Master s Thesis Beyond Dichotomies: Tholpavakoothu, a Resilient Shadow Puppetry Art Form by PILLAI Pallavi Jayakumar 51119004 March 2021 Master s Thesis Presented to Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Asia Pacific Studies- Society and Culture 1
Table of Contents Contents Certification Page... 3 Acknowledgements... 4 Summary... 5 Introduction... 7 Methods... 25 History of Tholpavakoothu: The Traditional... 28 Tholpavakoothu in the modern era... 65 Tholpavakoothu Today: The Koonathara troupe of puppeteers and observations of the present-day scenario of the art form... 92 Problematizing the Dichotomy of Traditional and Modern: Tholpavakoothu, a developing art form... 133 Conclusion... 143 References... 148 Appendix... 155 2
Certification Page I, Pillai Pallavi Jayakumar (Student ID 51119004) hereby declare that the contents of this Master s Thesis are original and true and have not been submitted at any other university or educational institution for the award of degree or diploma. All the information derived from other published or unpublished sources has been cited and acknowledged appropriately. Pillai Pallavi Jayakumar 2020/12/04 3
Acknowledgements I am thankful to many individuals who have helped me during the whole time I conducted my research. First and foremost, I would like to thank the Koonathara troupe of Tholpavakoothu artists from Shoranur, Kerala for letting me interview them, watch their performances, visit their home and workshop. I am immensely grateful and in awe of Master Puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar who shared the oceans of knowledge he holds so patiently with me. I would like to thank the younger generation puppeteers Mr. Rajeev Pulavar and Mr. Rahul Pulavar for supporting me through my entire field research and answering all the queries I had. I also want to thank them for still being in touch with me as I was writing this project virtually as COVID-19 abruptly cancelled some parts of the field research. Secondly, and very importantly I want to thank my supervisor Mr. Hideo Sasagawa for being a patient and supportive guide and correcting all my mistakes. I am thankful for all the lessons I learned from these individuals. Next, I want to thank Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University for supporting my research and the turns it has taken since the first semester. The University and the Research office at APU helped me greatly with the many stages of the research. I want to thank my whole family and friends who have patiently supported me as I completed this project. 4
Summary Tholpavakoothu is a unique tradition of shadow puppet theatre from central Kerala in present day India. It is originally a ritualistic temple-based art form performed in unique permanent temple theatres called koothumadam by specific groups of puppeteers as a votive offering to the popular goddess Bhadrakali who is considered the main audience of the play in the temples. The extremely learned puppeteers would narrate the Tamil version of the Hindu epic Ramayana, manipulate the puppets, offer advice to the public and pass down the knowledge to the next generations to continue the practice. It was traditionally situated in the cultural milieu of Hindu religious beliefs and social functions of their respective eras. In the modern era, with the advent and spread of globalizing capitalistic economics and technological advancement, the traditional art form also started developing a commercialized performative side. This study charts the history of Tholpavakoothu and the ways the art form navigated around the changing trends in the society of Kerala and India in pre-modern and modern eras and still does so. It looks at the shift in the lives of the artists, the style and logistics of the performances, the artistry, traditions and innovations, the beliefs, the social functions and the evolving nature of the art form and relates it to the changing socio-culturally constructed realities of the Indian society. This study identifies the issue with looking at changes in the art form as purely 5
transitional from traditional to modern, from spiritual to economic or from ritualistic to performative. The use of the dichotomous traditional-modern polarity to understand the changes in the art doesn t do justice to the various complex, socio-historical processes involved in the change and continued practice of the art form. Thus, the study chronologically delineated all the phases of the art form from ancient to today s current scenario and problematized the dichotomies associated with functioning of the art form. A field research was undertaken in March 2020 in Shoranur, Kerala to interview the artists of the most active Tholpavakoothu troupe today- the Koonathara troupe, to observe performances inside traditional temple theatres and outside the temple context, and observe of the interaction of locals with the art form. In turn, the study has found the various strategies the Tholpavakoothu artists have used over the years of its existence to continue the practice of the art form even as the socio-cultural environment around it keeps changing. In modern times, the artists had found a way to compartmentalize their ritualistic duties towards the art form along with the modern innovations that they needed to make so that the art form evolves with the changing needs of the society. But with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic the wheels of the art form are found changing again to find new strategies to keep continuing. This study thus, evaluates in detail how a 1000- year-old art form like Tholpavakoothu is still developing after all these years. 6
