Sanghakkali gets a boost
MADHAVAN NAIR
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The Kerala Folklore Akademi award to Sanghakkali artiste Moothamana Parameswaran Namboodiri has highlighted the traditional art form.
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RITUALISTIC FOLK ART: Moothamana Parameswaran Namboodiri.
By honouring Moothamana Parameswaran Namboodiri, the Kerala Folklore Akademi has initiated a long-awaited programme to revive Sanghakkali, the ancient folk art form linked to the Namboodiri community.
It has been Moothamana Parameswaran Namboodiri's mission to keep the ancient folk art alive. Namboodiri, who is a priest at the Vellattanjoor Subramania Temple, near Kunnamkulam, has been working on preserving the purity of the art form for the last three decades, despite the lack of interest in the art form."He deserves the accolades that the Kerala Folklore Akademi has bestowed on him," said Dr P. Sankaranarayanan, vice-chairman, Kerala Folklore Akademi.
Felicitation
Moothamana Parameswaran Namboodiri makes no secret of his happiness on being conferred the honour. "After I got the Folklore Akademi award, various groups are felicitating me, in. ," said Moothamana .
Sanghakkali had remained buried in history and at the back of the minds of even folklore lovers until it was staged in 2002 at Tiruvannur in Kozhikode. Says Dr. Sankaranarayanan, whose doctorate is on Sanghakkali, "This art form is centuries old and is full of satire, besides rituals. It needs patronage. There are hardly a dozen Sanghakkali artistes around. We need more."
Although Sanghakkali is mainly humorous it has ritualistic elements as well.
It is believed that the Namboodiris developed this art form when the community had acquired political authority in Kerala. It was an adaptation of the music, dance, martial arts, folk-drama and other local art forms and was spiced with Naalupaadam sung like Veda chants.
Sanghakkali is also called Paanenkali, Yaathrakkali, Saasthraangam or Chaathiraangam in different places. According to P. Vinod Bhattathiripad, chief coordinator of namboothiri.com, which provides information about the Namboodiri community and its art forms, "Sanghakkali truly exemplifies the wit, wisdom and satire of Namboodiris."
The origins
How did Sanghakkali get its name. There several theories about how the art form got its name, some say that it used to be an entertainment programme of the military group of Namboodiris (known as Sangham); others started calling it Yaathrakkali as it formed part of the jubilation that marked their return after winning competitions organised by the then ruler, the Perumal. Some people call it Chaathirangam, as it was an art form of the Chaathira Namboothiris and Chaathirangam's Sanskritised version Saastraangam became popular. Another theory has it that it is derived from Paana, the ancient tradition of Kerala of tree-worship, to which was added entertainment forms like martial arts and folk-drama to form a new art form called Paanenkali. It is believed that Sanghakkali must have evolved sometime between the eighth and 14th centuries A. D.
This art form is usually staged in connection with Namboothiri marriage, `Choroonu,' `Upanayanam,' `Samaavarthanam' and `Panthrandaam Maasam' (first death anniversary), and `Sraadham' (death anniversary). It was also staged in famous Nair families as well as in temples.
A multi-pronged approach is what is needed to revive popular interest in Sanghakkali. That is why Moothamana Parameswaran Namboodiri who dons a number of critical roles during his performance, now speaks of "the need to make his script contemporary and witty."
There are hardly a dozen Sanghakkali artists who can keep the torch of this ancient art form burning.
Its future now depends mainly on artistes such as Moothamana Parameswaran Namboodiri, Meladam Krishnan Namboodiri, and Cherumittam Prasanth Namboodiri and Sanghakkali singer Poongad Narayanan Namboodiri.
After it was staged in Tiruvannur in Kozhikode at the initiative of namboothiriri.com, Sanghakkali artistes were invited to perform at the Soorya festival in Thiruvananthapuram and early this year in Mumbai and Shoranur.
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