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28 JULY 2019 LIFE & LETTERS 9

KUTIYATTAM AND ITS
MANU V. DEVADEVAN ‘the centralized administrative structure of

T
the Cera Empire’. In Bruce M. Sullivan’s
he Kutiyattam theatre of Kerala is estimation, Kutiyattam ‘is the only
among the few classical art forms of surviving genre of classical Sanskrit

SEMANTIC UNIVERSE
South Asia that confront us with a theater with an unbroken lineage
strange paradox. It is a genre of (parampara) of masters and pupils during
dance-drama that is at once nostalgically the last nine hundred years’.
familiar and frustratingly unintelligible. These positions do not inspire confi
There is an Arjuna on the stage, but it is dence in the light of the evidence on hand.
hard to say what he is up to. There is a The earliest reference to Kutiyattam that
Laksmana and a Surpanakha, a Bhima, a we know of is from the kramadipika (stage-
Jimutavahana, a Yaugandharayana, a Kutiyattam, India’s only living traditional Sanskrit theatre, has been continually manual) of the Bhagavadajjuka, 12 which
Vasantaka—characters that are known to is not older than the sixteenth century. To
us as though they have been in performed in Kerala for at least a thousand years the same period belongs the Natankusa, a
conversation with us for a long time. They text on dramaturgy that locks horns with
have, nevertheless, metamorphosed into the Sanskrit theatre of its day in a puritan
mysterious beings on the stage, doing dialogically or semantically, with the life- well be the oldest surviving art form of the spirit. No mention of Kutiyattam occurs in
things that would have left the playwright world, self-understanding, values, and ancient world. Although the precise links any surviving text from the fourteenth, the
‘spinning in his grave like a dervish’. cosmologies of the performers and their between it and the ancient Sanskrit theatre twelfth, or the ninth centuries. Nor do we
Vasantaka in the Mantrankam of patrons. Today’s Kutiyattam is an alienated have not yet been determined, kutiyattam is a have indication in any source for
Pratijnayaugandharayana has become spectacle, objectified and removed from its regional derivation of the pan-Indian performance on a comparable scale.
Kulukuttunni Sarmman, a gluttonous audience in tune with the commodity logic classical tradition, a bridge between the past Attempts to reconstruct a millennium-long
brahmana jester who is, nonetheless, that characterizes the capitalist political and the present.’ history of Kutiyattam are only banal—and
believed to have attained Sivasarupyam economy. In this new form, Kutiyattam Also widespread is the belief that oftentimes patronizing—exercises of
(likeness with Siva)! And the Bhima in the carries considerable semantic weight from Kutiyattam has been in practice for 2,000 reading retrospective evidence back into
Kalyanasaugandhikam has more the homologies drawn between the genre on years. ‘It can’t be ascertained whether this is time.
important offices to minister than bringing the one hand, and categories such as historically true’, writes Archana Verma, ‘but In a recent intervention, Heike Oberlin
Draupadi the flower she longs for. He has to ‘tradition’, ‘Kerala theatre’, and ‘the oldest there is at least evidence that in 1100 CE, king has like many others argued, but on very
witness a python swallowing an elephant surviving Sanskrit theatre’ on the other— Kulasekhara [ sic ] and his Brahmana different grounds, that Kutiyattam dates
in the forest and watch the appearance of a associations that are vital for understanding minister Tolan [ sic ] reformed the back to the eleventh/twelfth century.
lion that has reached there to intervene, any present-day staging of Kutiyattam, but performative acts of Kerala.’ Sober Basing her argument on epigraphic
and he has to do these by playing all the extra-epistemic when placed as templates to assessments place the origins of Kutiyattam sources, she posits that the Nannyar and
characters in the scene on stage—the make sense of its performance three or four in the age of the Ceraman Perumals (ca. 844– Cakyar traditions of performance were
elephant, the python, the lion, and centuries ago. Secondly, existing studies do 1122 CE). Pragya Thakkar Enros observes different from each other, that the former
Bhima—by transforming from the one to not contextualize Kutiyattam in relation to that Kutiyattam is ‘believed to have come into was known in Kerala as early as the ninth
the other through a method of acting other forms of contemporary literary and TITLE: existence during the tenth century’. K.G. century, that the latter, known in Tamil
called pakarnnattam. theatrical practices. Two Masterpieces of Paulose traces its beginnings to the historical Nadu from very early times, was
Kutiyattam is not a widely popular form Nor do they place it against the backdrop developments of tenth- and eleventh-century introduced in Kerala only during the
