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The difference between classical dancing andfolk dancing is mainly that there is a deliberate

attempt at artistry in the former.

iClassical Dances

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CLASSICAL DANCES

Classical dances are based fully or partly on the principles andtechniques embodied in the ancient Hindu scriptures and technicaltext on dance and allied arts. The earliest of these known scripts isBharatha’s Natya Shastra believed to have been written around thesecond century B.C. Most of the prevailing systems of classical dancinggoverned by elaborate techniques with a high degree of refinement

have had their origin in the dances of the common people. The difference between classicaldancing and folk dancing is mainly that there is a deliberate attempt at artistry in the former.Sophistication along the norms of the scriptures of advance theories on dance and dramaturgyare strictly adhered to. The concept of portraying emotion, the grace of the individual dances andthe virtuosity of the isolated poses are all important in classical dances. Emphasis has been givento different aspects of the dance, namely pure bodily movement, aids to dance like theme, song,instrumental music, the expression of emotions, moods and sentiments, the dress, ornaments,make up and the stage.

Koothu, Koodiyattom, Patakom, Ashtapadiyattom, Krishnanattom, Thullal,Mohiniyattom and Kathakali are the most important classical dances.

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K O O T H U

KOOTHU

This classical dance is performed by the members of the professional Chakyar caste andthat too only in Koothambalam of temples. It is one of the oldest of theatrical arts peculiar toKerala. The term koothu literally means dance which may be taken as an index of the importanceattached to dance in the original form of the art. As a matter of fact, the movements and facialexpressions and the signs and gestures employed by the actor in Koothu are said to approximatemost closely to the principles laid down in the authoritative Sanskrit treatise on the subject,Bharatha’s Natya Sastra.

The actor recites stories from the epics (based on Sanskrit text) interpreting them inMalayalam, enlivening his narrationwith Thandava dance rhythms andalso gestures and bodily postureswhich are clearly derived from NatyaSastra.

The Koothu is very muchdominated by the comic element.Impersonated through mime andgesture and interspersed withoccasional dances, the narrative artof the Chakyar is essentiallydramatic. Humorous, wittyanalogies and allusions to topical,political and social events arebrought in during the narration andthe dancer gets ample facilities forcriticizing men and things of localinterest. Seldom does he miss anopportunity to make comiccomments on contemporary life andsociety. He ridicules the follies and

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foibles of the age with impunity.

In actual performance the dancerstands on the platform of the Koothambalamadorned with his special type of headgear andpeculiar facial make-up. He then offers prayersto the presiding deity of the particular templewhere he is performing. After that he recites averse from the Sanskrit text from which heintends to expound and then explains it inMalayalam.

The instruments used are a pairof cymbals and the mizhavu which is a bigcopper drum. A member of the Nambiar castebeats rhythm on the mizhavu at the requiredintervals. The cymbals are played invariablyby women known as Nangiyars.

Koothu presented as a solo itemby a Chakiyar is also known as Prabhandha

Koothu. Occasionally, it is presented by a Nangiyar woman, when it is called Nangiyar Koothu.

PATAKOM

This is another dance form similar to the Koothu in its technical content. But here thedance element is almost given up and the narration is done through an alternating prose andsong sequences, the gestures being retained. A new literary form called Champu, whichaccommodated more and more of Malayalam idiom and vocabulary was used as text for Patakom.Literally means dissertation, Patakom is performed by Nambiyars even outside temple precincts.

The dancer has a red head-dress and on the wrist a red silk. There are garlands around theneck and sandal paste lines across the forehead.

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KOODIYATTOM

Instead of single Chakiyar a number of performers get together and stage dance-drama.That is why it is called Koodiyattom, literally “dancing together” (The beginning of Kerala’sdramaturgy can be traced to this dance). Both men and women partake in this performance.Abhinaya is the most important element in Koodiyattom. The texts are always in Sanskrit andthe performance is a prolonged affair. It may take anything from a few days to a number ofweeks.

All the four types of abinaya, viz. Angikarm, Vachikam, Sathvikam and Aharyam arefully utilized in Koodiyattom.

The plays are performed only in temple precincts as votive offerings. Abhinaya or actingis a three-fold or even four-fold process. Appropriate hand gestures and symbols are first shownwhen the words of the verse are spoken in a typically modulated tone. As the music is begun, the

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meaning of the words are translated into a language of bodily postures, attitudes and facialexpressions. The third is a repetition of the first.

Koodiyattom is staged on the specially built temple theatre called Koothambalam. Thestage is decorated with fruit-bearing plantains and bunches of tender coconuts and festoonedwith fronds of the coconut palm. A vessel overflowing with paddy is placed on the stage. Lightingis done with a tall oil lamp made of brass. Within a railed enclosure on the stage is a large copperdrum called mizhavu with a high seat for the Nambiyar drummer. A Nagiyar woman plays thecymbal and occasionally recites the verses. The musical element is very much suppressed inKoodiyattom. At times special orchestral effects are introduced. The orchestra consists of anedakka, maddalam, a conch pipe and horn.

