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KUTIYATTAM FESTIVAL (KUTIYATTAM MAHOTSAVAM). Centre for Kutiyattam (Kutiyattam Kendra), Trivandrum (Kerala), sponsored by Sangeet Natak Akademi (Delhi). Vyloppilli Sanskriti Bhavan Trivandrum (Malayalam, Thiruvananthapuram), 23-28 February 2011.
Kutiyattam, the ancient temple Sanskrit theatre tradition of India dating back more than two thousand years, is sustained only in Kerala, in the southwest corner of India. The art, previously performed only in temples by the upper- class Hindu caste named Chakyar, was brought out of the temple precincts in 1956, and, since 1965, has become a secular form with institutionalized training.
Kutiyattam actors still offer their work primarily to the divinity present in the flame burning downstage center, and secondarily to the audience. Traditionally, a single episode from the Sanskrit plays adapted from Hindu epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata might take three days to a week to perform. The driving force of the performance is the transference of an internalized vision of sacred narrative from actor to the divine or human audience member through the intricate visual and aural stage languages of rasas, mudras, dance, costume, makeup, chanting, and drumming.
K. K. Gopalakrishnan, newly appointed director of the Centre for Kutiyattam of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, curated the second Kutiyattam Mahotsavam, 23-27 February 2011, at the Vyloppilli Sanskriti Bhavan in Trivandrum. Introducing the festival, he emphasized the importance of showcasing members of the gurukulams (schools), which are training the next generation of kutiyattam performers under the fiscal support of the center.1 A mix of proficient masters and emerging practitioners presented eight varied pieces, selected so that festivalgoers might experience the wide...