They may be bleary, tired and footsore. But they are still upbeat about their busy schedule because many of them have beaten the system to come out on top. All during the Onam festivities, the musicians were on their feet, entertaining crowds with their evocative acts that emanate from the soil. Soul- stirring songs sing of the past and times gone by while folk performances bring alive hoary customs of another era and society.
Thiruvithamkoor Changathi Creations, a group of musicians, celebrates the rich folk traditions of Kerala, both music and art forms. The Changathis, which means friends in Malayalam, are expanding the space for folk music and art by finding new audiences and performance venues. They present folk songs and stage temple and ritualistic art forms such as Theyyam, Padayani, Thira, Poothan, Thee Chamundi Theyyam, Parunthattam, Panthakkali, tribal dance forms and the like.
“We had 40 performances in the last two months. The group has been active for seven years now, although it was named Changathi only last year. There are 20 members in our group, including three women. There are students, masons, painters, auto drivers... in the troupe. While a few of us are from the city itself, the rest are from places such as Kannur, Ernakulam, Kollam, Kottayam and Marthandam in Tamil Nadu,” says 26-year-old Nidheesh S. D.
Nidheesh is a five-time state-level winner in chenda at the Kerala State Youth Festival. His interest in folk music that eventually saw him bring together a group of like-minded artistes. After finishing a course in sound engineering, he joined A.R. Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory where he learnt audio designing and electronics music production. “I was always attracted to folk music and during my school days I was associated with the folk troupe, Unarvu, in the city. It is to know more about the genre that I took up music production. I was able to explore the treasure of songs we have as part of studies, most of which have been passed orally from one generation to the other. The stint at Rahman sir’s school gave me a lot of opportunities to play the chenda. I also played for as Hariharan, Shreya Ghosal and Zakir Hussain at various private events. All that came handy when I formed Changathis,” says Nidheesh.
Now that folk songs are trending on movies and social media, there has been an increase in the number of troupes rendering the music. But Nidheesh admits that some groups are taking the audience for a ride by diluting the tradition, be it in the presentation of songs or the art forms.
There is a problem of plenty as well with over a dozen active folk art groups in the field.
“Commercialisation is a bane. Many performers spice up their performance by using electronic instruments. But we use only those instruments that are traditionally associated with folk music, such as chenda, thavil, veekkan chenda, udukku, maram, kaimani and ilathalam. As for the art forms, there are troupes that stage the art forms just for the sake of it,” says Nidheesh.
Changathis usually perform at temple festivals, college fetes, public functions and schools. A full performance, mostly of two-hour duration, begins with a chaattupattu (hymns for the god) followed by a performance of four Theyyam artistes. Mudiyattam songs, Kalamezhuthupaattu and Koithupaattu capture the sounds of the soil.
Musicians of Thiruvithamkoor Changathi Creations
“We are quite flexible. The items we present depends on the demands of the organiser. We work as a team and do everything , including putting up the stage, if needed. While most troupes present songs of Kalabhavan Mani, our USP is the rare songs that we have,” says Nikhil Lal V.N. the coordinator of the group.
They launched a charity drive last month at Manaveeyam Veedhi to raise funds for cancer patients. The group claims to have a collection of over 400 folk songs and are planning to bring out a cassette with some of these songs.
All for the best
Nidheesh, inspired by his father, J.K. Satheesh, a chenda artiste, joined Kerala Kalamandalam after his class seven. “But I had to discontinue the course along with four others. The teachers had a problem with my caste and the fact that I come from Chengalchoola. I was harassed till I left the place. However I had my revenge when I won first prize in chenda at the youth festival and my plight was reported in the media. May be it was all for the good. Otherwise Changathis would not have happened,” he says.
