• Based on a conversation with respected Kutiyattam Exponent, Girija Deviji, the author introduces us to this centuries old Sanskrit Theatre Tradition. It includes interesting insights on its repertoire, costumes and make-up.

Koodiyattam or Kutiyattam is the most ancient Sanskrit drama tradition, which combines the elements of the 'Koothu', a performing art form which finds mentions in the Sangam texts and epigraphs of Pallav, Pandiyan, Chera and Chola periods. The dance form dates back to the 2nd Century BC, and boasts of a continuous existence of more than 1800-2000 years starting from an ancient line of rulers of Tamil origin, prevalent until now in the ancient temple traditions of Kerala.  

Sangeet Natak Puraskar Awardee, the Kutiyattam Exponent Guru P.N Girija Devi (Kalamandalam Girija), is a pioneering diva who took the art form to global heights.

As part of a lecture Demonstrate on Kutiyattam organised by SPIC MACAY, Girijaji throws light on India's most ancient Sanskrit theatre tradition, its origin, synthesis and art of expression! 

1 Guru Kumarmangalam Girija Kudiyattam Exponent Courtesy Spic Macay

Talking about the key elements of  Kutiyattam Girijaji tells, “Kuti means to ‘join’, and Attam means to 'act'. Thus, Kutiyattam combines many elements of acting, including Angika (the body), Vachika (the voice), Aharya (costumes, make-up, scenery), and Sattvika (mental states). Kutiyattam is a combination of theatre and Koothu a performing art and has the elements of both.

The actors communicate to the audiences with exaggerated facial expressions, hand gestures and chanting which apply to the concept of Netra Abhinaya (eye expressions) and Hasta Abhinaya (the language of gestures). While alongside there are other elements which help to enhance the understanding of the performance and the narrative while the story is told through the Mudras. It's interesting to note that each Mudras carries a relevant meaning and a language of dance which it interprets.” 

It is interesting to know that the assembly of Tamil poets and scholars in the Chera Dynasty was known as a Kootam. We find the earliest recorded mentions of the practices and rituals that form Kutiyattam in the Sangam literature in the Silappatikaram composed around 500 AD.

The earliest Sanskrit drama references date back to 3000 BC, while the art form eventually paved the way for many texts on Abhinaya across the next five centuries.

2 Guru kalamandalam Girija pic courtesy SPIC MACAY

We also find Kutiyattam references in the 2nd century epic treatise of south India Chilappathikaram, which is known as Chakkayam, which refers to the term Chakyar or the male performers. It is believed that the first performance of Kutiyattam was written in the 10th-11th century by King Kulasekhara Varman who ruled the parts of the present day Kerala. He composed two plays, Subhadradhananjayam and Tapatisamvaranam.

As per historical references, we also find that the rulers of the second Chera Empire in Kerala in the 16-17th century brought the Chakyars who belonged to the lineage of actors who then established their dynasty and lineage by making the practice of Kutiyattam as the hereditary art of the Chakyar, Nangiars and Nambiars communities which was preserved through time.

Girijaji throwing light on the Kutiyattam practices in the temples says, “Since ancient times Kutiyattam has imposed many social restrictions on the performers, while its right to perform was reserved by the people of certain castes called Chakiars  and Nambiars descendants of the Brahmin tradition. The men from the Chakiar community played the Narrator and acted the male roles in the plays. While few women of the Nambiar community would play the female roles, who were called Nangiyar and along with it would recite the Sanskrit slokas in accompaniment of the Mizhavu drums played by the males. When only females Nangiyars played Kutiyattam, it is called Nangiyar koothu and when the males perform the verbal narrative drama of the Chakyars, it is called Chakyar koothu.”

Nangiyar Koothu is enacted based on the stories taken from the Sree Krishna Charitam, depicting the life of Lord Krishna. While, Chakyar koothu is a monologue act where the performer narrates episodes from Prabhathas i.e. stories from Ramayana and Mahabharatha and Puranas.

