COIMBATORE: Folk art in different forms is slowly dying for want of patronage. Not many exponents are concerned with keeping alive this traditional art form.
Earlier, a temple festival or any public function in the village presented the opportunity to put up a folk show, where professional troupes dressed in impressive costumes, entertained the people through different art forms. Even some amateur troupes were sought after during such festivals.
Oyilattam, one such art, was once popular in the Kongu region and in southern districts. Several Oyilattam exponents ruled the roost, showcasing their skill.
Septuagenarian V K Chinnakannu is one of the few Oyilattam exponents who, has been training students on this traditional art form for the past 37 years. Age has not deterred him as he continues to impart training, deriving immense pleasure as he teaches the intricacies of this art to the present day generation who, have very little knowledge about folk art.
Express spotted this exponent at Avinashilingam Jan Shikshan Sansthan at Saibaba Colony where he was engaged in coaching girls for a cultural event organised jointly by the Coimbatore Doordarshan Kendra. “I used to watch a lot of folk art and by and by I got interested in it. At the age of 10, I started learning this art. My inspiration towards learning this art form came on account of my teacher, Kurichi Nataraj. Very soon, I had quickly grasped the nuances of this art form,” he said, adding that he was so much attracted towards it that he made it a point to join the troupe during their public shows.
Ask him what Oyilattam is all about and pat comes the reply, “Oyil means beauty. Later, it was called as ‘Dance of Beauty’. Usually performers stand in a row and dance with rhythmic steps, accompanied by the sounds of ankle bells and wooden sticks worn on their fingers. However, styles differ from place to place,” he explained.
During his career, he has trained 2.40 lakh people, including 150 trainers, in Oyilattam. Sadly, there are hardly any trainers left to coach the students now. Starting with 16 steps, he developed his skill so as to progress to 84 steps, which is a rare phenomenon. Girls evince keen interest to improvise their talent, he noted.
Going down memory lane, Chinnakannu takes pride in saying that he bagged the first prize while displaying his Oyilattam skill during the World Tamil Meet held in 1967. In addition, he also won the hearts of the audience to earn the title of Kovai Helen (in an allusion to the famous dancer in Hindi cinema) for his dance performance while wearing a female costume.