Tucked away from the madding crowd is a house set in a large palm grove. A board at the front gate announces the name of the centre – Satsangam. The kalari, which is made up of bricks and a thatched roof is attached to the house. In the centre of the kalari sits Maryse Noiseux, the person behind the institute, cross-legged on a mat. A gentle breeze fans her as she practises eye movements; the green around her a balm for sore, city eyes. She also practises the various mudras for her upcoming performance of ‘Poothana Moksham’ Kathakali in Italy. The glass bottles and painted glasses that are embedded on one side of the wall, which reminds one of stained glass, filter the sunlight and create an interesting play of light on the red oxide floor. Done with her daily practice, she sits on the short wall on the other side of the kalari.
“I come here daily for practice. This is the space where I create my works. I created ‘Kerala On Stage’, which featured Kalaripayattu and Kathakali, and ‘Dreamscape’, a mix of contemporary dance, malkhamb, Kathakali and Kalaripayattu here. ‘Dreamscape’, which unfolded the story of a young girl dreaming about Lord Krishna, had me sharing the stage with my daughter, Ajna. I hold workshops for artistes and for children here too. The green around the kalari is soothing and inspires me.
The thatched roof, I feel, helps keep the temperature down. Although many have advised me to replace the thatched roof with asbestos sheets, I refuse to, as I want the kalari to be as rooted to the earth as much as possible. As the kalari is not completely walled in, there is always a light breeze. This space used to be smaller though. We expanded it when a group from France came down for a Kalaripayattu workshop,” she says.
Started in 1989, Satsangam was the fruition of Maryse’s guru, Kudamaloor Karunakaran Nair’s dream of starting a centre for art and culture in the city. “My guru ran a gurukal in Iranjalakuda. As Thiruvananthapuram was a more culturally happening city, he wanted to shift the centre here,” recalls Maryse. It was after searching high and low for a suitable place that they found what they were looking for in Nemom. “We were clear we wanted an old tharavad, nothing fancy. When a friend showed me her house, we fell in love with it. We have taken the house on rent.”
The kalari, says Maryse, was built adjoining the house in 1990 as Asan wanted a space where he could teach the children around the locality, Kathakali. “It was not a conventional Kathakali school. Asan wanted the children to be able to appreciate the art form. He encouraged girls to learn Kathakali as he felt women did a better job of performing stree veshams.”
Asan, who was fond of narrating tales from the Ramayana and the Mahabharat had a ready audience in the children. The students were also taught to draw, paint and the basics of French too.
When Asan passed away in 2000, Maryse wondered how she would carry running on the institute. But manage she did, so much so that Satsangam has a branch in Italy. Dividing her time between Italy and Thiruvananthapuram, Maryse says that although she is fond of the property in Italy, it’s the one in the city that she holds close to heart. “I can feel Asan’s presence here. Many who have visited the centre have mentioned a sense of positive energy that flows through the house and its surroundings; I believe its Asan’s.”
Apart from continuing Asan’s legacy of holding classes for children between the ages of six and 14, Maryse also conducts workshops in most of the Indian art forms. She is planning to start a cultural exchange programme with the Reunion Island and Madagascar. “The programme will have dance students from the Reunion Island and Madagascar coming here and learning our dance forms and Indian dancers going there.” The danseuse is currently working on a choreography that will showcase Kathakali, contemporary dance and Manipuri dance.
(A series that explores the workspaces of creative people in the city and its suburbs)
