Rare insights into Koodiyattom

Among the extant native art forms of Kerala, Koodiyattom holds the distinction of being the most ancient. This 2,000-year-old Sanskrit theatrical genre holds endless fascination on account of the authenticity in its staging in accordance with original texts.

With a lifetime of in-depth practice of and research into Koodiyattom behind him, vidwan Venu offered rare insights in his lec-dem, ‘The Swara or Raga in the Rendering of Text in Koodiyattam’ at The Music Academy, Chennai. He was assisted by daughter and disciple, leading Koodiyattom exponent Kapila Venu who demonstrated the concepts. Percussive accompaniment was provided on the mizhavu.

In Koodiyattam, the terms raga and swara are not used in the conventional context evident in Carnatic music vocabulary. They refer instead, to the manner of articulation of Sanskrit slokas, conforming to prescribed vocal cadences and vibrations (shabdham) in conjunction with the rise and fall of the breath (shwasam). Among the examples explained were the following.

Raga Srikanti: Slokas in this swara, widely used for training the voice, are recited at dawn, often by youngsters. Known as ‘unarthupattu’, this recitation is a much-favoured wake-up call for residents in surrounding communities.

Raga Indalam: This is used in ordinary conversation between nayika-nayaka (heroine-hero) without forceful emotion, for instance, in the text recitation marking the conversation between Rama and Sita about Panchavati. In the medium-pitched articulation, the stretching of dirgha aksharas was interspersed with leisurely glides, the whole calling for breath control.

Raga Aarthan: Denotes sringara rasa. When Arjuna falls in love with Subhadra, the sloka in Aarthan describes the beauty of her eyes. Parts of the charged recitation carried a breathy cadence. In performance, this is an elaborate segment usually enacted for over two hours.

Raga Pouraali: It conveys vipralambha sringara (love in separation). The emotive aspect of the slokam selected was emphasised through the closed-mouth thrum of the ‘mm’ syllable.

What made a telling impact was the sloka articulation for the role of Lalitha (beauteous form of Soorpanaka) impressively enacted by Kapila.

Initially, after her rejection by Rama, a great sadness descends on the demoness. This soon gives way to anger at the memory of the insult. The depiction of these collective emotions culminating in roudra rasa is known as the Tarkan swara. Here, the tremulousness in tone conveyed the character’s immediate reaction of hurt. Then, as anger built, the artist’s tone and articulation recorded the spike in the emotional graph, mirrored by the slow beats of mizhavu that gradually gathered momentum.

There was something primordial that surfaced in the manifestation of that anger, as, with blazing eyes, the artist leapt around the stage, uttering wild cries (alarcha). It was a patchwork of emotions in which each individual thread was discernible. This is one of the most ancient acting techniques wherein the actor must recite his/her own text, with no recourse to a background voice.