Development of seven decades
Kerala has a spectacular heritage of performing, ritual, folk and classical
arts. The time - honored values lie dormant in the living traditions of
these performing arts. The feudal chieftains and provincial landlords who
patronized these visual and devotional arts for centuries were not only encouraging
them as entertainments but were also upholding their moral and ethical messages.
Towards the close of the nineteenth century the traditional arts of Kerala were
on the verge of extinction. The social, political and cultural factors
which contributed to the downfall of the art forms are many and varied.
This was but an ephemeral phenomenon. The dawn of the twentieth century
witnessed a cultural renaissance all over India. In Kerala among those
who spearheaded the cultural renaissance poet Vallathol Narayana Menon is an
immortal name. Besides being an outstanding poet and scholar, Vallathol
was a passionate lover of Kathakali and other similar classical dance-theatre
traditions of Kerala. Against all odds he took up the task of saving
Kathakali and other stylized art-forms from eclipse. Kakkad Karanavappad,
an eminent scholar and Manakkulam Mukundaraja, a devoted cultural activist,
were an unending source of inspiration to Vallathol in the establishment of
KERALA KALAMANDALAM along the banks of the river Bharathapuzha in Cheruthuruthy,
a small village in the northern edge of Trissur District. It was in 1930.
The birth of Kalamandalam was remarkable in many respects. It was
the first institutional step in the cultural history of Kerala to start training
in classical performing arts which were so far left to the patronage of provincial
kings and landlords. The artists, especially the Kathakali artists, were
in general, the aesthetic victims of the society. They were silent sufferers
of the caste hierarchy, prevailing in Kerala, during the period..
With the establishment of Kalamandalam the social and cultural emancipation
of traditional artists became a reality. At the same time Kathakali and
Mohiniyattam, the two major art forms, were heading to extinction for want of
patronage. It was Vallathol who ensured their continued existence and progress
under the newly evolved institutional setup.
The poet spared no attempts to see that Kathakali, the classical dance-theatre
and Mohiniyattam, the classical female dance of Kerala, flourished in the fertile
campus of Kalamandalam. He invited titans in the field to the institution.
They lived in Kalamandalam, performed off and on in its yard and taught talented
students for years and years. The late Pattikkaamtodi Ravunni Menon,
the doyen of the North School or the so called
Kalluvazhi tradition of
Kathakali, headed the Faculty of Kathakali at Kalamandalam for about one and
a half decades. He groomed great artists like Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair,
Ramankutty Nair and Padmanabhan Nair, who later became outstanding performer-cum-teachers
of Kathakali, which won world wide reputation as a unique instance of total
theatre.
For training in Mohiniyattam there were the surviving maestros Korattikkara
Krishna Panickar, Madhavi Amma, Kalyani Amma and Chinnammu Amma. Their
disciples Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma and Kalamandalam Sathyabhama
developed the aesthetics of Mohiniyattam and earned for it the recognition
it amply deserved. Their distinguished disciples are the cream of contemporary
Mohiniyattam dancers.
The Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Kalamandalam were an unforgettable event
in its history. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India,
inaugurated the jubilee celebrations in 1955. Nehru commended the contributions
of Poet Vallathol to Indian arts and culture and donated Rs. One
lakh to Kalamandalam for its developmental activities. The affection between
the statesman and the poet grew. Vallathol visited China and Russia as
India's cultural ambassador. The President of India awarded Padmabhooshan
to the poet in recognition of his services to art and literature.
In 1965 Kalamandalam added Koodiyattam to its curriculum. Koodiyattam
is the only extant stylized Sanskrit theatre having a tradition of two thousand
years. Painkulam Rama Chakyar who headed the Koodiyattam department was
a maverick. Rama Chakyar boldly brought Koothu and Koodiyattam outside
the temples in the late fifties disregarding the displeasure of caste-conscious
conservatives in the field and liberated these esoteric art forms from
the dark cells of taboos and inhibitions. From 1965 Koodiyattam, Koothu
and Nangiarkoothu were made available in Kalamandalam for study for anyone
interested. Kalamandalam has produced a handful of gifted artists in the
field. Recently the
UNESCO has recognized Koodiyattam as an illustrious
example of manifestation of the heritage of human culture and the contribution
of Kalamandalam in this regard is significant.
Other performing arts taught at and performed by Kalamandalam are classical
Karnatic music (vocal) Thullal, a semi- classical solo dance-drama, Panchavadyam,
an example of one of the wonderful instrumental ensembles of Kerala and
Mridangam, the foremost among the percussion instruments in Karnatic music.
The Department of Classical Dance has Mohiniyattam as its thrust area; but
Bharatanaatyam and Kuchipudi also are taught and performed as subsidiary subjects.
In 1980 the then Prime Minister of India, Smt. Indira Gandhi, inaugurated the
Golden Jubilee celebrations of Kalamandalam. Celebrations included dance
recitals, music concerts, Kathakali Koodiyattam, Symposiums and Lecture Demonstrations.
The Diamond Jubilee was inaugrated in 1990 by the then Prime Minister Shri.V.P.
Singh. The presence of many stalwarts in the field of dance, music, theatre,
poetry and literature made the jubilee an unforgettable event in
the history of Kalamandalam. Pandit Ravi Sankar, Dr. L. Subramaniam, Ustad
Allaragha, Pandit Brij Maharaj, Sonal Mansigh, Dr. Padma Subramaniam, Malavika
Sarukai, Dr. T.N. Krishnan, Dr.N.Rajam, M.S. Gopalakrishnan, Umayalpuram Sivaraman,
Karaikudy Mani, Mandolin Srinivasan and equally distinguished artists performed
in Kalalmandalam. For most of them it was the fulfillment of a dream.
This temple of arts kindled their spirits.
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