BHASKAR’S ARTS ACADEMY KATHAKALI TROUPE
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The Bhaskar’s Arts Academy Kathakali Troupe was formed in 2002, consisting of principal dancers trained in India. It is now the only group of its kind outside India, promoting this unique art form from Kerala, South India, known for its colourful makeup, intricate eye movements and hand gestures, in Singapore and beyond.
It is developed under the artistic direction of K.P. Bhaskar, whose vision is also to produce innovative, cross-cultural productions to expand the repertoire of Kathakali and appeal to new audiences in a cosmopolitan age. Its first production held in April 2002 was hence a Tamil performance,
Thataka Vatham, a story taken from the Tamil opera Ramanatakam by Arunachala Kavirayar (1712-1779). It relates how a demoness called Thataka living in a forest was harming monks performing religious rites and how the saint Viswamithra sought the help of Lord Rama to kill the demoness. The show was later also presented in Bali in December that
year.
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In November 2003, the Kathakali troupe staged the premiere of
Cherita Singapura, a Malay legend on the founding of pre-colonial Singapore. It depicts how Prince Sang Nila Utama braved the rough and stormy sea and spotted a fearsome lion in the wondrous jungle, hence giving the island its name, which means “Lion City”. Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Dr Lee Boon Yang, as well as Mr Yatiman Yusof, MP and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Information, Communications and the Arts, attended the performance and commended all artistes involved for their efforts in an innovative production.
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As part of the Singapore Arts Festival in June 2004, the Kathakali troupe presented a full-night production of The Killing of Dussassana in the outdoor event Maha Mela held in the Little India area. It is a traditional story taken from the Mahabharata about the rival families of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The performance had its climatic scene near dawn with the second Pandava brother Bhima taking revenge on the evil Dussassana, disembowelling him and drinking of his blood.
The troupe toured Chennai and Trivandrum in India with great success in December 2004 and is slated for more overseas tours.
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KATHAKALI
A Short Overview
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Kathakali, which literally means ‘story play’, is a form of dance drama that originated in Kerala state, on the southwest coast of India, in the 17th century. With elaborate costumes and painted faces, actors re-enact ancient Hindu mythology, especially stories taken from the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana.
There are five main types of characters in Kathakali, distinguished by their coloured makeups: Pacha (green) for heroic and divine characters such as Krishna; Kati (knife) for heroic but lustful and arrogant characters like Duryodhana or Ravana; Tadi (beard) in red for villainous characters like Dussassana, in white for pious characters like Hanuman; Kari (black) for demoness; Minukku (shining) for females and sages.
Kathakali is known for its rigorous training in body movements and footwork as well as eye movements and facial expressions. The main facial expressions are the navarasam, the nine moods or feelings. There is also a highly developed language of gestures, like in the case of Bharatanatyam, using various mudras.
Apart from two vocalists, the orchestra accompanying Kathakali features very unique percussion instruments, namely the Chenda (a vertical, cylindrical drum played with two sticks), the Maddalam (a drum shaped like the mridangam, played with fingers wrapped in thimbles), the Chengila (gong) and the Elathalam (a pair of cymbals).
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