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Home , Gurukula, Milena Salvini

4 Kutiyattam: UNESCO proclamation and the change in institutional model and patronage

SUDHA GOPALAKRISHNAN Scholar on Comparative Drama and Coordinator of the UNESCO application [email protected]

On 24 May 2000, I hired a taxi to go to watch a nineties and the initiatives for its revitalization after Kutiyattam performance, something I had been the UNESCO Proclamation. Revolutionary changes doing periodically. But today the taxi driver looked started happening in Kutiyattam from the second at me diff erently. “Oh you are going to watch the half of the twentieth century. Th e introduction of Kutiyattam performance. You know it has won UNESCO an institutional model of training with the opening recognition!” Th e taxi driver, who had apparently of a department at Kalamandalam in 1965 never seen a performance himself or heard about transformed the traditional mode of gurukula Kutiyattam before, was proudly informing me that , the practice of the disciple learning Kutiyattam has won world recognition! , the art by staying at his master’s house and which prides itself on its hundred percent literacy and painstakingly imbibing the skills. With more has a population that reads newspapers and watches and more people from other castes joining the television, seems to have noticed its own art form after institutions to take it up as a profession, the art had the UNESCO news…1 by and large ceased to be the preserve of the Chakyar families. Th e three established schools of Kutiyattam hat does the future hold for Kutiyattam? by the early eighties— in Situated in the twenty-fi rst century, Cheruthuruthy, Margi in Th iruvananthapuram and Whow does one deal with an art that Ammannur Chachu Chakyar Smaraka Gurukulam in has claims of going back two millennia, and has Irinjalakkuda—while incorporating changes in the a recorded history of more than twelve centuries? to suit the demands of a new generation With its moorings in a strictly sacred tradition and of actors and viewers, have tried to retain the confi ned to the temple complex, Kutiyattam was not traditional content of Kutiyattam. Th ese schools accessible to anyone other than the “higher” caste have come to be established as three communities in Kerala until a few decades back. and have opened up new possibilities for the art Additionally, its highly complex theater grammar form. Government and its agencies such as the and deliberately slow dramatic action demand Sangeet Natak Akademi stepped in with initiatives a viewership responsive to the intricacies of its in recent years to encourage and support Kutiyattam. enactment and adapted to leisurely relishing Th ere are sponsors, though few, from the non- and slow assimilation. It took a long time for government sectors in Kerala, such as temple Kutiyattam to open its doors to the outside administrations and other private trusts. Over the world. However, change was needed, and years, the unique theater language of classical theater now it is no longer an esoteric domain of a restricted in Kerala has caught the attention of scholars and group of people. It was not easy for Kutiyattam, the theater people from all parts of the world. In recent theater of , to gain acceptance and times, cross-cultural studies have revitalized interest recognition of theater lovers across the world in a in classical theaters such as Kutiyattam, serving fast-changing environment. as routes to the discovery of tradition, leading Th is paper restricts itself to the shift in patronage sociologists and theater scholars to search deep into systems in Kutiyattam from the late nineteen roots of “classicization”.

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By the early nineties, Sangeet Natak Akademi had promote their intangible heritage. It was also come up with a restoration plan, recognizing the intended to encourage individuals, groups, importance of preservation of artistic traditions institutions and organizations to make outstanding that appear to be threatened by the ever-changing contributions to managing, preserving, protecting socio-economic environment, and its possible loss and promoting the intangible heritage. to posterity. Th e plan comprised strategies to ensure Th e information regarding the new initiative the transmission of Kutiyattam through revitalizing by UNESCO reached the world of Kutiyattam the -shishya parampara, providing economic by chance. In late 1999, as Vice President of Margi, sustenance to the artistes, and creating performance I led a performance tour of the Margi troupe to opportunities. For achieving this, the Akademi made Paris at the invitation of Mandapa, an organization Margi and Ammannur Gurukulam its grant-in- run by Milena Salvini. Watching the performances aid institutions, the former primarily as a repertory of Painkulam Rama Chakyar along with his young providing ongoing performances of Kutiyattam and students of the Kalamandalam Kutiyattam School the latter as a training institution to create a new including Rama Chakyar, Sivan Namboothiri, generation of actors. Financial assistance was also Girija and Shylaja had awakened my interest in provided to P.K. Narayanan Nambiar, the mizhavu Kutiyattam from the early seventies. In those days, maestro, for training students in mizhavu. At a time I had the opportunity to see performances at the when the fi nancial resources and internal capacities Margi Kutiyattam School, interact with scholars of these organizations were minimal, the Kutiyattam like D. Appukkuttan Nair and observe great Scheme of the Sangeet Natak Akademi was a major practitioners at work, including the great boost to the revitalization of the art form. By the Painkulam Rama Chakyar (Senior) and Ammannur late nineties, new centers exclusively devoted to Madhava Chakyar. Th rough the visit of the Margi Kutiyattam mushroomed in Kerala. Among them, troupe to Paris, we made contact with UNESCO, the Padmasri Mani Madhava Chakyar Smaraka which was in the process of developing the Gurukulam started functioning in the memory of program of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the the late master-performer Mani Madhava Chakyar Proclamation of select cultural expressions as and concentrated mainly on giving intensive training supreme examples of world heritage. Margi took in mizhavu. Th e International Centre for Kutiyattam the initiative to put together a nomination dossier.2 in Th rippunithura, established in 1995, directed Fielded by the Government of India, Kutiyattam its eff orts in improving access to the art by was selected by an international jury along with organizing short-term foundation courses and eighteen other expressions of heritage from across conducting classes on Kutiyattam. It took the world, and proclaimed a “Masterpiece of the Oral Kutiyattam to schools and colleges across Kerala and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” in May 2001. and other places in the country for lecture- demonstrations and performances. Th e resurgence of Kutiyattam gained momentum with the UNESCO recognition. At the regional level, In 2000, a unique opportunity was created new initiatives were planned to safeguard the art with UNESCO starting a new initiative called the form and make it available to a wider community of “Intangible Cultural Heritage” and within it, a people. Performance opportunities increased, as did program for proclaiming outstanding forms its cultural value. Shortly after the announcement of cultural expression as the collective heritage of the recognition, the Kutiyattam community of the world. In view of the great awareness came together, perhaps for the fi rst time in history, across the world for the urgent need to safeguard to address the issue of its revitalization. In spite of and preserve intangible cultural expressions, fi nancial constraints, there is a renewed energy UNESCO created the Proclamation of Masterpieces among artistes in applying themselves to new of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. and creative projects. Th e three major schools— Th e aim was to encourage governments, NGOs Kerala Kalamandalam, Margi and Ammannur and local communities to identify, preserve and Gurukulam—directed their eff orts to creating new