Introduction Tholpavakoothu is not a dying art form. The artists of the Koonathara troupe have been pioneers in continuing the practice of the art form over its 14-generation long genealogy. This study evaluates the strategies used by the artists of the Koonathara troupe, one of the most active troupes of Tholpavakoothu artists to continually practice this art form in an ever-changing social environment of India. Tholpavakoothu (leather puppet play) is a shadow puppet theatre art form from the central part of Kerala in southern India believed to have begun in the 9 th century BCE. In today s scenario, the description of the art form can be done in more than one way. The art form s origins are from Tamil itinerant groups from Shaivist communities usually belonging to Vellalachetti and Nair castes who travelled and performed popular Tamil folk tales through the medium of shadow puppetry along the river Bharatappuzha. The art form saw change first when it picked up the Tamil text of Kamba Ramayana to enact through shadow puppets. The puppeteers settled in Kerala and transitioned to agriculturebased, non-nomadic ways of life and performed in special permanent theatres called koothumadams attached to Devi Kshetrams (Goddess temples). The performances began to be practiced as a ritual votive offering to goddess Bhadrakali and would be conducted for 7 to 21 nights depending on the occasion, sponsorship or temple culture. They received patronage from royal sponsors and local audiences who had strong religious 7
beliefs connected to the art form which helped to fund the art form s needs. The puppeteers beliefs are also very important in the conduction of the art form. The art form was traditionally passed down to the male members of the family and was only performed by the male members of the families. The puppeteers called Pulavars were scholars with knowledge of many subjects. The puppeteers shared their knowledge and played the role of advisors to royals and local people. The art form itself as a communicative medium was one of the only portals of entertainment and knowledge for the people before the advent of other mediums of communication. The ritualistic side of the art form is continued to this day with close to 85 temples being performed at by the Koonathara troupe and other troupes of the art form. The art form became more multi-faceted in late 20 th century when the revolutionary artist, the late master puppeteer Krishnan Kutty Pulavar (K Pulavar) led the troupe into performing outside the temple for the first time, and eventually even enacting tales other than Ramayana through the shadow puppets. The artists brought several innovations to the art form in order to grow the art form so that it evolves in a way that it is relevant to larger audiences and also to depend on it as a source of livelihood. The art form now regularly performs on stages outside the temple contexts. It enacts various stories and social themes across languages and religions. As easy it is to enlist the various ways in which the art form changes, it is tricky to evaluate the many socio-historical factors and processes involved in the changes. 8
This study does not view the various changes in the art form as purely transitional from one to another, from traditional to modern, from local to Western, etc. The study explores the various definitions and dimensions of the historical and traditional elements of the art form, of the processes it goes through, of the innovations introduced to the art form, of the strategies used by the artists and their continued efforts that enables its continuation. The study relates the changes in the art form to larger changes that occur in the society. In the first chapter, the history of the art form from its origin to the beginning of the modern Indian era is documented and analyzed. In the second chapter, the evolution of the art form in the modern era is charted. In the third chapter, A section on the strategies and response of the Tholpavakoothu artists of the Koonathara troupe during the COVID-19 crisis puts a light on the strategies operationalized by the artists in the face of unexpected challenges. In the fourth chapter, the dichotomy of traditionalmodern polarity in the context of change in the art form is problematized to explore the processual strategies undertaken by the artists that lead to the continued practice of the art form. The objective of this study is to understand and analyze the various strategies (and the socio-historical processes involved in them), used by the artists to change and adapt in order to keep continuing the practice of Tholpavakoothu in a changing society. Following this background on the main topic of the research, that is Tholpavakoothu this 9
