The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Crowds beat time to Tulunadu rhythms

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Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Crowds beat time to Tulunadu rhythms

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Art forms presented by 30-odd artistes of the Dravida Kala Samithi on the Sooryakanthi grounds were among the attractions of the Onam week celebrations on Monday.

The history of landlord-tenant relationship in ancient Tulunadu came alive through such art forms as Mulamchenda, Mangalamkali and Eruthukali.

Ancient rhythms that took birth in paddy fields were reborn as the crowds tapped their feet in tune with the beats of the ‘chenda’ fashioned from bamboo.

That this instrument was sounded in the olden days to drive away wild animals from paddy fields and to hold evil spirits at bay would not have occurred to many who soaked in these timeless rhythms.

Mangalamkali is a ritual practised by the Mavilan community in north Malabar. During a marriage, the bride and the groom dance to Tulu songs in the courtyard of the landlord.

The songs, however, speak of the anger of the underprivileged against the cruel punishments meted out to them by the feudal overlords and of the plight of the worker who slaves it out all day in the fields on a near-empty stomach.

They narrate the atrocities committed on Adivasi women and of how their homes were torched so that their lands could be taken over.

Once the harvest is over in the Malayalam month of Thulam, the workers gather in the landlord’s courtyard dressed as Nandi, the mount of Lord Siva. Eruthukali has its roots in this practice.

To keep the evil eye off Nandi, a ‘Komali,’ or jester, will be there in the crowd. Once the workers are through with Eruthukali, the Thampuran, or the lord, presents them with corn and money as ‘kanikka,’ or offering.

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