KOZHIKODE: Twelve poorakkali teams which took part in the state school arts festival here share one thing other than their love for the traditional dance ritual from north Kerala — their trainer, U K Thampan Panicker, an artist from Peelickode.
One of theses teams, Bharathmatha HSS, Palakkad, has bagged the first prize in the higher secondary category for the second consecutive time. And while his students from Palakkad, Malappuram, Thrissur, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Kollam districts have secured A grade in the high school category, his disciples from Malappuram, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kollam and Kozhikode district have got the same grade in the higher secondary category.
“I’ve been playing poorakkali at temples since I was 14 and have been teaching it for over 25 years. I’ve trained schoolchildren for over 10 years since it was included in the school arts festival around 15 years ago,” said Panicker. The art form has martial arts steps and requires the artists to have both stamina and a flexible body. Participants wearing red silk and black clothes play clapping their hands and moving in and around circles to the songs which they themselves sing.
“The students are selected based on their stamina to perform for 20 minutes. The performance starts with kettithozhal, a silent prayer in the Kalari style, and is followed by any three of the 18 different forms depicting stories from epics such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana,” he said.