There is facial make-up using colour schemes and patterns having symbolic value, thoughstrict standardization of types is absent. The make-up patterns as seen in the better known Kathakaliare borrowed from Koodiyattom.

In the actual performance, first the drum is sounded and then the Nagiyar woman recitesthe invocatory verse, (Vandana slokam). After that a purificatory ritual of sprinkling holy water

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on the stage is done by the Nambiyar. Then there is an interlude of orchestra, after which thedance ritual ceremony called Kriyachavittuka is performed by the Sutradhara. The next item isthe stapana of the particular act. The main character is introduced in the next stage calledKoothupurappadu in the background of the tense dramatic sense created by the full orchestrafury. Nirvahana, the next part of the drama, follows. This itself consists of three phases, theAnukrama, the Samkshepa and the Vistara respectively. Purushartha follows in which clown(Vidushaka), caricaturing the moods, is the hero. This is a significant departure from traditionand a remarkable feature of Koodiyattom. The drama proper now begins sluggishly and leisurelythrough the long drawn out, detailed and elaborate abhinaya process.

The stage craft is simple, with hardly any stage setting. Koodiyattom is perhaps theoldest dance-drama in existence in India.

KRISHNANATTOM

A refinement of Ashtapadiattom, evolved by Manavedan, the Zamorin was Krishnanattom.The whole story of Krishna was cast into a drama-cycle which would need eight nights for serialp r o d u c t i o n .Vilwamangalam, aKrishna devotee,helped in designingthe costume ofKrishna . The actors inthis dance drama haveto conformthemselves to theballet element andmimetic expression.The narrative song isleft to the musicians.

Krishnanattom was created as a votive offering and it survives in that capacity in thetemple of Guruvayoor where it is still performed. The dance drama is based on the text Krishna-

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Geetha which is in Sanskrit. Many of thecharacteristics of the earlier ritual folk dancessuch as Thiyyattom, Mudiyettu and Theyyamare seen in Krishnanattom especially in thepainting of the face in intricate patterns, andthe use of masks and colourful, gorgeouscostumes and head-dresses. The make-upcostumes and ornaments used inKrishnanattom are almost similar to that seenin Kathakali, though in Krishnanattom someof the characters are seen using painted masksmade of wood. The gestural language andabhinaya are not very well developed. Moreimportance is given to pure dance (nritta) andthe stress is always on group movements andgroup compositions. All the eight night playsare full of beautiful dances. In no other dancecould be seen so many characters performing the same dance with the same facial expressions,eye movements, gestures, foot-work (and set to the same rhythm), with so much of co-ordination,and grace, e.g., Mullappoothutal in Rasalila (Sree Krishna with Gopies) Kaliyamardana Nrithametc.

Maddalam, elethalam and chengala are the musical instruments used.

RAMANATTOM

Legends have it that as an offshoot of the rivalry between the Zamorin and the Raja ofKotarakara, the later created the Ramanattom, the dance-drama on the life of Rama. It was alsofor serial enactment on eight successive days. Here facial abhinaya and hand gestures were givenmore importance. The songs were all in Malayalam. In course of time the masks were discardedand a richer variety in facial make-up was developed. It was this Ramanattom that developedinto Kathakali.

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ASHTAPADI ATTOM

This was popular dance form based on the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva. It was more of adramatic representation of the renowned lyrical play. Altogether there are only five characters,Krishna, Radha and three females. This form is now almost extinct (instruments chenda,maddalam, elathalam, chengala)

KATHAKALI

Unique among theIndian dance forms, Kathakaliis the classical dance-drama ofKerala. Vivid and eloquent inits characteristics mudras(hands signs), natural andimpressive in gesture, gracefuland rhythmic in movement,pleasing in choreography andabove all delightful in wealthof imagery, Kathakali rankshigh among the Indian danceforms.

For themes Kathakalidraws upon the inexhaustibletreasure trove of the ancientPuranas chronicling the lives,loves and conflicts of the godsand supermen of Indianmythology.

Noted for its archaiccostumes, weird make-up and

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grand head gears, Kathakali is perhaps the only dance form in India in which the masculineaspect of the dance is preserved in its elemental vigour.

Kathakali as it is known today is not more than three to four hundred years old, eventhough its actual roots can be traced to at least 1500 years earlier. Kathakali marks the culminationof a long process of evolution during which the various histrionic arts of Kerala had their birth

and development and paved the way for the eventual emergence of this composite art. Kathakalialso symbolizes a blending of the Aryan and Dravidian cultures, for in shaping its technique thisdance form assimilated various elements which is borrowed freely from the dances, dramas andritual performances associated with these cultures.

