Sometime in the 17th century A.D., one of the Zamorin Rajas of Calicut composed a lyrical poem meant for a dance called Krishna Natakam. It came to be enacted in the great Krishna Temple of Guruvayur, then under the control of the kings of Calicut, under the name of "Krishnattam". A contemporary of his, further South, belonging to the Royal family of Kattarakara, required this play to be enacted in his palace but the Zamorin refused to oblige him. Tradition has it that the prince of Kottarakara composed several plays on the theme of the Epic Ramayana, calling them "Ramanattam", which were staged as a challenge to the Zamorin of Calicut.
Later another great royal composer, the Raja of Kottayam, composed several other beautiful dance-dramas taking the themes from the epic Mahabaratha. Since these were on Sri Krishna, the name was no longer applicable and the general title "Kathakali" meaning dance drama evolved. Since the time of these two royal composers, several other beautiful plays have been written by other kings, chieftans and members of the great noble families who could afford to maintain Kathakali troupes of their own.
Out of the
temple
As in all classical plays of Kerala,
Kathakali had its origin in temples. Even now 'Kodiyattam' and
'Krishnattam' are not performed outside temples, but 'Kathakali'
while it continued and still continues to be performed in temples,
is also performed outside. Its great popularity is due to the fact
that it is not confined to the precincts of the temples. Kathakali
can be staged anywhere - in a rural setting, under a tree, in the
courtyard of a house, or in any place convenient to the public -
wherever a number of people can sit and watch the play enacted. A
raised platform is not necessary. The actors, the singers and the
drummers require only a minimum of 100sq. feet of flat space on a
level ground. A temporary thatched roofing over this so called
stage is also prepared.
The state of
affairs
In the earlier part of this century there was
a sudden cultural awakening throughout India with the momentum
given by the freedom movement. Of course it was Rabindranath
Tagore who really sowed the seed for cultural renaissance. Smt.
Rukmini Devi revived the art of 'Sadir or Dasiatam' now known as
Bharatanatyam, Poet Vallathol Narayana Menon revived the art of
Kathakali with the establishment of his Kerala Kalamandalam - (the
school for Kathakali) - and Kathakali regained its lost prestige
and a lot of development took place. Now there are several
academies for teaching Kathakali in and outside Kerala. As in the
case of other art forms the patronage also shifted from temple to
clubs and cultural organisations. It must be noted that
considerable improvement has been achieved in the presentation of
the dance drama, Kathakali. Since technically and theoretically
Kathakali has its roots in Natyasastra traditions, certain
innovations and modifications were not successful and they did not
fit in well to match the loftiness of this unique dance style. But
the music for Kathakali has tremendously improved and now it almost
follows the Karnatic style of singing leaving behind its original
folk character.
The Drama & its Historical
Background
Kathakali is an indegenous, classical
dance-drama from Kerala in the south west of India. Kerala,
situated as it is on the coast of the Arabian sea, claims ancient
contact with countries like Egypt, Syria, Rome and Greece and to
certain extent, these contacts are reflected in the art, literature
and society of that area. It is said that even Kathakali shows
traces of the influence of other countries.
Kathakali is made up of two words. 'Katha' in Sanskrit means story
and 'Kali' a Dravidian word meaning play. The very name is
indicative of its Aryan-Dravidian character.
Early Influences
The earliest
to be noted in this form is the ritualistic influence. In Kerala,
the earliest form of dance are connected with the rituals of the
temples (known by the names of Kaliyattam, Tirayattam and Theyyam).
The origin of the costume worn by the Kathakali dancers is to be
traced to these time-old ritual dances. Though the crowns and
other ornaments and costumes worn by Kathakali actors are highly
sophisticated and artistic, the prototypes were comparatively
crude, although, in their own way, very
ornamental.