3 Nangiyar Koothu and Chakyar koothu pics taken from Wikipedia

Guruji adds, “Kutiyattam has survived over the centuries as part of the ritualistic temple theatre tradition, performed at the restricted cloisters of the temple courtyard, a space known as Koothambalam. The art form struggled through the shackles of caste and creed and was only limited to performance and viewership for the higher castes, who were the priests involved in devotional rituals. This made it very difficult for the art form to survive and it slowly came near to extinction. The restricted Kutiyattam performances still happen in the Sree Koodalmanikyam Temple and Vadakkumnathan Temple in Thrissur, Kerala.”

As time passed, Guru Natyakala Sarvabhauman Painkulam Rama Chakyar revived the art form by bringing the Renaissance with his revolutionary thinking. He established the Kerala Kalamandalam in Cheruthuruthy in 1965, which came to adopt relevant teaching methods to the age-old art form, while keeping the essence of the traditional content intact. He gave opportunities to people from other castes to perform, irrespective of any caste barriers contuing the social reform that began in 1951.

He was awarded the title Natyakala Sarvvabhowman meaning 'The Master of the acting tradition' for his contribution to the art form. Kutiyattam gained global recognition in May 2001 when it was proclaimed as the “Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO. 

Eventually, UNESCO sought to create a system of support, channeled through the six institutions of Kutiyattam present in Kerala - Kalamandalam, Margi, Ammannoor Gurukulam, Mani Madhava Chakyar Gurukulam, International Centre for Kutiyattam, and the Department of Ancient Theatre in Sree Sankara University.

This is the 70th year of Kutiyattam happening outside the temple premises. It was in 1951 when kutiyattam was first performed outside the temple premises by Natyakala Sarvvabhowman Painkulam Rama Chakyar in a house in southern Kerala in a place called Kottarakkara. In 1965, it was started as an institutionalised art form in Kerala Kalamandalam. In 1971, Guru Kalamandalam Girija became the very first student of Kerela kalamandalam, who came from the non-traditional communities, breaking all the stereotypes and also the very first female student. 

Before her there were two male actors, Kalamandalam Sivan Namboodari and Guru Kalamandalam Rama Chakyar, and Girijaji was the only female who came to learn the art form and save this traditional art. Girijaji's groundbreaking performance of Nangiarkoothu outside temple premises in 1984 marked a significant milestone in the history of Kutiyattam.

Girijaji emerged as the female renaissance leader due to her pioneering efforts in reviving and promoting Kutiyattam. Her dedication and passion for Kutiyattam have been instrumental in keeping this ancient theatrical tradition alive and thriving. Today the institution has at least 300 girls learning Koodiyattam out of which 250 are students of Girija Guruji. 

Talking about her initiation into Kutiyattam, Guru Kalamandalam Girija says, “I was familiar with the stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata which helped me take up Kutiyattam. I became the first female disciple of Guru Painkulam Rama Chakyar to learn Kutiyattam at the age of 12 years. I come from a tradition where the entire family was in the temple activities, but did not have the tradition of performance in the house, except that my mother Devaki Manayamma was a Kaikottikali Exponent and my father Pakshiyil Narayanan Moosath - Padakam Exponent. I was the first non Nangiar student to learn Kutiyattam out of the family tradition, to break all the caste barriers.”

Talking about the traditional training in Kutiyattam Girijaji she says, “Traditional training starts at the age of 5-7, depending on how well the child can understand Sanskrit, while they live with the guru and learn. The training is very tough, which involves waking up early in the morning at 3 a.m. and continuing till the evening. The students are given knowledge of plays, learning the texts, acting techniques, modes of chanting, speech patterns, mudras, body movements, facial expressions and elaboration of the dramatic situations. For Kutiyattam eyes are very important, because there are a lot of expressions which are conveyed through the eyes.”