In reconstructing the history of Kathakali it is necessary to take into considerationpractically every type of formalized dance, drama and dance-drama that existed in Kerala prior tothe genesis of this art. Such a study should include the earliest types of stylized dance and drama

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in Kerala such as theChakiarkoothu and Koodiyattom,various ritual dances associatedwith the cult of Bhagavathi, suchas the Mudiyettu, Thiyyattam andTheyyam, the socio-religious andmartial dances such as the Sastrakaliand Ezhamattukali and the latterlyevolved dance-dramas such as theKrishnanattom and Ramanattom.The art of Kathakali incorporatesthe characteristic features of manyof these dances and dramas and itis safe to surmise that Kathakalievolved out of these earlier forms.

Kathakali is a complete artconstituting three fine arts-Abhinaya (acting), and Nritya(dancing) and Geetha (music). Itis pantomime in which the actorsdo not speak or sing, but interprettheir emotions through highly sensitive medium of appropriate gestures, picturesque hand-posesand vivid facial expression perfectly intelligible even to the uninitiated. Kathakali is both dramaticand a dance art. But primarily it is the former. Histrionics or Abhinaya predominates and thattoo is of a far profounder type than ordinary dramatic acting. It is not realistic art but belongs tothe imaginative type spoken of in Bharatha’s Natya Shastra.

Every feeling is idealized and expressed on the face with an intense vividness, which morethan compensates for the absence of the spoken word. And every shade of such expression on theface is made to harmonise with the rhythm of the dance and melody of the music. Acting inKathakali is not merely the expression of the subjective emotions of the human heart, but also an

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objective realization of the person, scenes,creatures and things around. It actuallyinvolves impersonation through the mediumof art and herein consists the essentialexpensiveness of Kathakali, its pictorialsplendour and its poetic sublimity.

Music is an important andessential element in Kathakali. The orchestrain it is composed of two vocal musician, onekeeping time with a resounding gong calledchengala and the other with a pair ofclanking cymbals called elathalam, a chendaplayer and maddalam player. The chenda isa cylindrical drum with a loud but sweetsound while the maddalam has theappearance of a big mridangam.

Kathakali music has developedinto a distinctive type of singing known as

the sopana style which is of a very slow tempo. There is neither raga, ragaalapana as such nor arethere elaborations like niraval and swaral singing. Preserving the broad features of the ragas andadhering meticulously to the talas they sing the songs in such a manner as to give the actors fullscope for abhinaya. There are two vocal musicians in Kathakali of whom the main one is knownas ponani and the minor partner as the sinkidi. The kathakali songs couched in rich poeticdiction are among the gems of Malayalam literature.

The mudras (hand gestures) used as a substitute for spoken language are as much suited,if not more, for the purpose of dance and drama. To the accompaniment of the chenda, themaddalam, the chengala and the elethalam the musicians sing the words of a dialogue frombehind, the meaning of which is vividly translated by the actors into the silent language of facialexpressions, bodily attitudes and poses and figurations of the hands. As these songs proceed, the

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K A T H A K A L I

actors mute of word but eloquent ofexpression recreate the epic and bringto life a dream world to sheer fantasy.The actors act and dance in harmonywith the rhythm as well as with thesense of the songs. The mudras formand inseparable part of the nrithya andabhinaya.

The characters in Kathakaliare all mythological and so thequestion of their make-up cannot besettled on a realistic basis. They allhave set modes of make-up and attireand adornment and are reduced tofive main types, according to their realcharacter or qualities. These types areusually known by the predominantcolour applied to the face or itspattern. These are pacha (green),kathi (knife), thadi (beard), kari (black) and minukku (polished).

Virtuous and noble characters are in pacha. Proud aggressive and unrighteous charactersbelong to the kathi type. The bearded type known as thadi are of three varieties. The mostaggressive and demoniac are known as chuvanna thadi (red beard), mythical and fabulous beingslike the monkey-gods are known as vellathadi (white beard); aboriginals, forest-men and cave-dwellers are known as karutha thadi (black beards). The lowest type of beings like the aggressorare classed as kari (black). The gentle and spiritually inclined character (like women, sages,Brahmins etc) come under the type known as minukku (polished).

The costume and ornamentation are elaborate and designed to heighten the supermaneffects. The large overcoats, the flowing scarves, the bulging skirts, the antique ornaments, the

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strikingly opulent head dresses with streaming hair flowing down to the waist and covering theback-all create enlarged figures well befitting the sculptured facial features and producetremendously impressive impersonations.