of performance; as a matter of fact, it has of the political economy in a compelling
Kutiyattam: Mantrankam and Kerala. twelfth century, that the two traditions
never been one. However, it has been the manner. Kutiyattam is seen as a self- Anguliyankam The changes brought about by King came together to form a distinct genre of
focus of considerable constituted world in itself, Kulasekhara in the performance, and that
EDITED BY:
academic and artistic largely of a ritual nature. eleventh century [ sic ] to the word Kutiyattam,
Heike Oberlin and David
interest over the last Kutiyattam is Where this is not the case,
Shulman
the tradition of staging Sanskrit theatre literally ‘acting
three decades, discussions are limited to Sanskrit drama, Paulose together’, may refer to
especially after the seen as a a thin appraisal of the notes, was in fact not in Kerala goes this historical union.
UNESCO declared it as patron-client relationship PUBLISHER: Kutiyattam. Only two This assessment is
one of the Masterpieces self-constituted that its performers had Oxford University Press centuries later, in the back to the remarkably original,
of Oral and Intangible
Heritage of Humanity
world in itself established with the elites,
and tall talk on the long PAGES: 348
thirteenth century, did
Kulasekhara’s theatre
ninth century but no less conjectural.
No epigraphic source
in May 2001. Funding tradition of playwriting PRICE: Rs 1795 metamorphose into from the ninth to the
from the state and non- and performance— Kutiyattam. twelfth century refers
governmental agencies beginning with the plays This involved the to Kutiyattam by name,
for promoting the art has increased in ascribed to Bhasa, and the Natyasastra of introduction of Malayalam—or Nampyar nor are things associated with it, such as
recent years, resulting in rich Bharata—from which the genre is believed to Tamil, as it was called—for explaining the the purappatu, the nirvahanam , the
documentation, novel forms of have evolved. meaning of the Sanskrit verses to the non- kuttampalam stage, etc., mentioned.
dissemination, and a series of ingenious That it is the only surviving Sanskrit Sanskrit audiences, the development of a Neither do the inscriptions persuade us
and inventive experimentations that theatre in India is one of Kutiyattam’s claims rural world centring on temples, and the that performances extending over eleven,
include staging the plays of Kalidasa to popularity. It is, in Farley P. Richmond’s ‘grand alliance’ that the brahmanas thirty-five, or forty-one days were ever held
(which were not part of the traditional assessment, ‘one of the oldest continuously successfully forged with the ruling elites and during this early period. Scholars and
Kutiyattam repertoire), and adaptations of performed theatre forms in India, and it may intermediate groups following the collapse of performers of Kutiyattam generally believe
many other texts, such as the that ‘acting together’ refers to the coming
Cilappatikaram, Macbeth, Heinrich von together of all actors, after the extended
Kleist’s Penthesilea, and twentieth-century preliminaries involving solo performances,
Malayalam poetry. to present the play proper.
Scholarship on Kutiyattam has also The story of Sanskrit theatre in Kerala
made progress, leading to several goes back to the ninth century, when a
important publications. While these playwright from the region, endowed with
initiatives have been invaluable in their a fertile imagination, wrote two plays, the
own right, there is also no denying that our Unmadavasavadatta (which is lost) 16 and
understanding of Kutiyattam today is the Ascaryacudamani. These plays marked
hardly different in qualitative terms from a new beginning. Saktibhadra, the
what it was in the 1970s or the 1980s. playwright, was aware of the novelty of his
Scholarly assessments have mostly been enterprise. He began the Ascaryacudamani
descriptive in nature, and where this is not with the observation that a play from the
the case, the question that has worried south was as impossible as the blossoming
scholars is whether or not the Kutiyattam of a skyflower or the extraction of oil from
theatre constituted ritual. sand. This was certainly not an innocent
This state of affair springs from two claim; for with the important exception of
basic methodological limitations in the Pallava king, Mahendravarman, who in
existing approaches to the study of the seventh century wrote the Mattavilasa
Kutiyattam. Firstly, our knowledge of what Prahasana and the Bhagavadajjuka, no
unfurls on the stage draws, almost entirely, playwright is known to have existed in
upon the present-day staging of South India before Saktibhadra’s time…
Kutiyattam. Performances in our times, (Excerpted from Two Masterpieces of
however, are neither located against the Kutiyattam: Mantrankam and
backdrop of an agrarian political economy, Anguliyankam, edited by Heike Oberlin and
as they were in the sixteenth or the David Shulman, with permission from the
seventeenth centuries, nor intertwined, publisher)