introductory chapter will also entail the review of key literature, a look at the methods used to conduct this study and the significance of this study. Review of Key Literature Traditional Shadow puppetry in India Researcher Salil Singh (1998) has suggested that Indian shadow puppet play traditions had remained largely unrecognized outside of its local contexts for most of the 20 th century. The Indian sub-continent lacked a unified political identity before it achieved independence from British colonization in 1947. He states that because of the multiple number of languages and performance traditions in each region of India ruled by changing dynastic powers, resulted in limited inter-penetration of the traditions across the boundaries. Due to this, it had been hard for the multiple localized shadow puppet performance traditions to receive national or international exposure. There are currently 5 forms of shadow puppetry across 5 Indian states, which are Ravanachhaya from the eastern state of Odisha, TholuBommalata of Andhra Pradesh, TogaluGombeyaata of Karnataka, Tolpavaikoothu of Tamil Nadu and Tholpavakoothu from Kerala. Recognizable work done on the shadow puppetry traditions of India can be traced from the 1940s onwards by Asian and Western scholars. The literature consists of comprehensive works that identify and describe all the shadow puppet traditions together, 10
and of works that have studied specific individual state traditions. Amongst ancient Indian literature, references to shadow puppetry traditions can be found in Sanskrit and Dravidian languages but are mostly short descriptive passages about the existence of the art forms. Some of these references are the mention of puppets played in shadow in the Bhagavadgita section in the ancient Hindu epic of Mahabharata (2 nd century BCE) and a letter from an Italian traveler in Vijayanagar empire describing a play using transparent figures (1627 CE). Most of these references have contributed to placing the beginning of the practice of the art forms temporally. The detailedness of the references of shadow puppet traditions in Indian literature was sparse in older texts but become clearer with time with more and more work done on it. The researcher Seltmann (1987) suggests that a comparative lack in research and literature on the shadow puppet play traditions in India until the 1960s is maybe because it is not a historically Brahmanical, high-caste classical art form, and thus didn t receive the attention that other classical art forms received. The perception that began to circulate due to this lack of documentation was that maybe these shadow puppet traditions were lost. This changed in 1935 when a German scholar witnessed a shadow play performance in Karnataka and an American journalist caught a shadow puppet play in Kerala and wrote about it confirming that the shadow puppeteers were active. After this, the first foundation for a comprehensive compendium of Indian shadow puppetry 11
practices was laid with Western, Indian scholars and Indologists like R. Pischel, Meher Rustom Contractor and Friedrich Seltmann publishing their findings and observations of the performances across India. In early works like the book, Various Types of Traditional Puppets of India (1968) by Meher Contractor, consisted of important documents of the various puppetry traditions including shadow puppetry in. Meher Contractor s 1984 monograph The Shadow Puppets of India was one of India s first comprehensive works on traditional shadow puppetry in which information about the history, puppet history and preparation techniques, performance techniques of all 6 state traditions of shadow puppetry were described (Meher, 1984). The significance of such compilation works is that it creates trajectories of the artistic forms, and techniques of the art form and records the performances. Although in such comprehensive literature, the details regarding the puppeteers themselves and the effects of other social factors on the art form are not discussed. This trend was observed in most literature of the shadow puppet traditions of that period of time. The studies done by Indian scholars during these times were descriptive and recorded the artistic elements and techniques and logistics of the art form. They were mostly studies done by Indian scholars published under the Government of India s cultural bodies. The main intent of such studies was to preserve and document the art forms because their practices were declining. Salil Singh (1998) suggested that the recording and documenting factual 12
descriptions of traditional art forms is actually important as it depicts the multitudes of techniques and artistic elements present within Indian shadow puppetry traditions. The documentation and descriptive recording of the traditional practices of these art forms serve as an important source of historical information for future researches. The government recognized documentation of these shadow puppetry meant national and even international recognition of the art forms. This gave way to more specific studies undertaken of each state s shadow puppet traditions like Tholpavakoothu from Kerala which is the main focus of this study. Tholpavakoothu Comprehensive information on Tholpavakoothu has been compiled in various works in the 20 th century studies of the art form. The 1943 work The Shadow play in Malabar was one of the first comprehensive articles exclusively about Tholpavakoothu (Iyer, 1943). The study describes the socio-geographical location of the art form, history of the puppeteers, preparation of the puppets, the stage and the details regarding the performances like the narration, the Kamba Ramayana text and the ritualistic side of the performances. The contributions of Ramasubramaniam 's (1980) article Kamban's epic as shadow play analyzed the ancient palm leaf manuscripts passed down among the 13
