KOCHI: The traditional ‘Kolkali,’ dominated by men is fast dying. Quite similar to the ‘Poorakkali,’ the art form is practised in northern Kerala, specifically in the interior regions of Kannur. Like the ‘Poorakkali, men took up Kolkali owing to its style and the physical strength required. However, over the last decade, Kolkali saw a declining trend with hardly any man showing any interest in learning it. That was when a senior Kolkali teacher decided to break the stereotype.
K Komalan, who has been in the field for more than two decades, decided to teach women the art form. He says, “I decided to start a Kolkali troupe with women because of the apathy of the men towards taking this art form forward.”
Komalan, along with Nanu, who is another senior member in the field, decided to collaborate with interested women from the Kudumbashree unit in their grama panchayat Kunnathu Parambu.
Recently, the Vanitha Kolkali Sangham from Kannur was in Kozhikode to perform as part of the District Tourism Promotion Council’s ‘Utsav’ festival, an initiative that strives to protect and promote the traditional art forms of Kerala.
The group thus came into existance eight years ago, with young girls and women till the age of 45 taking part actively.
“This is not an art form for women as per history, but we, who have been protecting it had to find a way out for its survival. A team comprises 14 performers. Since it can become a little tough for women to perform in the final stages, one or two male performers will be there to provide a backup and mostly the performance is guided by the man in the centre,” says Komalan.
The team has had nearly 65 performances last year alone, with some of them outside Kerala. “We had to face difficulties initially, with people here finding it difficult to accept a woman Kolkali group. The efforts finally paid off,” says the teacher. Sunitha, who has been part of the group since it started eight years ago, says, “After we started the group, plenty of girls as young as eight years and old as 60 joined us.”
The group is currently in Guruvayur to perform at the temple festival.