How a koothu efficiency proved to be a social leveller

From Munnetram, a night-long occasion that bridged the divide between artwork varieties

Okay. Velur village, Arcot taluk, Ranipet district, lately bustled with youthful vitality, kindred spirits and pleasure. The stage close to the Uthiragiri Amman temple within the village, with two statues devoted to Kalavai Ponnusami and Tamil scholar Prof. M. Varadarasan, speaks of the village’s long-term involvement of their heritage of Koothu and Tamil.    

The village hosted the Munnetram (Progress) venture of Kattaikkuttu coaching programme in three villages within the surrounding space, sharing the shortened variations of their new koothu together with Carnatic music (Ashwath and staff), Bharatanatyam (Sangeeta Isvaran and Mookambikai skilled women of Katradi Centre in Kalavai village) and a number of people varieties (Nanbarkal staff from Chennai). The in a single day occasion started at 9 p.m. and lasted until 6.30 a.m. The venture was led by Thilagavathi Palani.   

In a single day Koothu performances are usually not new in Northern Tamil Nadu. However the presence of a younger viewers via the evening, the performances of city and rural teams, the blending of classical and people varieties and the inclusive caste and gender dynamics have been actually refreshing. 

Munnetram turned Okay. Velur village right into a stage for inventive experiment

Although we expect that breaking the fault strains of the urban-rural divide within the performing arts in Tamil Nadu is a current phenomenon, it really has its personal distinctive historical past. 

When tradition in India is turning into homogenised, the home-grown artistes’ rising want to critically interact with their artwork varieties is heartening. This engagement has been essential in bringing about change within the up to date context — of being rooted but accessible. 

Village chief Nandakumar was completely satisfied {that a} Carnatic music live performance was staged for the primary time there. Whereas the mangalavadhyam (nagaswaram and thavil, three of every) featured a feminine artiste, the North Chennai-based Nanbarkal group led by Deepan included college and school college students and employed folks; they carried out Parai, Silambam, Karagam, Poikkaalkuthirai and Mayilattam. 

Deepan shared how these artwork varieties have been livelihood choices and expertise to entertain and create consciousness for members of the group.  

The three Koothu performances -— Pudheri Pillaivakkam (skilled by A. Kandeepan), Veliya Nallur (taught by Arimuthu aka Babu) and Okay. Velur led by Thilagavathi herself — on the night-long occasion additionally highlighted the effort to erase the socio-cultural divide. The tales carried out have been Vilvalaippu / Draupathi’s Marriage, Saindhavan Garva Bangam and Karna Moksham. Mythology was employed to determine a join with the viewers. The aim was to make them assume via acquainted tales. 

The end result of a three-month lengthy coaching, the primary Koothu group had a complete of 24 artistes within the age group of seven to 18. Kandeepan mentions how virtually 50 of them got here for the audition. The second group had a mixture of skilled artistes and college students.  Karna Moksham was carried out by a combined gender group by predominantly Dalit youth.  

Whereas a lot of the trainers and musicians in all of the three villages studied collectively at P. Rajagopal’s Kattaikkuttu Gurukulam, most of the youthful artistes have been working with Thilagavathy at Shri Krishna Kattaikkuttu Kuzhu. “Although it could possibly be laborious, I’m captivated with coaching younger fans. We want them to take this motion ahead. It’s a rewarding expertise as a result of they arrive with their very own set of recent concepts and approaches,” says Thilagavathy. She had been dreaming of this venture for three years. Educationist Prema Rangachari of Bhuvana Basis helped crystallise it.

Approach again within the Nineteen Eighties, the Madras Craft Basis initiated the introduction of folks varieties in Chennai faculties. Scholar and author V.R. Devika labored on it for nearly a decade. In 1990, Rajagopal and his spouse Hanne de Bruin began the residential koothu coaching gurukulam at Punjarasanthangal. They admitted girls and boys from totally different caste teams. In truth, Thilagavathi is one the primary graduates of the gurukulam. Nevertheless, the sustenance of the varsity is turning into more and more troublesome with no State recognition or funding.   

Thilagavathi, who broke new grounds as a lady koothu artiste, has been reaching out to girls and inspiring them to make use of the artwork type to higher their lives. On this journey, she is usually joined by skilled Bharatanatyam dancer Sangeetha Eswaran, whose NGO Katradi works on bringing about social and cultural interventions via arts.

Artwork can change how communities are perceived. In that sense, Munnetram was greater than a performative occasion, it eliminated the obstacles to progress.