The three months, June to August (Edavam, Mithunam, Karkidakam in the Malayalam calendar), the time when the monsoon really sets in, is a time of trial by fire for young Kathakali trainees.
After the brassy tones of summer, these can be the most depressing times of the year. For they on these cold, wet monsoon mornings are forced out of their warm beds and made to rush to the kalari (arena or simply, school) where the grim-faced asan (teacher) waits impatiently. Then for nearly four hours, they go through a very strenuous and extreme physical training, exercise, and the painful chavutti uzhichil or chavutti thirummal (foot massage).
A daily routine
This becomes their daily routine. “This has been the routine for Kathakali actors ever since the art form was systematically structured. The massage was part of the training and continued from mid-June till mid-August and for some days in September too. For its body-exercises, Kathakali has borrowed generously from Kalaripayatt. The term meyyurappadavu in Kathakali is from Kalaripayatt. In the Kadathanadan School of Kathakali, which is now almost extinct, some of the body-movements are strikingly similar to that of Kalaripayatt. The movement-vocabulary was ‘cultured’ over a period of time as part of an aesthetic reformation,” says critic, V Kaladharan.
When the monsoon plays truant, when Karkidakkam is not all that dark, do they stick to this traditional routine? “Yes, especially in the institutions where Kathakali is taught, like Kerala Kalamandalam. After all the strain of the other months, when the body tends to get knotted, this routine helps. It helps improve flexibility too. Though it is ideal when it rains and the earth turns cool, it is still practised during these months even if the weather fluctuates,” says Kathakali artiste-teacher, FACT Padmanabhan.
Artistes like Sadanam Manikandan, who are also expert masseurs, stick to the rule that it must rain and heavily to start this routine. “This year in our parts (Vellinezhi) it has not rained much. So, I have not started the programme so far. Usually, during these months it rains, temperatures fall, and artistes undergo the uzhichil process. It begins at 4 am and goes on till 7 am.”
For uzhichil, the teacher holds on to two ropes and massages the trainee with his feet and toes, working oil into every joint and muscle. The process is painful but generally believed to create the required fitness and flexibility demanded by the exacting tradition of Kathakali.
“Many physicians have objected to this traditional method of body massage. One reason they point to is that most of those who do it have no precise understanding of the functions of the blood vessels and veins. The rigour with which it used to be done in the past is no longer there today but the system continues,” says Kaladharan.
Not so easy
Though the routine has been diluted, it is still cruel. Many artistes have confessed to having contemplated suicide and some even attempting it to escape this. CP Unnikrishnan, scholar and Kathakali artiste, looks into the rationale and physiological impact of these exercises on the young artistes in his thesis titled Body Kinetics and the Aesthetics of Kathakali: A Critical Study with Special Reference to Bharata’s Natyshastra .
“What I found was that Kathakali artistes need to understand their body, which they don’t do. I have gone through this under four trainers and found that there was no uniformity. And none of them could answer my question as to how such a process helps in moulding a Kathakali actor,” says Unnikrishnan.
It is widely believed that this massage has mention in Ayurveda but Unnikrishnan counters this. “There is only one sloka in the Ashtangahrudaya that makes a veiled reference to the massage. It states that it is prescribed only during Hemantham or low temperature like in winter and it is to reduce body fat. So, all this talk about using it for flexibility, I think, is wrong. If it had been so it should have been used in gymnastics. Moreover, the treatise states that the massage must be a pleasurable experience. The torture and pain are not justified.”
As part of curriculum
Most of the actors are known to not continue with this regimen after their training phase. And even if they do, it often lacks continuity and uniformity leading to what Unnikrishnan says ‘disuse atrophy’ or diminishing efficiency due to lack of use. He feels that this training, of which uzhichil is a part, needs to be reviewed and personalised. He also suggests the inclusion of this as part of the curriculum in the art and cultural institutions.
Whether uzhichil was part of the training in Koodiyattam is still not clear, though again in institutions this is done during these months. “Ammannur Chachu Chakyar has written about how he spent his money to impart this training to three of his disciples — Parameswara Chakyar, Madhava Chakyar and Rama Chakyar. For three months during the eight years this was done. I have gone through this and when I was in charge of Ammannur Gurukulam insisted that it be part of the regular training.
“The only difference is that instead of the rigorous Kathakali uzhichil I preferred the Kalari uzhichil . The fact is that in Koodiyattam it is not consistently done. I think it depends on the teacher or the institution. But I think no traditional art of Kerala can survive without this,” opines Venu, Koodiyattam guru and performer.
Another noted Koodiyattam artiste Margi Madhu reasons why it is not consistently used. “Unlike Kathakali, for us these three months is not off-season. So, they never really had that time to undergo this regimen. It is still not compulsory though I still go through this from my time at Margi. Moreover, it is an expensive process and I don’t think the specially prepared oil, mukkoottu is readily available today. I have not introduced it at Nepathya, my school for I’m still not sure if the students are ready to take up Koodiyattam seriously as yet.”
As Kaladharan sums up, “Subtleties in the performance-culture of the art forms and in the appreciation of the same are fading out. Depth and density are replaced by unabashed flamboyance. So, we need to think about the need for this elaborate training programme.”
