Eighteen-year-old Vismaya Vijayan was upbeat when she heard about the latest decision of Kerala Kalamandalam to admit women to Kathakali courses. “It’s a great opportunity for women who want to learn the art.”
As a traditional dance drama, Kathakali has always set itself apart. The flamboyance of emotions, the extravagance of the costumes, and the loud movements accompanied by assertive music, all bore a marked aerobic finesse. The art needed the agility of a well-toned physique and assertion of sharp movements, and hence was deemed unfit for the dainty feminine to take up. Probably why the art form had men playing even the female characters.
The study of the art, too, was rigorous with strenuous practise sessions that lasted hours. Probably this was the reason why the schools of the art form or kalaris admitted only boys even from the time Kathakali was shaped out of dance dramas such as Ramanattam and Krishnanattam during the bhakti era. Even in 1927, when the famed Kerala Kalamandalam was formed as an exclusive school to nurture classical and folk art forms of Kerala, admission to the Kathakali course was restricted to boys.
Kalamandalam is now a deemed university and an acclaimed centre for performing art with world-class patronage. Yet, the classes in Kathakali was out of bounds for women despite women foraying into many of the accompanying art forms of the dance drama.
Vismaya, 18, playing a female role in a Kathakali recital.
This barrier is now cracking up with the school management deciding to induct nine female students into the Kathakali curriculum. The decision, long overdue, was after consideration of public feedback and the demands of the times.
Kathakali performances are marked for their martial precision and incorporate a lot of kalari movements. This aside, one of the main aspects of training is the chavitty uzhichil where the body of performers are massaged by the tutors with their feet. This is to tone the body and improve the flexibility and strength of the muscles. “The tough training regime was a reason why women were not taught the art form,” says Kalamandalam Thulasi, a Kathakali faculty.
Despite such restrictions, women participated in Kathakali performances after mastering accompanying arts such as vocals or the percussion instruments. There were some who even learnt the art in its entirety. Among the first women to learn Kathakali were Katyayani from Tripunithura and Chavara Parukutty. There were many cultural differences too that prevented women from taking up the study of the art form. Undeterred by these restrictions, Chavara Parukutty continued performing on stage and even excelled as one of the leading performers of the genre.
Marry John, the country’s first female Kathakali make-up artiste, recalls her days: “It was a struggle for me. My family was also against me with their conservative thought that Kathakali as an art form is evil. Luckily, my husband Kalamandalam John was a veteran who now lives in Italy.”
During the period between 1970s and 1990s, more women started taking up Kathakali. Some from abroad took short-term lessons at Kalamandalam and many learnt under individual masters or in private institutions.
The argument that Kathakali was out of reach for women also has a counter with Kalamandalam Thulasi stating, “this is misinformation. From time immemorial, women have been allowed to perform alongside men in Kathakali. Women still do, just that their number is low”. Eminent Kathakali artiste Thankamani Kutty supports his view, saying “there was no such discrimination I have had to face”.
The increasing number of women in the art probably was incidental in convincing the Kalamandalam authorities to throw open the doors of the Kathakali school to women. Connoisseurs of the art form welcome this move as a milestone. “The new decision was made after understanding the need to bring gender equality in all fields,” Kalamandalam Thulasi added.
To gain admission into Kalamandalam, there are no barriers such as family background or class preference. The intake starts from Class 8, and will be done through an aptitude test. “Anyone with good health and passion can participate. Those who want direct admission to degree classes need to have studied the syllabus of the lower classes,” a Kalamandalam official says.
The latest decision could also help buoy the sinking prospects of Kathakali as a profession, experts feel. As of now, the main source of income for this art form is tourism. But Kalamandalam’s initiative of introducing professional Kathakali training to girls offers an opportunity for better teaching and patronage. Mentoring by in-house instructors could soon be a norm in Kathakali training akin to the training in other classical dance forms. This will help bring about diversity in teaching and the faculty, and thus give room for improvisations and outreach. The challenge for both men and women who practise the art form, according to veteran performer and teacher Vijayan, would be to keep the core values intact without them being sullied by the march and demands of time.
Photos by: Vismaya, Thulasi sir, Mary John and Kalamandalam John
Edited by: Aparna Nair