INDIAN FOLKLIFE SERIAL NO.38 JUNE 2011 6 productions, reviving earlier plays and developing and an international seminar. Th e promotion of new choreographies. For example, Margi revived performances was directed at bringing together Kulasekhara’s Subhadradhananjayam (Act II), while artistes from the major schools of Kutiyattam on a Ammannur Gurukulam choreographed Kalidasa’s common platform. Other eff orts included making play Sakuntalam. traditional theater houses available for public One of the more important results of recognition is performances, conducting annual workshops with the establishment of more institutions dedicated to the participation of all the schools, and providing the pursuance and teaching of Kutiyattam in Kerala. refresher courses for all the artistes and students from Painkulam Ramachakyar Smaraka Gurukulam in Kutiyattam institutions. Furthermore, the project Painkulam, Mani Madhava Chakyar Gurukulam emphasized the improvement of research facilities in in Lakkidi, Pothiyil Gurukulam in Kottayam, the the six institutions, with the creation of Academic Krishnan Nambiar Smaraka Mizhavu Kalari by Resource Centers in the schools. It envisaged the setting up of a centralized archive and library with V.K.K. Hariharan and Usha Nangiar, Nepathya by Margi and Indu G., and Koppu Nirmana cataloguing and electronic storage facilities to Kendram in Vellinezhi (dedicated to the carpentry maintain the literature, documents, performance of costumes) are new centers playing a big role in manuals and audio-video material on Kutiyattam. the consolidation and propagation of the tradition Other initiatives planned were the holding of seminars, of Kutiyattam by training a new generation of bringing out publications including new research, students, reviving old choreographies, codifying new translations of manuscripts, and original writings ones and transmitting the art through performances on Kutiyattam. A program of Documentation of and lecture-demonstrations across the country. Masters Series was directed towards the audio-visual documentation of distinctive artistic styles and After the Proclamation, UNESCO made a techniques of the master-performers of Kutiyattam. comprehensive action plan through the Japan-Funds- To put these comprehensive plans into practice, in-Trust for the revitalization of Kutiyattam. As part UNESCO identifi ed two forms of assistance. Th e fi rst assistance for the ten-year action plan projected in was for supporting and facilitating the creation of the the nomination dossier, it sought to support and network (representatives of six institutions engaged consolidate the network of Kutiyattam practitioners in safeguarding Kutiyattam) and for sustaining its and to ensure its continued safeguarding. UNESCO activities for the preservation, conservation and identifi ed the following objectives: assist intangible dissemination of Kutiyattam Sanskrit Th eater. cultural heritage custodians and practitioners in It also recommended tapping private and public their eff orts to safeguard and transmit this heritage sources of funding at the local, regional and national to future generations and to target young audiences level with a view to creating a Kutiyattam Fund. and potential performers; assist and support the Th e other program sought to sustain the specifi c creation of a network of Kutiyattam institutions needs, such as the ongoing activities of the six involved in the preservation of this art form; foster institutions of the network, to enable them to further academic research and publish texts and safeguard and transmit their art Within the resources audio-visual documentation; assist in establishing allocated from the Japan Funds-in Trust Scheme, a centralized archive and library on Kutiyattam and fi nancial assistance was given to individual institutions raise awareness of young people in the local (Kalamandalam, Margi, Ammannoor Gurukulam, community of the important role they should play Mani Madhava Chakyar Gurukulam, International in ensuring the maintenance of their cultural Centre for Kutiyattam and the Department of heritage and also within Indian society at large. Ancient Th eater in Sree Sankara University) for Th e UNESCO project sought to support local activities ranging from the upgrading of infrastructure practitioners from the six Kutiyattam schools facilities, production choreography of new plays based and institutions located in Kerala. Th is involved on existing texts, and organizing training programs/ organizing training courses, performances, lecture- lecture-demonstrations performances to outreach demonstrations and workshops, Kutiyattam festivals activities and documentation.