4 Kutiyattam dance form

Elaborating on mastering the facial expressions, she tells, “The children, at a very young age are started with their eye exercises which is a part of the Netra Abhinaya which is called Kan-Sadhakam wherein Kan means eyes and Sadhakam means training, which starts at 3 a.m. The sadhana is done by lubricating the eyes with pure Ghee and then doing a lot of eye rotational movements, which brings flexibility to the eye muscles and concentration.”

Girijaji adds, “The students have to learn the Sanskrit texts from the scriptures and alongside have to go through rigorous physical training. In Kutiyattam, the focus is not on the dance, but on the acting (Abhinaya) because it's a theatre, whereas in other dance forms like Kuchipudi, Bharatnatyam, Manipuri the focus is on the dance. In Kutiyattam the dance aspect is less, which is known as the Chari which are of various types like for a fight scene, the students are taught the Yudha Chari.”

It's interesting to know that since the deity differs in different temples like in Varakanthan temple the deity is Shiva while in Kodalmanikyam temple, the deity is Bharta, brother of Lord Rama. Thus, all the temples have a ritualistic context, which is performed from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and other Sanskrit texts.

Kudiyattam includes excerpts from the well known Sanskrit plays of Sree Harsha, Neelakanta, Bhasa, Kulasekhara Varman, Bodhayana and others are presented on stage. In fact Sanskrit is not just its language but also its defining feature which takes us back to its origin.

5 Kutiyattam Krishna Leela

Elaborating on the various characters Girijaji says, “In the female acting tradition Nangiarkoothu a single females performs the multiple characters. For example in Krishna Leela she will play characters like Krishna, Kansa, Devaki, Ugrasena, along with playing even non-human characters like Putnana Rakshasi and Kalianag. This acting form is called Pakarnattam, wherein the actor marks slight changes to portray different characters by repositioning oneself in the space.”

In Kutiyattam the protagonist uses different types of narratives to tell the story namely Anukramam (story recap), Samkshepam (summary) and Nirvahanam (enactment of various mythological characters). One wonders how difficult is the transition of characters in this art form, but in fact, it isn't, because the training happens like that, tells the master Guru Girija Kalamandalam who is adept at performing multiple characters, having trained several students on the same.

Although Kutiyattam is believed to have originated from Natya Shastra (200BC-200AD), the liturgy of Indian dramaturgy and dance Kutiyattam is a more evolved theatrical art form which amalgamates the traditional vision of theatre with the local indigenous traditions of Kerala, especially in relation to its costume, make-up, stage settings and performance.

6 Kutiyattam Mudras

Elaborating about the dance mudras Girijaji tells, “There are 24 basic Mudras used in Kutiyattam in accordance to Natyashastra namely - Pataka, Mudraksham, katakam, Mushti, katarimukham, Shikhatundam, kapithatam, Hanspakshyam, Shikharam, Hansadhyam, Anjali, Arthachandram, Mukuryam, Bramaram, Soochikamukham,Pallavam, tripatakam, Mrigashersham, Sarpasiraka,  Vardhamanakam, Aralam, Urnanabham, Mukulam, katakamukham. Girijaji explains it with an example of the Mudrta Pataka, which represents a king, an Elephant, its ears, trunk movements and the waves of the sea, and the Hell, which is also fearful and majestic. Thus, like the Pataka Mudra which represents the Mighty, each Mudra has its own significance, which is used as per the character.”

Girijaji gives key performance insights, “The duration of the performance depends on the narration and the act of storytelling, which has a very significant aspect in Kutiyattam since the performances are not based on the full text, but rather an individual act which expands into the full plays. The performances included slokas and verses with poetic richness describing every act, which keeps a pace with its musical accompaniment by Mizhavu drums, setting the mood for the play, while it also heightens the drama to its crescendo keeping the pace of the Taalam (rhythmic patterns).”

