It is the season for classics, western music, Indian music and now theatre. Keli, a five year-old Mumbai-based organisation dedicated to bringing classical and traditional art forms to art lovers, and Prithvi Theatre, are bringing a three-day festival of ancient Indian women's classical theatre to mumbai.
The festival will feature two ancient art forms: Kutiyattam, an 1800-year-old form of Sanskrit theatre, often desribed as the only surviving tradition of Sanskrit theatre and Nangiar Koothu, an offshoot form.
Traditionally, the text for this form of theatre, written by scholars, dealt with themes like the epics, legends, romantic stories etc. When the demise of Sanskrit theatre began around the 10th century, Kerala preserved it in the form of Kutiyattam by entrusting its performance and preservation to two communities, the Chakyars and the Nambiars.
The Chakyars adapt the Sanskrit text into a theatre script. Traditionally, Chakyar men performed these plays in the temples. The Nambiar men played the drums and the Nangiars (Nambiar women) were the female actors. The training for this temple theatre and dance tradition, a hereditary vocation, starts as early as when a child is three months old. This highly complex form of drama, performed in a space called the Kuttambalam, a part of the temple complex found on the right side of the installed deity, could take many nights to complete. Luckily for us, we are only expected to devote a few hours for getting a taste of this dying temple art form. This is not a lucrative profession and the performances are highly strenuous requiring great physical fitness. Some of the women's action include stunts like spiraling down from about 16 feet above the stage, suspended by the cloth.
This festival is dedicated to Painkulam Rama Chakyar who broke conventions and brought this theatre form out of the temple to art lovers outside, by training three girls from outside the community in Kutiyattam and Nangiar Koothu.
The costumes and make-up, similar to Kathakali, are distinctive in themselves. For example, the colours used for make-up symbolise the roles played by the actors: a slightly reddish colour for heroes and kings, pacce (green-cyan) for princes like Arjuna and Rama and katti (knife), a basic red, for Ravana. The colours and their application enhance the nuances and mudra of the performer.
"Our productions are against gimmicks", explains Keli's secretary, Ramachandran, "We wish to bring out the ideals in classical art forms. Don't dilute them, that's keli's motto.
This is exactly what attracted Prithvi Theatre to the festival. "We find Keli is really dealing with classical art forms, without dilution of the form itself," say Sanjna Kapoor, festival director.
This is the first time that such a major festival of Kutiyattam and Nangiar Koothu is being held in Mumbai. Twelve artists from Kerala will perform on December 22, 23 and 24 at different venues in the city (see below). In 1996, during a performance of Kutiyattam at Prithvi, all the house lights were turned off and the artist performed in the light of one oil lamp on the stage. "The effect was magnificent," says Ramachandra, "much like it was when performed in the old days. You could see every eye movement and movement of facial muscles, just as they were meant to be seen,"
"Prithvi Theatre is thrilled to be associated with the festival," says Sanjna Kapoor. "Contrary to popular belief, the performances are very approachable and the nuances are simple to follow. We hope to present such festivals of the classical arts every year. It is a way for us to stay connected, to promote them and open them to a wider audience." The setting may not be a temple, but the performances promise the same magic.