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A comprehensive action plan was also evolved at the , artistes and scholars; sponsoring training, national level to revitalize Kutiyattam by ensuring as well as performance opportunities; encouraging its fi nancial support and sustenance. An Intangible research in affi liated theatrical traditions; Heritage Fund was created and, through this, funds maintaining the genealogy of families of Chakyars were channeled. A budget line (head) was created in and Nambiars; and supporting traditional families the Ministry of Culture as the Intangible Heritage and the conservation of traditional theaters. Th ere Fund to give support to Indian art forms declared are provisions for infrastructural support to all the by UNESCO as the Oral and Intangible Heritage of existing institutions, annual grants, and performance Humanity. Under this head, a series of activities subsidies, monthly remuneration of each artiste in leading to the promotion of Kutiyattam were all the institutions, scholarships to students, research budgeted. Th e Tenth Five Year Plan of India set and publication grants, as well as dissemination aside resources for the revitalization of Kutiyattam. activities such as the organization of Kutiyattam One of the most signifi cant developments was that, festivals. Th e National Centre for Kutiyattam now in the National Budget for 2006, the Minister for serves as a platform to address matters relating to Finance, Government of India, announced a special Kutiyattam in a wide-ranging manner and to ensure provision for the cultural expressions declared as its sustenance. Masterpieces by UNESCO. Th e announcement said: When we look at Kutiyattam in the context of the “I am happy to inform the House that Kutiyattam, modern world, an ambivalent picture emerges. Th e Vedic Chanting and Ramlila have been declared incentives and various programs instituted by the ‘Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity’ by government and its agencies like the Sangeet Natak UNESCO. Th ese old art forms and oral traditions need Akademi has “re-established” and institutionalized to be safeguarded. Pending drawing up a detailed the art form. Th ere is an increased interest in scheme, I propose to make an initial provision of Kutiyattam among theater lovers across the world, Rs. 5 crore [Rs. 50 million] in 2006-07.” and there are positive benefi ts such as more Th e action plan outlined by the Ministry of performance opportunities, a rise in the number Culture, Government of India envisaged fi nancial of students learning the art and in institutions support for reviving old plays and choreographing for imparting training, re-inventing old texts and new productions; promotion of performance choreographies, and more documentation and opportunities, training and consolidation through increased coverage in the media leading to what may guru-shisya parampara; visual documentation and research; Photo Courtesy: H. Moser organization of outreach activities in educational institutions as well as seminars, festivals and publishing books. Th e fund for Kutiyattam was subsequently transferred to the Sangeet Natak Akademi and as a development of its earlier project, the Akademi started Kutiyattam Kendra: National Centre for Kutiyattam in Th iruvananthapuram in 2006. Some of its objectives are the preservation and creative growth of Kutiyattam; the creation of an informed audience and rasikas; providing a platform for discussion Uṣa Naṅnyār performing Naṅṅyār-Kūttu in the kūttampalam of the Vaṭakkunāthan temple and exchange of concepts among (Tāḷam: Aparṇṇa Naṅṅyār, Miḻāvu: Nārāyaṇa Nampyār); Tṛśśūr, 17.08.1995.

INDIAN FOLKLIFE SERIAL NO.38 JUNE 2011 8 be called a resurgence. With the increase in funding parampara. Th e intensive, long drawn-out abhinaya, and creative opportunities there is a revitalization which is the hallmark of Kutiyattam, has given way of interest in this art form. Kutiyattam today is well to the depiction of dramatically eff ective scenes known across the world of theater internationally, of shorter duration. Th e introduction of fi nancial and some degree of sustainable income for the support for newer choreographies has compelled Kutiyattam performer has made her/him less almost every actor to turn into a choreographer, and vulnerable. However, change in a predominantly as a result, new plays and newer interpretations of traditional art such as Kutiyattam does not always existing plays have surged across the fi eld, perhaps lead only to positive results, for as the speed of life not always with positive results. It is now a challenge increases there are some inevitable challenges to the for Kutiyattam to fi nd a fi ne balance leading to the traditional ways of its practice and performance. integration of traditional expertise and its adaptation With the introduction of school-based learning to the needs of today. and the mushrooming of institutions catering to a wide, disparate group of students (including school Endnotes students who come to train themselves for one-time 1 Diane Daugherty, a scholar who worked on Kutiyattam events like school competitions) there is a general, for several years, in conversation with me. perceived decrease in the high-quality training 2 did the video documentation that was once accorded in this traditional art form of Kutiyattam and Sudha Gopalakrishnan prepared the through individualized training or guru-shishya nomination dossier on behalf of Margi. I

INDIAN FOLKLIFE SERIAL NO.38 JUNE 2011