Several decades ago, there existed a system of learning in India which was unique to our rich vedic heritage. It was called gurukula, a residential system of learning in which the teacher stayed along with his disciples. Admission to the gurukula was never easy. The guru had to be convinced about the desire, determination and diligence of his student before assenting to teach him.
Nestled in the humble hamlet of Cheruthuruthy, Thrissur, is Kerala Kalamandalam (Deemed University of Art and Culture), which harmonises the gurukula sampradaya with the modern university system. The institute is revered as one of the most prestigious centres of learning in India for classical performing arts of Kerala like Kathakali, Kudiyattam and Mohiniyattam.
How it all began
The history of Kalamandalam dates back to a time when the performing arts suffered a slump in Kerala. Even Kathakali, which had always been a popular art among Keralites, was abandoned. The local patriarchs who used to promote the art could no longer fund the Kathakali yogams (where it was staged) with their decreasing financial resources.
When the mere survival of Kathakali became precarious, famous poet Vallathol Narayana Menon and Mukunda Raja, a Kathakali enthusiast, set up the Kerala Kalamandalam at Cheruthuruthy in 1930. Two decades later, the institute was brought under the Ministry of Culture. When former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru watched Thullal (an art form) in 1950, he directed Menon to include Thullal in the course. More art forms were added as years progressed. Thus, what began as a humble centre for Kathakali with two students and a single teacher has today grown into a deemed university offering courses exclusively on classical arts.
Admission and curriculum
The resolve of a child is tested to its maximum when he enters Kalamandalam. It takes eight years of rigorous training and practice to learn the classical art forms. You join Kalamandalam when you’re 13 years old. When you’ve completed the three-year AHSLC (Art High School Leaving Certificate), you join Class 12 and then pursue a three-year BA degree in performing arts, offered in 13 different disciplines.
The last two years is allotted for a two-year MA in any one of the following: Kathakali, Kudiyattam and Mohiniyattam. You can choose one art form for intensive training. Along with practical and theoretical training, you’re also given scholastic training in different subjects.
Admission is strictly based on interviews. The interview board comprises experts in different art disciplines.
Applicants are tested for their basic aptitude in art. Sense of rhythm, physical gait and histrionic instincts are evaluated for those aspiring for dance and acting courses. Applicants for music course are tested based on their sense of rhythm, voice culture and previous training in music or family tradition in the same are considered. Kalamandalam does not charge any fee from its students. Everything, including training and accommodation, is absolutely free. Many students are also given scholarships. The only fee collected from students is the Mess fee, which is just Rs 50-60 per day.
The institute has a total of 500 students at present. The number of students per course varies with each art form. Every class will have five-eight seats each.
Rigorous training
At Kalamandalam, the day begins as early as 4am in the morning. The students engage in their daily sadhakam (practice) for two hours. Following a break of two hours, the art classes resume at 9am and conclude at 5pm.
“Being a student of Kalamandalam is a test of your innate skill, interest and above all your patience,” says CM Balasubramaniam, principal, Kerala Kalamandalam. “We focus not just on training in different performing arts. We insist that the student deeply understand the value of art and also of our rich heritage. Such realisation will only come from relentless training for which you have to completely dedicate your mind and body.”
Kalamandalam instils in students, not just pursuit of knowledge but a dogged determination to achieve perfection in every art they perform.
The training
Acting and dancing are taught in classes called kalaries where you’re trained on facial expressions, eye movements, hand gestures and character enactment. In music classes, you’ll be given basic training in Carnatic music and then proceed to invocations and so on. Percussion classes help you develop control, perfection and timing by playing different strokes with constant variations in tempo and scales. In the final stages, you enter into Cholliyattam, where dance, drama and music are integrated into a single kalari. This is a coordinated performance of Kathakali sans make-up. You’ll also be trained to apply make-up and wear costumes in Kathakali.
Kalamandalam teaches lessons on earthern pots on which students draw faces of kings, demons, gods and hunters. “It demands immense levels of concentration and an eye for detail. We need to sit for hours since each stroke has to be so precise and delicate,” says Sivadas, an alumnus of Kalamandalam in facial make-up. The students are trained in the decorations of head gears, breast plates, earrings, bangles and golden garlands.
Monsoon massages
The most important phase of training is body massage. Monsoon is considered the most apt time for massage. Every performing art demands high levels of body flexibility and lithe movements. Students rise at 4am during monsoon season and smear oil on their face, body and limbs. As they lie down on the floor, their teachers massage the body with their feet. This is one segment that relates Kathakali to martial arts.
“Of course, it is hard to shake off our sleep and prepare ourselves for the training. But we also know that every art is demanding on our physical prowess and mental will,” says Shuchindranathan, a former student and an internee. “As Kalamandalam students, we are well aware that we’re supposed to preserve the arts in their pristine form. Naturally we’re ready for any suffering the art demands.”
Kalamadalam has got hostel facilities for girls and boys. It also houses a well furnished library with a vast collection of books on art and literature.
To earn a living is tougher
Eight years of hard training could amount to nothing, when it comes to earning a livelihood. It is not necessary that every student of Kalamandalam finds a prosperous way for living. “Employment has been a problem for years. Art is seldom appreciated. Very few rise to fame and eminence. All students do not become maestros. The rest are destined to find their way themselves. Yet they never give up their art, no matter how hard it gets,” says Balasubramaniam.
Awareness campaigns
But Kalamandalam has already taken notable steps in this regard. In 2003, it launched a project called ‘A day with the masters’ along with the tourism department of Kerala. This programme attracts tourists to Kalamandalam and generates an interest in performing arts. Workshops are organised across schools and a team from Kalamandalam will take classes and stage demonstrations. All these initiatives are mainly aimed at keeping the artists employed.
“This is a time when our culture is being questioned. Kalamandalam follows a practical-oriented system which upholds the dignity of our art forms the way our past generations have done,” says J Prasad, the vice chancellor of the institute.
For the students, it is not the job that matters but the pride of being a student of Kalamandalam. “Initially, I found it very difficult to keep up with the training. But what I’ve learned from my masters has enabled me to look beyond the job prospects. We’re also taught that real suffering and pain never go in vain,” says Chinosh Balan, final-year, BA Kathakali.
Some of the famous alumni of Kalamandalam include Padmashree Kalamandalam Gopi (one of the most revered Kathakali artistes alive today), Kalamandalam Sathyabhama, the first recipient of the Kerala Nritya Natya Puraskar (2005) for outstanding contribution to Mohiniyattam, and Kalamandalam Geethanandan, a proficient Ottanthullal artiste.
— aswin@expressbuzz.com
