THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Every other place has its own tradition of oral storytelling, which seems to be getting less popular now what with the outburst of different visual media forms. As World Storytelling Day falls on March 20, it still needs to seen if storytelling is becoming a dying art.
An art of standup storytelling, Kathaprasangam has been an oral radition practised by professional artistes here since ancient times, being a regular event at temple festivals. So is it becoming less popular as an art form compared to competitive items in youth festivals? A professional Kathaprasangam artiste based in the capital city, A R Chandran does not feel so.
The artiste had recently given a Kathaprasangam performance on Kavinjar Kannadasan’s ‘Vilakkinu Matruma Sikappu’(Vilakkinu Matramo Chuvappu) at Vyloppilly Samskruthi Bhavan in the city.
“He adds, “The art of standup storytelling saw its golden days during the time of V Sambasivan, a famous Kadhaprasangam artist in the state. At one point of time, the art of Kathaprasangam started fading out from the limelight with the advent of television. However, it has regained its lustre.”
Elaborating more on the art, he says, “Kadhaprasangam actually evolved from the tradition of ‘Harikatha’, an ancient form of storytelling. Eventually it got modified into ‘Kadhaprasangam’, a standup form of storytelling accompanied by an orchestra and musical pieces.”
Evidently passionate in the storytelling form, the artiste says that his recent performance in Vyloppilly drew a big crowd. Adds A R Chandran, “I believe there are more admirers for ‘Kathaprasangam’ in places like Palakkad and Thrissur. While at one point of time, it was patronised by both the common man and the rich, now it seems to be mainly enjoyed by the layman.”
Performing standup storytelling for the past 50 years, A R Chandran had recently received the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy award for his contributions. Though he feels that the standup storytelling method is still enjoyed and encouraged, nothing can replace the popularity it had long back.
Winding up, he says, “There used to be a time when the place would be packed during temple festivals, with people coming to watch the performance with a mat to lie on. Now, the number of shows have declined.”