“How well do we actually know Kerala?” asks Lakshmi Menon, who is on a mission to collect stories from the heart and soul of the State.
The Kochi-based social entrepreneur, who was behind Chekutty, (a fabric doll made of upcycled Chendamangalam saris that symbolised resilience during the Kerala floods of 2018), has created Kathakili, a finger puppet for this project.
The idea, says Lakshmi, is to curate stories from different parts of the State and create a conversation around them.
To participate, people can send a story that is connected to Kerala or reflects life in the State. Those who buy the Kathakili could take a picture with the puppet and send it along with the story to the Facebook page created for this purpose. The story will be screened and added to a blog and later, made into a digital book.
The stories (comprising not more than 15 sentences), can be about anything from performing arts, to artists, craft or heritage.
“We are not looking for something that is lifted off the Internet. This is for creating a sense of pride in our motherland, especially among the younger generation, who is largely ignorant of the richness of our heritage,” says Lakshmi, who also runs Pure Living, a social enterprise that employs elderly women and women with disabilities. Their projects mostly involve up-cycling and recycling.
Creating Kathakili was fun, she says. “I decided that a parrot would be best. Kerala has kilippattu , a unique tradition of narrating a story through a parrot. The bird here also signifies the need to preserve Nature,” adds Lakshmi.
As soon as the idea was set in her mind, she got to work, giving form and shape to Kathakili. She used Kerala handloom fabric and yarn to make the puppet and attached a rubber thimble for easy wearing. It is green in colour with a red beak.
Lakshmi Menon
Lakshmi wanted the parrot to have a unique identity. “ Katha means story and kili means parrot in Malayalam. And as the name suggests, the parrot draws inspiration from Kerala’s traditional art form kathakali . Just as a kathakali performer, the bird wears a white and red twin shawl,” says Lakshmi.
The proceeds from the sale of Kathakili will go towards Creative Dignity, a national initiative to help artisans and craftspeople during the pandemic.
Kathakili can be bought for ₹100 from https://www.facebook. com/ KadhaKili-10836339761 8700. Stories can be sent to the FB page or sent on WhatsApp to
+91 83300 21192.