Tholpavakoothu artist troupes. The article also consisted a glossary of terms and their meanings used by the Tholpavakoothu artists in the narrations. The late master puppeteer Krishnan Kutty Pulavar of the Koonathara troupe himself published two studies one in the English and one in the Malayalam language. In his 1983 work The Ayodhyakandam of Tolpava Koothu, the originally Tamil chapters of the Ayodhyakandam episode of Kamba Ramayana found in old manuscripts is translated into English and published. The Malayalam language work Tolpavakoothu - The Traditional Shadow puppet play of Kerala, vol-1, Balakandam published in 1987 was based on the story of the birth of Rama from palm leaf manuscripts. Tholpavakoothu is also comprehensively referred to in academic works featured in journals like Asian Folklore Studies, Asian Theatre Journal and Theatre Journal. Orr s (1974) work Puppet Theatre in Asia and Chen s (2003) work Shadow theaters of the world from the journal Asian Folklore Studies give comprehensive information about shadow puppetry and of Tholpavakoothu. Just as documentation of the art form was important in terms of the developing scholarship of Tholpavakoothu, detailed accounts of shadow puppetry along with a study on the various social factors connected to the art form is a very important point in understanding the art form. From the late 60s, the socio-economic factors of the art form began to be discussed in the literature on the shadow puppet traditions. In 1968, a special issue was released by MARG an Indian arts magazine which consisted of information on shadow puppetry 14
along with other forms. But this work also highlighted the connection of rural Indian folk culture to the puppetry traditions and stated the impact of Western colonization and culture on folk culture like shadow puppet play. In Choondal s (1978) work, the Studies in Folklore of Kerala the hypothesis regarding the caste dynamics present in the art form with relation to the puppeteer community performing in koothumadams 1 and barred from temples is one of the important social factors recognized in the study of the art form. Further information about these dynamics is gained through the work of researcher Bhanumathi and interviews with the Koonathara troupe. Friedrich Seltmann s 1986 book Schattenspiel in Kerala in the German language was the first book written about Tholpavakoothu internationally, an exhaustive study on the history of the Tholpavakoothu puppets, their history, their performance, rituals and artistry. The study was carried out by conducting interview with puppeteers and collecting information from the Indian census. It delineated up to 15 generation genealogy of senior puppeteer Annamalai Pulavar and included appendices of 151 episodes of the Kamba Ramayana text used for the oral narration in the performance. The researcher along with this put light on the social, ritualistic and religious significance of the art form by describing caste compositions, etc. Researcher Salil Singh suggested that the work even though extensive, paid minimal attention to the puppeteer s role in the art 1 Koothumadam- also called playhouse or drama-house are permanent structures for performances, unique to Tholpavakoothu 15
form. In 1990 the artist and the researcher G. Venu s books Tolpavakoothu: The Shadow puppets of Kerala (1990) and Puppetry and lesser-known dance traditions of Kerala (2004) were published which serve as short but comprehensive guides to the art form of Tholpavakoothu. In Tolpavakoothu: The Shadow puppets of Kerala along with the details of the artistry of the art form, the researcher charts the effects of the changing socio-economic environments on the art form and lives of the artists. In the second book, Venu (2004) remarks some major changes taking place in the lives of the artists and the art form. He states that the artists did not traditionally depend on the art form for livelihood, but that begins to change with the modern economic culture. He also charts the decline in the participation of younger generations in the traditional art form and in turn, decline in the number of temples where performances take place, due to the popularity of other mass media like television and cinema. The lack in participation of the younger puppeteers in the art form causing degradation in the quality of the performances was a view shared by the researcher Stuart Blackburn. Stuart Blackburn s work Inside the Drama House: Rama stories and shadow puppets in South India published in year 1996 was majorly built on Friedrich Seltmann s work. The aim of the research was to observe how the art form has recontextualized and adapted the Kamba Ramayana text for narration. The book contains compilations of the 16
