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| Sunday,13 November 2005 |
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Arts Keeping the torches burning for the Kathakali dance tradition by Aditha Dissanayake
Kathakali which originated in Kerala, South India over 500 years ago is a spectacular dance form which combines dance, music and ritual to re-enact stories from the Hindu epics, the Mahabharatha and the Ramayana. As Dr. Basil Mihiripenna, the doyen of Kathakali dance, would have told you one of the most interesting aspects of Kathakali is its elaborate make-up code. Characters are categorised according to their nature represented by the colours used in their make-up. The faces of noble male characters, such as virtuous kings, the divine hero Rama, etc. are predominantly green. Characters of high birth who have an evil streak, such as the demon king Ravana, are allotted a similar green make-up but slashed with red marks on the cheeks. Extremely angry or excessively evil characters wear red make-up and a flowing red beard. Forest dwellers such as hunters are represented with a predominantly black make-up base. Women and ascetics have lustrous, yellowish faces. The technique of Kathakali includes a highly developed language of gesture, through which the artist can convey whole sentences and stories. The body movements and footwork are very rigorous. To attain the high degree of flexibility and muscle control required for this art, a Kathakali dancer undergoes a strenuous course of training, and special periods of body massage... But Dr. Mihiripenna, just returned from a four month tour in India, sponsored by the cultural Organisation of the Indian government, called the (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) (ICCR) is more interested in describing his observations about the cultural institutes in India, than about the Kathakali tradition of theatre in itself. Himself a student forty years ago, at the famous Kerala Kala Mandalam, Dr. Mihiripenna says, on his visit he observed with surprise the tremendous support given to the art institutes in India by the Indian government, compared to the support given to the local institutes by the Sri Lankan government. The annual grant from the state government of Kerala is around 8,000,000 Indian rupees with institutes like the Marga Institute of Kerala receiving 100,000 Indian rupees every year. "This is astounding" says Dr. Mihiripenna, "Especially when compared to what my own art institute, Deepasikha Kala Sarasaviya founded way back in 1958 gets every year - Rs. 6,000 Sri Lankan rupees". Commenting on the high quality of the Kathakali dance tradition he had observed in India, Dr. Mihiripenna says "The secret of this high standard can be attributed to several facts. One is the support given by the government which enables the art institutes to offer scholarships to students, providing them with residential facilities, and the opportunity of studying the intricate movements of the art with total devotion for at least six years". Another reason says Dr. Mihiripenna is the faith they have in the guru-kula system. "Their aim is to create professionals in art". In order to do so, students wake-up as early as four in the morning and spend more than eight hours practising the dance movements. "This training is essential because the Kathakali dance tradition is a performing art which needs more concentration on the practical side than on theory". Keeping this in mind Dr. Mihiripenna plans to begin a training centre to provide professional training in dancing, drumming and folk-songs. Having initiated the Hela Udana Cultural Fund, and saying that the government has already promised to allocate the land for the institute, Dr. Mihiripenna appeals to all connoisseurs of art to assist him in building this institute which will revert to the Guru-kula system and provide students the opportunity to live with the master while absorbing the intricacies of the dance traditions. For further details about contributing to the Hela Udana Cultural Fund, please contact Dr. Mihiripenna on 2615258. |
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