Kudiyattam

Kapila Venu.. 

At more than 2000 years old, Kudiyattam , the Sanskrit theater from Kerala is the oldest form of theater in the world. It has a highly stylized and complex theater language replete with elaborate traditional hand gestures and facial expressions. In 2001, UNESCO declared Kudiyattam as "masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity" 

Kudiyattam is performed mainly by the descendants of the chakyar community. There are really a very few performers of this highly nuanced theater form. In an exemplary move to propagate the art, it is now being thought to any student keen on learning it. 

My first acquaintance with kudiyattam was at Rangashankara theater festival 2010. The theme of that year's festival was classical forms of theater. It featured Katahkali, theyam theyam, Kudiyattam, our own yakshagana apart from classical forms of theater from Maharashtra , Manipur and Assam. I attended almost all the performances. But what impressed me most was Kudiyattam. Ever since, i have been attending the kudiyattam performances in Bangalore. I also got a chance to interact with a kudiyattam guru Dr Margi Madhu last year in Bangalore. I also plan to visit the kudiyattam school in Cochin run by Dr Margi Madhu. 

Normally, mythological stories are enacted in the Kudiyattam form in some temples of Kerala. Performances run for over 12 hours. 

Mizhavu Drum 

The performance starts from the traditional sounding of the  Mizhavu drum. (The Mizhavu drum is treated like a Brahmin boy. It goes through all the Brahmanical samskaras like Namakarana, Annaprashana, Upanayana and finally Shava Samskara when the drum cracks). 
The magical sound of this copper drum brings in a kind of vibration in the auditorium. The drum beats are an integral part of performance and continues throughout the performance. The drum and the drummer are equally if not more important than the kudiyattam performers. 

Only classical and mythological stories are performed in Kudiyattam. However, Dr Margi madhu has experimented by performing Shakesphere's Mcbeth (for which,as he confessed, he received considerable flak).

No artificial lighting is used in the performance. Only an oil lamp is used for lighting for the entire performance. 

One of the beauties of Kudiyattam is its elaborate costumes and exemplary length of performance. The make up time for a lead Kudiyattam performers will be about 6 hours.  The performance can go up to 12 hours at a stretch. It is hard to imagine an artist with such heavy robes and make up performing for 12 hours. 

Dr Margi Madhu's Kudiyattam demonstration 

Other niche of this art is the performance itself. The performance is replete with elaborate hand and eye gestures. It is a very captivating display of the performer's theatrical talent. The synchronization with the drum beat must be very accurate. 

The energy and vibration in the performance can only be experienced. No words can do justice to the energy levels of the performer. 

Anyone interested in performing arts must see atleast one performance of Kudiyattam. Since it is highly nuanced and very rich in cultural content, it is not performed often. Thanks to some art patrons in Bangalore, i was lucky to see a few performances by the gurus of Kudiyattam. 

I am very eager to visit the kudiyattam school in Cochin. I am looking forward for the culturally enriching trip later this year.