oral narrations made during the performances and their meanings. Blackburn s methodology largely consisted of sitting in the koothumadam and observing the performance and behavior of the artists themselves. This allowed him to observe the art form from the artists point of view towards the audience leading to the conception of the term the absent audience. Being a Western scholar, the surprise in his text about the artists importantly performing only for the goddess instead of people is very evident. The researcher views Tholpavakoothu as a verbal art form more than visual unlike other puppetry art forms he has observed. Researcher Salil Singh (1998) criticizes this conclusion and through his work attempts to identify and depict the visual aesthetic of the art form. The researcher highlights the need to include the viewpoint of the artists as well as the audience in the study of the art form. The work on Tholpavakoothu so far had documented the art form from the point of view of an audience, an onlooker, a researcher. Researcher Salil Singh s work on Tholpavakoothu in 1998 attempted to fill in this discrepancy by writing about the shadow puppetry tradition of Tholpavakoothu based on the artist, i.e. the puppeteer s understanding of the art form which he felt was missing in the scholarship on the art form. He uses the term the puppeteer s art form to study the art form with the main focus being the work of the later master puppeteer Krishnan Kutty Pulavar and his troupe and the journey of their performances, the changes in their artistry and their motivations as 17
artists. Singh (1998) rightly hypothesized in the thesis that the artists will likely have to compress the long narratives part of their performances in order to adjust to the changing audiences and artists and in order to revitalize Tholpavakoothu. According to Salil Singh (1998), the study on Tholpavakoothu has been done in generally two ways. The first group is of researchers like Seltmann, Blackburn, etc. whose work has basically brought the existence of the art form to the forefront by documenting and cataloging the trajectory of the art form and translating the narratives. The second group is of researchers like Bhanumathi, Venu, etc. who have built on the recorded works of the first group and provided limited perspectives on the other social factors of the art form. Thus, Salil Singh suggested that both these approaches can be problematic in that they use linear approaches to understand the art form. He remarks that they delved too much into the complexities of the art form and tend to minimalize the fact that each aspect of the art form is in the making by the artists as they perform. Thus, for Singh it is most important to keep the artist, the puppeteer as the locus point while studying the art form. The 2004 work A study on the status of traditional shadow puppetry and puppeteers of South India by researcher Bhanumathi attempted to continue to fill this gap by documenting the art form and by interviewing and collecting case studies of 3 puppeteers from different troupes. The researcher enquired into the family history, their history with Tholpavakoothu as performers and scholars, their skills and techniques, their 18
occupation and income, their social and economic problems as well as the struggles of the art form and their future plans regarding the practice of the art form. This study indeed made references to various social, artistic factors of the art form from its beginning to the modern. Post this, the art form went through a period of sabbatical during the period of 2000-2010 as stated by the puppeteer Rahul Pulavar. No new processed works of Tholpavakoothu came out during this period which also reflected in the scholarly literature on the art form. Although after 2010, as the art form picked up again under the leadership of master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar, the literature on the art form diversified into news articles, video documentaries, and online documentation along with scholarly articles. The most recent scholarly literature on Tholpavakoothu have been researcher Claudia Orenstein s article Forging New Paths for Kerala s Tolpavakoothu Leather Shadow Puppetry Tradition in the book The Routledge Companion to Puppetry and Material Performance (2014) and Women in Indian puppetry: Negotiating traditional roles and new possibilities (2015) which was published in the Asian Theatre Journal. The existence of the Tholpavakoothu has been centralized by the researcher in her work. She charted the traditional aspects of the art form, the changes that threatened the existence of the art form and then charts the eclectic strategies used by the artists to renew the art form. She suggests that balancing the traditional arts with new 19
performances and opportunities would be an advantageous move for the Tholpavakoothu artists. Salil Singh in the work, If Gandhi could fly (2001) presents a dichotomous take on which way the shadow puppet play traditions would develop in modern India. It hints either towards a complete loss in authenticity in an attempt to modernize it, or that it would cling onto its traditions, stay stagnant and be abandoned by the audiences and artists. The researcher leaves the analysis of the probable fate of the art form s place in modern India entirely up to the artists will. The modern literature on Tholpavakoothu attempts to look at the strategies that the artists undertake to continue the practice of art form. Although in such literature, a demarcation is made between traditional and modern and depicts the changes in the art form s practices as transitional. Also, in these studies, the practices are termed traditional or modern without taking into account of how both terms have multiple definitions and are complex social processes. It assumes that changes take place in the art form only in the current times. In my study, the traditional and new practices of the art form are charted chronologically and elaborately. The study delineates the current scenario of the art form and the strategies of the artists in terms of the functioning of the art form. It also takes the recent COVID-19 into consideration to analyze how these strategies change due to the influence of the pandemic on the current social reality. The dichotomy of traditional and modern is problematized so as to understand the processes behind the strategies 20
