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Kathakali - A Total Theatre

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Kathakali - A Total Theatre
By Ettumanoor P. Kannan

When you are among the audience of a traditional Kathakali performance, you can
see people watching Kathakali with their eyes wide open. But at the same time,
you can also see some others who close their eyes and enjoy the music and
percussion beating the rhythmic cycle with their harmoniously moving fingers.
This regular movement of their fingers shows that they are not sleeping. In my
childhood, when I saw people who enjoy the performance from behind the curtain
of their eye-lids, I really wondered what are the elements that make them happy
without watching the colourful and spectacular characters on stage.

Now I know the answer of the above question. Movement of the actors is only one
of many aspects of this total theatre-Kathakali. Songs and percussion are two
important limbs on the body of Kathakali. It is these two elements which make a
section of the audience happy while they are in front of a traditional Kathakali
stage. If an art lover can become a fan of Kathakali songs or percussion without
showing interest in acting, that is only because vocal and instrumental music
are as important and complete as acting in Kathakali.

Dance, song and instrumental music are three faculties that can be presented in
a performing art. Unity of these three faculties in a performance is called
"Thauryathrikam"(In Sanskrit Language)

The three aspects-dance, song and instrumental music are developed on the basis
of three fundamental elements of human existance-space, time and emotion.
Without space, time or emotion human life is impossible. Space is the base for
dance; Time is the platform for instrumental music; And emotion is the reason
for the first sprout of song.
Space - Dance
Time - Percussion
Emotion - Song

Kathakali is a theatre in which the possibilities of dance, song and
instrumental music have been exploited to the maximum range. There are many
art-forms in India like Bharathanatyam and Mohiniyattom, in which
'Thouryathrikam' is a strong means of appreciation. Dance, songs and
instrumental music exist in those classical art-forms too. These three elements
support one another to form a perfect structure of presentation. At the same
time, in Kathakali, perhaps only in Kathakali, each one of them has a growth and
evolution independent of the other ones. Each one can be appreciated as it is,
devoid of the other two. It is this speciality which bestows upon Kathakali a
great fame as a total theatre.

If acting, singing and percussion are three independent moving wheels, Kathakali
is a magic machine which produces the maximum out-put combining these three
separate parts. This shows 'Thouryathrikam' in Kathakali is different from that
in other Indian classical art-forms.

Ettumanoor. P. Kannan is a performer of traditional Kathakali from Kerala, India. He has been engaged in the development of new creative works that incorporate Kathakali techniques and is currently a researcher in the International Centre for Kerala Studies at the University of Kerala. Now he is doing his PhD in Kathakali at University of Kerala. He is an APPEX 2000 artist.(Assia Pacific Performance Exchange 2000).

Email: kan.nan@eudoramail.com(/I>

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