BOOK REVIEW

Impressionism and a boy killing a bad man

Poomani’s characters are not righteous men with a cause. They just happen to react to whatever wrong is done to them
LUIS A. GÓMEZ killing a bad man will have to live on the run or be institutions of the state must be thought from below, with the surroundings while a new maturity springs
jailed. In that dichotomy lies the plot and the with care but passionately: inside him.

S tarts with a bang, sort of a bang: a young boy kills

a man with a sickle, and runs. The first few pages
narrative of Heat. Anybody will find a story that
addresses the theme from various angles. One being
So you say. What unnecessary trouble? Are we
inviting it? Shouldn’t there be a limit to the atrocities ‘This is a bad time for good people’
of Heat are simply a violent moment that will unfold,
slowly, from the kid’s mind to the readers to help
them understand one of the simple reasons a person
honour, for example, treated as poor people’s trove;
motivating a fierce but quiet demeanour, honour
leads to revenge, a way to settle a score with those
these big men commit? If the landlords levy big fines
on wage labourers and swindle their earnings, how
will their families survive? If we try to put an end to
I t is indeed. In Heat democracy looks in decay from
below, contradicting the rosy outlook the state tries
to put over it. Rich people and have-nots were never
has to chop an arm of another and then make a fatal greedy persons who exploit them or grab their lands this practice, these landlords get a sprain in the groin. equals in front of any law. The boy written by
incision in his ribcage: vengeance. But Poomani, a by force. It’s not just about violence and an unjust Those government fellows are even worse. All thieves, Poonami learns this the rough way (while on the run)
venerable figure of Tamil literature, will not spend world. Because violence is not the boy’s brutal working hand-in-glove! And you call them great souls. just like his father did and his grandfather before
TITLE:
much words describing the killing or the escape; behaviour but the privilege of the police, the judge, Great souls, my foot (p. 102). them. Theirs is an unfair fight—sickle versus
Heat what comes after that shapes the entire book. these powerful land grabbers. This book deals more But Poomani’s characters are not righteous men money— they are willing to fight, nothing else to do.
AUTHOR: Using cinematic resources, the author doesn’t with a community reacting to that privilege, refusing with a cause. They just happen to react to whatever The dialogues between Chidambaram and his
indulge in elaborate language or big analogies. to be simple ignorant victims. Heat sheds an wrong is done to them. That’s an added value father, ranging from family to politics, are simple
Poomani Austere and elegant, his style of writing sets actions uncommon light on this: these poor farmers he surging from the directness of the writer’s style, a and clear. People in the villages talk in the dark like
PUBLISHER: and dialogues almost naked. Pim, pum, pam! And writes about haven’t lost what is theirs without certain amorality, an ethos not derived from this when they gather at night to discuss the
run, Chidambaram, you killed the man who got your putting up a fight. That conflict is what Poomani and imposed notions but from their common sense. important things of their little lives. They know
Juggernaut
brother murdered. Run and then throw one of the many Indians know too well. That’s more or less what impressionism was what makes a policeman’s lathi dance and the
PAGES: 264 homemade bombs you carry behind you, when you during the last third of the Nineteenth century. A judge stay put (money.) That’s how the system
PRICE: 499 see the pair of shadows following you, enhanced by A few parables, an impressionist effect detailed attention to the light and the foliage all works and they lose most of the times. Only the
a bus’ lights. Like this, a reader will find sequences all
over Heat. Focusing on the light, the weather and
the landscape, the author will get you glancing at
P lanted in between the stages of Chidambaram
and his father’s escape, you will find short scenes
about little wonders and a few parables to be run in
around, the ambience. That’s what Van Gogh had in
mind when, late in his life, decided to paint and
brush his version of the world over canvases. Or,
cynical will deny that these officers never bring
justice or protection, as they should. Gross
generalization? Perhaps, it’s like thinking poor
the country, the hills, a little temple or a Banyan tree. your mind. Like the parable of the good thieves approaching Heat with literary examples, Anton people are ignorant or—worse—stupid.
In some passages everything is almost frozen for a pushed away from their agricultural life by bigger Chekhov and Guy de Maupassant, or Isaak Babel But this is not a pamphlet or a work of socialist
page or two. Flashbacks will provide some rationale fish. Or maybe the snake hunters the boy watches at and Boris Pilniak after the Russian Revolution. realism. It’s a familial love tale, around a boy who
to the killing, the anger of this boy, and the suffering work. These scenes glue the main story as in an old Trying to produce art after the invention of killed a man seeking revenge. A hideous thing for a
of his people. adventures novel. The exoticism lies tenderly in the photography was not the art of resemblance but of young person to do when, like Poomani states in
Again, like the film director Poomani is, this book past, or in this world the young boy gets to know, it’s sensible memories, souvenirs of the heart. the afterword, his life should be like a garden
flows over a week in the way a documentary would. never insulting or nostalgic. In this voyage Chidambaram is forced to take, he ‘sheltered by the cool shade of affection.’ So maybe
That said, in the afterword to the English edition, the In the same way, Poomani makes nature always grows older by the day. Learning to cook by heart we should think of this book as a compassionate
author not only recalls his own youth but one true present, coping with human interventions. or becoming stealthy around populated areas. exposition of how people forced to live in the
story of a 15 year old boy killing a man, just not the Everything we built and do is ‘at risk’ of being Discussing the situation with his dad and uncle. lowest layers try to preserve their humanity. That’s
end of it. Maybe because there is none yet to these covered by foliage, ravaged by animals ... lost. Remembering his family and a life that looks lost in the rationale of their actions, killing if they must.
bloody anecdotes where a powerful rich man can kill Then, we reach the core of Heat. Problematic as it time. Like that other boy in The Steppe, one of What about the heat? Well, if Poomani is right,
a boy without remorse or punishment but a boy is, the disruption in the lives of ‘big men’ and the Chekhov’s masterpieces, this poor Tamil kid marvels the heat is yet to come and burn it all.