that have been historically used by the artists. The study also identifies the role of the audience and patrons/sponsors in the changing and continuance of the art form. Beyond the dichotomy of tradition and modernity: Theoretical concepts Traditional art forms in India have been changing with the changing society as suggested by many scholars and their work on art forms. Tholpavakoothu has also gone through many changes. When a society goes through changes, there are changes in the symbols, mechanisms, and value systems. The polarized understanding of tradition and modernity in the context of social change assumes a linear transition of society from traditional past to modernized future. The usage of binaries is structuralist and comes from the assumption that the meanings of the two concepts are fixed and thus cannot interact with one another. But a post-structuralist perspective suggests that the meanings of traditional and modern each can differ a lot based on the socio-historical processes it underwent. The interaction between the processes of traditional and modernization does not always create conflicts or lead to one negating the other and can have different results. According to Gusfield s (1967) paper Tradition and Modernity: Misplaced Polarities in the Study of Social Change, modernity does not displace traditions completely and weaken and replace it. Joseph R. Gusfield enlisted 7 fallacies in the assumption of 21
traditional-modernity dichotomy to view culture. The researcher does so in the context of changes in Indian culture. Tradition and modern have been and can be defined in various ways depending on its culture. Thus, this study attempts to problematize a dichotomous way of looking at culture as traditional or modern in the specific context of Tholpavakoothu. The changes occurred in Tholpavakoothu have not always been structural and linear. The traditional aspects of the art form as we know it today have not always been homogenous and have gone through processes to develop into what it is today. The traditional ritualistic, Hindu temple shadow puppetry art form is a product of many processes and adaptations. In the same way, the modern innovations of the art form are a result of many historical processes and factors. In the context of Indian traditional art, Parker (2013) picks up from Milton Singer s study of the dichotomy of tradition and modernization in Madras (present-day Chennai, Tamil Nadu), and agrees with Singer in that one of the Indian culture s strategies is one of pragmatically compartmentalizing the apparently contradictory Indian spiritual traditional practices and modern economic practices. According to Milton Singer (1972), cultural performances encapsulated the cultural heritage and beliefs of the people implying that these performances had a meaning of their own depending on their own unique settings. This influenced a trend of looking at art forms more closely rather than just the documentation of it. Singer s 22
work in the area of socio-cultural change in the traditional culture of India attempts to problematize the dichotomy of traditional and modern. Milton Singer s concept of compartmentalization grows from the understanding of Indians co-existing in a social environment where the traditional and modern are contradictory and conflicting. Singer calls compartmentalization a modus vivendi undertaken by Indians to categorize and manage the traditional and modern practices. According to him the interaction of traditional and modernity can create conflicts and so Indian culture compartmentalizes the two. This kind of notion is challenged by post-structuralists studying social change as they say that the interaction of tradition and modern does not always result in conflict. Subsequent literature from Indian scholar Ramanujan (1990) added to this notion of compartmentalization with the theme of a certain context-sensitivity practiced by Indians while compartmentalizing practices. He also recognizes the fact that modernization is not so neatly contained and that frequent interactions take place between the both. In this study, I use the ideas of an Indian way of context-sensitivity (Ramanujan, 1990), tradition as a process (Waterson, 2014), multiple modernities (Eisenstadt, 2000) and the fallacies of the polarity of traditional and modernity in social change (Gusfield, 1967) to look at how traditional communities of artists like Tholpavakoothu actually balance the processes of traditional and modern practices. There are fewer in-depth studies on the role of changing social environments in 23