THULLAL

A solo dance exposition, the Thullal is of three types. Its origin is attributed to KunchanNambiar, a veritable genius and one of the foremost poets of Kerala. Though based on classicprinciples of Natya Sastra the technique of this art is not rigid. The songs, written in simpleMalayalam, frank to outspoken wit and humour, the simplicity of presentation and the directappeal to every day life made Thullal very popular.

The instrucments used in Thullal are the maddalam and cymbals. The cymbal player whotunes the rhythm, also assists the actor dancer (Thullalkaaran) in singing.

In actual performance the cymbal player first sings the invocation song when the dancerfaces the orchestra and does obeisance. After that,with his back still to the audience the dancer doesa slick flourish of step and body movements. Thenhe turns to the audience and the dance proper isbegun. He first sings a verse and while the linesare being repeated by his musical assistance, hebrings out the meaning through facialexpressions, hand gestures and bodily postures.The roles of the raconteur and actor areperpetually interchanged with tremendousaesthetic efforts. In one moment he is the narratorbut in the next he completely identifies himselfwith the narration.

It is to the dance that prime importanceis given in Thullal. From the beginning to theend there is dance even though it lacks much of O T T A M T H U L L A L

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variety. To compensate for the monotony,sometimes the dancer executes some vigorousfootsteps and rhythmic movements of thebody.

Thullal is classified into threedifferent types. Ottan, Seethankan and Parayanbased on the difference in costume, dance andalso the metre and rhyme of the Thullal songs.

Of all Thullal dances the OttamThullal is the most popular. The costume ispeculiar and impressive. A long tape of clothof white and red colour is hooked around awaist string to form a knee-length skirt. A chestplate adorned with various types of coloured

beads, glass and tinsel and other ornaments is also used.Gaudily painted wooden ornaments are worn at the wrist,and on the shoulders. Tinkling bells are tied to the legsjust above the calf. The face is painted green, the lips arereddened and the eyes are emphasized with black paint.The head-dress is colorfully decorated. The meter andrhyme of the Ottam Thullal songs are very fast, and thedance as such has a high tempo.

In Seethankan thullal the metre and rhyme ofthe Thullal songs are a bit more slow than in OttamThullal and consequently dance is also slower in tempo.The dancer uses similar skirt as in Ottam Thullal. Butthe arms, wrists and head are adorned with ornamentsmade of fresh tender coconut fronds. There is no facialmake-up except darkening of the eyes.

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The Parayan Thullal is the slowest in tempo. Even the stance of the dancer is differentfrom the other two. Here the dancer almost stands erect and explains the meaning of the songsby gestures. There is very little of the dance element or of action. The costume is also different.A red, flowery cloth is worn around the waist. A crown of black cloth adorns the head. Necklacesare used on the chest. The face is painted with light yellow.

MOHINIYATTOM

Mohini the temptress, is a recurring character in Hindu mythology. Attom means dance.It is seductive dance performed by women, sensuous in its appeal. In technique Mohiniyattomlies somewhere between kathakali and Bharathanatyam, lyrical in the extreme key-note is coquetry.The symmetrical patterns of emotion flow in balanced nuances with smooth footwork, somewhat

quickened body movements andspecial music.

Parallel to theBharatnatyam of Tamil Nadu, soloMohiniyattom dance is performedonly by women. The music isclassical carnatic.

As the name implies it isthe dance of the charmer. Its originis a matter of conjecture, but it retainsa lovely fusion of the parallel streamsof dance in the eastern and westernregions of South India. Combiningthe formal grace and elegance ofBharathanatyam, with the earthyvigour and dynamism of Kathakalithe petalled nritha hands of the onewith the wide stance of the other, thedelicate expressions of the one withM O H I N I Y A T T O M

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the stylized eye movements of the other, it co-ordinates the instinct with charm, subtle allureand seductive appeal. In the rendering of thisstyle there is enchantment, grace, delicacy andpassion.

The technical structure of Mohiniyattomis fairly similar to that of Bharathanatyam. Thereare no abrupt jerks or leaps in Mohinyattom noris there any inordinately hard stamping of thefoot. The gesture language of Mohiniyattom islargely similar to that of Bharathanatyam but italso incorporates elements from Kathakali

tradition. And again, like Bharathanatyam,Mohiniyattom too has items of nritta, puredance, as well as nritya, expressional dance.

Mohinyattom is mainly the Lasyadance performed strictly according toscriptures of Natya Shastra. The repertoryof Mohiniyattom as it is presented nowconsists of Cholkettu, Varnam, Padam,Thillana, Kaikaottikali, Kummi andSwaram. It is well evident that theKaikottikali and Kummi are later additions.Because of the special type of instructionassociated with it, the dance presentsM O H I N I Y A T T O MM O H I N I Y A T T O M

M O H I N I Y A T T O MM O H I N I Y A T T O M