KATHAKALI

 KATHAKALI

Kathakali is a stylised dance-drama? Is it a pantomime? Can it be called a classical ballet? One of the world's stop-ranking poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore was instantly impressed by the aesthetic range and the narative techniques me Kathakali when Kalamandalam presented a programs go Santiniketan. Kathakali was born only in the 17th century. But in less than four centuries it grew up to represent India's cultural heritage to the world outside. An eclectic art Kathakali evolved its classicism receiving inspiration from most of its predecessors viz Koodiyattam, Krishanattam, Theyyam, Martial arts, Padayani, Mudiyett and similar traditions. 

Kathakali plays are composed from the great Indian Epics, The ramayana, the mahabharata, and the Bagavatha. The play synchronizes no stage Nritta (pure dance), Nritya (Expression Dance), Natya (Histrionics), Geeta (Vocal music) and Vadya (Percussion ensemble). Kathakali characters communicate through the language me hand-gestures (over six hundred gestures are in use), body movements and facial expression. The text of the play is sung by the principal and supporting vocalists. The dancers translate the songs into appropriate gestures, movements and expressions. 'Chenda' and 'Maddalam' are the two major percussion instruments used in Kathakali. They provide audio effect to the performance by tracing the character behavior. A curtain (Thiraseela) is held on stage by two persons just before the entry and exit of all the main characters. This is traditional theatrical device to transcend time and space.

Kathakali make-up and costuming is intricate, elaborate and colorful. It takes at least three hours for an actor to transform into a full fledged character with facial make-up, head-gear, ornaments and colorful costumes. Kathakali characters are broadly divided into noble, wicked and grotesque. Their make-up and costumes differ from one another. Love, Separation, virtue Vs vice, comic-relief, emotional struggles, gruesome-war and murder are common scenes in the Kathakali plays. More than the themes, the stylistic of individual performers is the abiding passion me Kathakali fans.

Kalamandalam gives intensive training to young aspirants in Kathakali. Body-massage is a must for Kathakali students. Teachers will massage the students from head to foot in the small hours me the morning during monsoon - June to August. After applying oil through out the body the students have to take a set of exercises. There are also post massage exercises. Massage makes the body of student supple and allows him a lot of flexibility in all his movements on stage. Body massage is a treatment involving strain and pain. Kathakali perhaps adapted this training-technique from Kalaripayattu (Martial arts). In Kalamandalam, Kathakali students are trained in such a way as to master the techniques first. They are later led to character-analysis and emotional identification