7 Kutiyattam costume and makeup

Kutiyattam has elaborate set pieces of costumes and props, which are assembled with diligence. The makeup is used to compliment the Navrasas (Nine Rasas), for instance, the painting of a character with green colour signifies the embodiment of both Shanta rasa and Royalty. In fact the costumes and props do not become the character in Kutiyattam, as the performance is transcendental, even in the external aspects of the stage.

Thus, the character of Hanuman with a tail can swiftly switch to portraying Sita, while his body language and mannerism change to that of feminine delicacy, with an emotion of longing and hope to meet Rama. In Kutiyattam the emotions and abstract movements improvise with the narration, which may be exaggerated or subdued as per the transition in the roles.

Elaborating on the Abhinaya aspect Girijaji says, “The Traditional Kutiyattam includes the Vachik Abhinaya, which is in the purest form. When someone acts something, there is always a precedent shloka which defines the act what is coming. For example, in the scene of Pootnamoksha Rakshasi Pootna who attained Moksha after being killed by Krishna. The performer will enact the entire episode, and a shloka will be recited about whatever was enacted in the piece, while if there is a conversation between two characters, every conversation is based on the Shloka.”

It's interesting to note that during Vachik Abhinaya, the male characters speak in Sanskrit, while the female characters speak in the ancient Prakrit language, since in earlier times, the audiences knew both Sanskrit and Prakrit. Showcasing a Vakyam (conversation) Girijaji recites a shloka portraying a scene when Arjuna saves Subhadra Krishna's sister from a Rakshasa, she utters a shloka in his praise i.e. taken from the famous drama story of Subhadra Dhananjaya, written by Kulasekhara Varman. The shloka is,  Ka nu khalu esha mahaanubhava Trailokya durlabha roopadishaya Maam anukampayathi

Translated as ‘there is nobody like  Mahanubhava (Arjun) in looks, fierce fullness and attitude in the three worlds. Such a great soul has saved me from this distress with his Anukamba (kindness), which depicts the Shringar Bhava.’

Expressions in Kutiyattam are based on the Navarasa prescribed by the Natya Sastra. These nine rasas are Shringara (love), Adbhuta (wonder), Vira (valour), Raudra (anger), Hasya (ridicule or joy), Karuna (grief), Bhayanaka (fear), Bibhatsa (disgust), and Shanta (tranquillity).

Kutiyattam also has certain Ragas based expressions, which are neither Carnatic nor Hindustani music classical ragas, to depict certain scenes. These ragas are not sung, but are performed with Shlokas to enhance the expressions, and are played as per the scenes.

The Kutiyattam repertoire includes 21 ragas namely: Indalam (Normal Bhava), Muraleendalam (Sambhog Sringara), Aartan (Sringara), Chedi Panjamam (For supporting Kathaapathra), Bhinna Panjamam (Non-anticipated happiness), Veera Panjamam (At the Height of Happiness),Vela Dhooli (calling for help and for proclaiming) Tarkan, (anger or raudra rasa), Veeratarkan (Veera Rasa), Dukha Gandaram (sadness, karuna Rasa), Kora Kurinji (Hasya Rasa), Mudden (Rakshasa Talk, Vibhatsya Rasa), Kaishiki (Sringara to represent natural things like rain), Tund (Bhakti), Sreekandi (Bhakti and Morning Ragas). The rasas are rendered with the appropriate facial expressions (Abhinaya Bhavas) to create an ethereal scene or character by controlling the intensity of bhava with the trained eyes (Netrabhinaya) and convergence of mudras, bhavas and gati (speed of the movements).

Each act in Kutiyattam is performed as per the detailed Production and Stage Management manuals called Kramadeepika and Acting manuals called Aattaprakaram which describe the behaviors of each character and theatrical movements for all the plays, which are created by the experts or performance director.

