Kathakali unmasked
 

by R. S. Karunaratne

Dr. Sri Basil Mihiripenna who was on a research study tour on the art of Kathakali in Kerala, India is back with a wealth of experience. The State of Kerala has a very rich tradition of dance and music, he says. He has visited many institutions engaged in the teaching of Kathakali.

"Kathakali is not a dance tradition. Dance is only a section of this tradition. In other words, Kathakali is a form of theatre. The performers are called actors (Vesham) and the stories are selected from Maha Bharatha and Ramayana. The acting is highly stylised.

Therefore, a Kathakali actor spends eight to ten years to master the techniques of this tradition. I am writing a book on this unique art and it will give readers more details of Kathakali," said Mihiripenna.

Basil Mihiripenna is a household name in Sri Lanka. He joined the Kerala Kala Mandalam at the age of 19 to learn Kathakali at the feet of Sri Padmanabhan Nair.

"At a certain stage of the Kathakali dance, the student has to pay attention to acting. As an actor he does not speak. He performs his role with the help of background music. The songs are sung in Malayalam," he said.

Malayalam

As Mihiripenna did not know the Malayalam language, he found it extremely difficult to portray the characters assigned to him. Ultimately the inevitable happened. He gave up Kathakali, at least for the time being.

"My Kathakali master felt sorry for my plight. Then he encouraged me to learn the langauge. However, I could not learn it because I was a poor learner of languages," Mihiripenna said.

The message he gives us is loud and clear. Without a good knowledge of Malayalam no one will ever be able to learn Kathakali.

Internationally renowned dancers such as Ram Gopal and Udaya Shankar too tried to master the art of Kathakali. But they also faced the language problem. As a result, they performed Kathakali dance but not Kathakali acting in international theatre halls.

Stylised

"Kathakali is a highly stylised theatre form. Even Kabuki and No drama in Japan, Beijing opera in China too belong to the stylised tradition of drama. Nearer home, our own Nadagam and Kolam are stylised. Bharatha Muni in his celebrated Natya Shastra has explained this by using just two words: Loka Dharmi and Natya Dahrmi. Stylised theatre belongs to the Natya Dharmi tradition," he said.

As was stated earlier, Kathakali actor does not use words or Vachika Abhinaya.

In the absence of straight dialogues, the actor has to use traditional mime and finger gestures to portray different feelings. What is more, he has to wear a specific dress for the character.

Mihiripenna says our dance traditions did not come from any foreign country. "The ritual tradition was very popular and powerful in Sri Lanka. Some of the technical terms and words used in the South Indian tradition are used in Sri Lanka.

However, this does not mean we owe our tradition to South India. For instance, the two drums used in our rituals are unique. The Geta Beraya used in upcountry dance and Pahatharata Beraya used in low country dance have no resemblance to South Indian drums."

Villages

He had travelled to many remote villages in Kerala to see Kathakali performances. Kathakali teachers were of little help as he had no Guru-Shishya relationship with them.

However, on his visit to Calcutta, present Kolkata, Mihiripenna missed Kathakali performances and classes at Ravindra Bharathie University as the students were sitting for an examination.

Then he visited Vishva Bharathie University where he watched how Kathakali was taught and practised.

"I bowed to the Kathakali master and prepared myself to watch a group of students performing Kathakali. However, my first impression was disappointing. The Kathakali master, drum players Chenda and Maddala were in trousers. I had never seen such a sight in Kerala. Then I visited another Kathakali class conducted by a Bengali master. The students came rushing to the class and started performing Purappada (a famous dance in Kathakali) wearing a pair of trousers. I left the class in disgust," he said.

Mihiripenna is somewhat disillusioned about the Kathakali tradition in the country of its origin. "Training in Kathakali can be really strenuous. The student has to practise at least for ten hours a day.

If he makes a mistake, the mater either punishes or neglects him. The trainers are invariably men. It is a male bastion.

"During my final days at Kerala Kala Mandalam a pretty girl from a royal family was eying me up as a potential suitor. However, such a romantic affair would need both money and time at your disposal. I didn't have both. So I gave up," he said.

Perhaps, Mihiripenna's new novel Sugandhika will spill the beans.

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