‘The Arts of Kerala Kshetram’ essays wide range of myths across the southern
New Delhi, Apr 22: Almost three decades after it was first published as a major study throwing light into the varied cults and allied traditional arts of Kerala, a landmark book by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) has been re-released, facilitating a new generation of culture-lovers to drill deep into the fascinating socio-ethnic fabric of the slender southern state.
A second edition of ‘The Arts of Kerala Kshetram’ authored by renowned scholar Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, was released at IGNCA on Thursday evening amid a panel talk by three other subject experts: Omchery N.N. Pillai, Dr. K.G. Paulose and Sadanand Menon. The hard-bound work is backed by intense research about popular myths and archetypal images of mythological Bhagavati, Shiva and Bhima in ‘God’s Own Country’.
First brought out in 1989, the 84-page work dwells on the social connotations and various forms of oral, ritual and visual arts ranging from paintings, murals and sculptures to the Kerala’s performing arts belonging to the folk and classical traditions.
The monograph, which is based on a lecture Dr. Vatsyayan, a former IGNCA chairperson, gave in Kerala’s Tripunithura off Kochi in 1988, has been commended by many as remarkably rich in the variety of art forms it covers and the directions for future research it offers in the area.
As the three speakers at the Thursday evening function noted, the author revisits these art forms, often termed as “little” and “great” traditions, and shows how classical art forms such as Kathakali and Krishnanattam serve as a bridge between them.
The book covers a wide spectrum of arts of Kerala ranging from the tribal to the classical, pointed out Prof. Pillai, a Delhi-based Malayalam playwright. “The study Books around, backward and forward the ideal function of an explorative pilgrimage the author had undertaken,” added the nonagernarian.
Sanskrit scholar Dr. Paulose, who has edited the book, which has 14-page glossary, spoke about the folksy Mudiyettu dance-drama of Kerala, juxtaposing its techniques with the highly-sophisticated Koodiyattam theatre which is 2,000 years old. “The aesthetics of both forms, nonetheless, can be categorized as intangible heritage,” added Kochiite, who is a former vice-chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam, the state’s premier performing-art institution.
Menon, who is a Chennai-based journalist-writer, noted that Kerala’s traditional arts straddle both the elite and the subaltern, and regretted that the trend of late has been to blur the identity of the latter.
A former Rajya Sabha MP, 88 year-old Dr. Vatysayan, who has been a Unesco Executive Board member and president of India International Centre, said it was “gratifying” to see one of her old works now finding a contemporary set of readers.
Dr. Sreekala Sivasankaran, assistant professor with IGNCA’s Janapada Sampada Division, moderated the discussion.
The 1985-founded IGNCA is a premier autonomous institution under the Union Ministry Culture, promoting diverse as well as interdisciplinary programmes of research, publication, training, creative activities and performance in the field of arts and culture.
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