Thus, every performer creates the production manuals. Girijaji has also created over 30 manuals to direct different stories, having revived many old acts in this endeavor. The manuals include performance patterns and acting styles, which are learnt in the oral tradition by the guru. The Kutiyattam performances are very elaborate and may take 4 to 5 hours and sometimes even days to complete, and thus, the performers undergo elaborate training for at least ten to fifteen years to become full-time performers.

7 Kutiyattam performance

The typical kutiyattam stage performance begins with the curtain lowering. The curtain is called a Yavanika, which is made of a white and red cloth, which is held by two people one on each side. “The characters after makeup at the green room called Aniyar enters the backside of the curtain area called the Nepathyam and worships the eight auspicious items Ashtamangalayam, while the Yavanika is lowered. The performer enters the stage and bows to the Mizhavu drums which completes it's ritualistic cycle. In front of the audience, the performer transcends into the Sthayee Bhava the character trait, he is playing, leaving behind one's worldly realities. Kudiyattam performances are very slow and sometimes take almost 5-7 hours of performance, depending on different acts or angams.”

8 Kutiyattam Musical Instruments

Traditionally the Kutiyattam performance includes a Mizhavu, Edakka, Sankhu and Kurumkuzhal as musical instruments. Mizhavu is a copper drum played to accompany with Kudiyattam and koothu along with Edakka (hourglass drum beated with sticks on either side). They are used to play a variety of Taals including the Tripuda, Murukiya Tripuda, Ek Taalam and Dhruva Taalam. While Kurumzhal, a traditional double reed instrument, is played and similar to the shehnai and nagaswaram, which has a very shrill penetrating sound, while Shankha (Shell Trumpet) is a wind instrument made up of shells of sea snails.

9 Kutiyattam makeup

There was a time when the costumes called Aniyalam in Kutiyattam, were old and unattractive and were very revealing due to lack of budgets, while the makeup was not very appealing. There came a need to revamp the make-up and costumes. Guru Girija Kalamandalam modified the make-up, costume and ornaments including the headgear adding the Naga on the top, making it very presentable, which the kudiyaam dancers wear today.

In Kutiyattam Costumes and make-up are quite elaborate, and the costumes include bright colours mainly black, white and red. The make-up and props are created as per the scenes, for example for the scenes of Lakshmana, when he punishes the wicked Surphanakha by cutting off her ears and breasts. The scene depicts Vibhatsya rasa and the agony of a mutilated demoness, which is evoked by specialized stage props. The make-up for the blood is prepared by mixing lime, rice paste and turmeric, while the mutilated organs are created by immersing white cloth into the stage blood.

For a lay watcher, Kutiyattam has a striking resemblance with Kathakali.

Sighting the differences between the Kutiyattam and Kathakali Girijaji says, “If Kutiyattam is the mother, Kathakali can be called a daughter, that’s the closeness of these two forms of art. Kutiyattam has its origin in the Bharat's Natyashastra, while Kathakali originated as a story play genre based on the life of 'Lord Rama' called the Ramanattam around the 16th century, while it follows Kutiyattam's training methodology. Kutiyattam is the pioneer of all the dance forms prevalent in India, being the most ancient Sanskrit drama form which incorporates theatrical performances Bhava-Abhinaya predominantly with a few mudras.”

Guru Kalamandalam Girijaji has been imparting the tough Kutiyattam training to the students at Kerala Kalamandalam for the last 35 years. She has trained many theatre actors, dancers and troupes. She encourages students to come and train under her from any part of the world.

Talking about her lecture-demonstration initiative by SPIC MACAY, Guruji Concludes by saying, “I have been associated with SPIC MACAY for a very long time. The lec-dem was an introduction to Kudiyattam giving them an insight into the Mudras and Expressions. Two of my disciples, Kalamandalam  Saji Memon and Kalamandalam Amrita, enacted Kudiyattam from Uttar Ramcharitam by Bhavbhuti on an episode Nadeedwaya Samvadam, wherein two rivers Tamasa and Murla are talking about Lord Ram and Sita’s life journey.” 

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