character enters in the same manner from behind the curtain, but the make-up pattern and colours selected are different. And then enters a woman character very stylishly dressed. Your friend tells you that he is actually a man dressed as a woman. Your friend tells you that a popular story from the epic Mahabharata is being enacted. You are taken to a fantastic world peopled by imaginary beings who act out our age old stories. You feel that this is not a dance in the same way like that of Bharata Natyam or Kathak. There is an element of dance which mingles with the theatre element effortlessly and completely. It presents a beautiful art which overwhelms you with its majesty and emotional intensity. You come away awed but also mystified. What is Kathakali? 4.2 OBJECTIVES After studying this lesson unit you will be able to: • Demystify the enigma that is Kathakali; • Acquaint yourselves with the principles that guide this fantastic facial make-up; and • Understand the philosophical message that this gorgeous art form conveys. 4.3 KATHAKALI - THE TOTAL THEATRE Kathakali is the 'story dance' from the southern state of Kerala. Kathakali literally means "Katha" -story and "Kali" means a dance or a performance. It is a composite art where different actor-dancers take different roles. The stories are usually from the Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Kathakali is a very majestic art and when you see the costumes you realise how much thought and how much aesthetic values have gone into the making of this art. The entire idea is of 'total theatre' where there are acting, music - both vocal and instrumental- and also the colourful motifs and costumes playing important roles -, 4.4 UNIQUENESS OF KATHAKALI - ITS MESSAGE A performance starts by lighting of the ceremonial lamp. It has just two wicks - one wick is towards the audience and the other towards the stage. It signifies that the light of knowledge must spread not only to the actors but also to the audience. And what is the message? The message is very simple. It is "the victory of good over evil". Kathakali can be described as the "theatre of imagination" where demons and good human beings clash in the realm of imagination, where the good human beings are eventually victorious. 4.5 A BRIEF HISTORY OF KATHAKALI Historically, Kathakali is the end product of a long line of theatrical practices. The origin of Kathakali is to be found in the Kuttiyaattam the Sanskrit drama which has been preserved by the Chaakkyaar community for almost 1000 years. There are references to be found in the Southern epic Silappadikaram which describes a dance that a 28 Chaakkyaar was presented in the honour of the victorious king. The present form of Kutiyaattam was fmalised in 1000 A.D. Together with the Chaakkyaar's art flourished Kathakali Nangyaar Kuttu performed by women. In the 16th century we come to the next phase in the development in the Krishnaattam which presents the Krishna story cycle in eight days. Later on in the 17th century developed the Ramanaattam which presents the Rama story cycle. It is Ramanattam, which is no more practiced, which resulted in Kathakali. 4.6 TECHNIQUE The technique of Kathakali is very unique. Since there are different types of characters with their very special types of make-up patterns with different colour combinations and also differences in the heavy ornamentation, it is very natural that the technique of presentation would also differ. Yet there are certain common elements which belong totally to Kathakali. The first thing that strikes us is the very interesting and unique position of the feet. The foot is placed on the ground not flat but on the outer edge of the sole. This gi ves the necessary spring in the walk:. The legs provide the solid base for the thick layers of the bellowing skirt.It is the waist which acts as the pivot for the torso to perform the full movements. The knees point outwords like many other dance styles. These positions are very essential for proper balance to be maintained during the performance. It is amazing that despite the billowi ng skirt and the heavy ornamentation - specially the headgear the kireetam - the Kath akali actor/ dancer is extremely agile and does perform breath taking leaps and jumps. The most important characteristic of Kathakali technique is that the female roles are performed by men, it is only recently that women have started learning and performing Kathakali. 4.7 THEACTORPREPARES Dance by itself is not natural movement for the human body. So in order to get used to contortions, bends,jumps one must practice very special exercises and this starts when a child is 6 or 7 years old. Each dance style has its own way of bending or jumping and each dance style has evolved its own exercises. In Kathakali, these exercises prepare the actor-dancer for the sheer majestic bearing and deportment necessary for the depiction of heroic characters as well as demons. They also tone the body to carry the bulky Kathakali costumes. These exercises are inspired by some of the asanas of yoga. They are also inspired by the martial art of Kerala - Kalaripayettu. 4.8 NRlTTA Nritta in Kathakali is usually performed during the elaborate nritya pieces called the padams. Nritta by itself is not performed as a complete item as in the other dance styles. There are only two or three pieces of pure nritta. The Todayam is an elaborate piece but it is performed behind the curtain as a ritual. Another nritta item is Purappaadu which is performed at the beginning of some of the stories. Otherwise nritta sequences alternate with passages of nritya either to prod aim the end of a passage or; as in many cases, to support and enhance the central emotion. Thus the nritta patterns vary for the different types of characters. A unit of nritta is called kalaasham. There are varieties of Kalaashams, but there is not a very wide variety since nritta, by itself, does not have much' of an importance. 29 t . Understanding Indian Classical Dances 4.9 NRITYA Every Indian classical dance style has its own characteristics. Kat:hakaIi the very majestic dance style utilises heavy facial make-up. As such the facial expressions have to be that much more pronounced. Kathakali has developed these facial expressions to a very high level in which every facial muscle plays a very important role. Bharata's Natyashastra divides the human body into 6 major limbs - angas and 6 minor limbs - upaangas, which are situated in the face. They are the eyebrows, eyelids and the eye balls, the nose, the cheeks and the lips.
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