the transformational cultural change in shadow puppet theatre forms of Kerala. This study problematizes unilinear ways of looking at the way Tholpavakoothu develops. A transitional approach does not adequately explain how a group of artists have managed to keep an art form and its practices alive for centuries. Thus, this thesis bridges the gaps between the history and the contemporary practices of the art form by looking at both tradition and modern as heterogenous processes. This study places the locus on the artists, the audience and the patrons and the changing social environments around the artists in order to understand the development of the art form. The next section discusses how the study has been approached. 24
Methods The research for this study was done over a year from 2019 to 2020. In March 2020 I visited the town of Shoranur in the Palakkad district of the state of Kerala in southern India. Over the course of 10 days I visited the house of the Koonathara troupe of Tholpavakoothu artists, interviewed the puppeteers and watched their temple and stage performances. On the 1st of March, I visited the home of the Pulavar family of the Koonathara troupe and conducted an interview session with the young generation puppeteers Rajeev and Rahul Pulavar. I asked them with open-ended questions about the historical and contemporary state of the art form and their experience as new generation puppeteers. They showed me the puppets usually used by the troupe and the stage that they set up at home to perform for tourists and visitors. I got a look at their workshop and the puppets kept up for sale. On the same night, I attended a ritualistic performance at the Kozhimamparambu temple at Cheruthuruthi and made notes about the performance and audience. the performance was one night amongst 14 nights. It is difficult to understand the narratives during the ritualistic performances as they are basically done in Sanskrit and Tamil and I am not proficient in either. This study doesn t delve into the specifics of narrations and only notes the changes in themes and styles. On 2 nd March, I interviewed master puppeteer KK Ramachandra Pulavar and once again conducted an open-ended 25
interview about the state and the changes in the art form. I audio-recorded these interviews and later transcribed it to use as data for the research. The translation process from Malayalam to English was done by me, I also got to see his performance on the 4th of March at the Kadapparambathu Kav Temple in Ongallur. It was a traditional ritualistic performance. On 3 rd and 7th March, I watched ritualistic temple performances at the Kavussery Temple and observed more local participation and asked some locals about their experience with the art form. On 6 th March, I watched a shortened version of the Ramayana being played at the Balabadradevi temple in Shoranur and on 10 th watched a 20-minute version stage performance of the art form. In my study, I have noted my observations of the different versions of the art form based on the changing social environment. Unfortunately, the events on 8th and 9th of March March were cancelled due to the ongoing Corona virus scare. I observed the activities of the Koonathara troupe during the COVID-19 induced lockdown by attending their online performances, tracking their social media updates and conducting a virtual phone interview with puppeteer Rahul Pulavar about the artists struggles during the pandemic. Through my field research I explored the question of how and why the art form has been changing with the changing social environment around it. This is a qualitative study that attempted to use a bottom-up approach. Information from the interviews and 26
performances were collected and observed through field research and was built upon by comparing it with theoretical concepts of traditional and modernity to understand the life of the artists and the culture that influences their engagement with the art form. A synchronic perspective looks at the subject and studies considering it only in the moment, and not considering the history of it. For an art form with a history as lengthy as Tholpavakoothu, a diachronic perspective helps to look at its evolution and the adjustments and adaptive strategies it uses in contemporary times. This helps to understand the periodic processes of cultural changes an art form like Tholpavakoothu goes through for its continued practice. Hence, the study first introduces and analyzes the history of the art form. It then charts the growth of the art form in the modern times followed by the observations from the field research and interviews. It then problematizes the dichotomous model of tradition-modern to view Indian culture and attempts to apply this to understand the various forms of adaptive strategies the art form has been undertaking to continue as an art form. Thus, this study attempts to understand how the art form continues its practice with the changing times. It attempts to look beyond the dichotomous views of looking at the art form s growth and attempts to understand the actual processes involved in the evolution of the art forms in modern times and during COVID-19. 27
History of Tholpavakoothu: The Traditional Our history, shadow puppetry is believed to be the first art form in the world. It comes from holiness, nature, sunlight, shadow, and human movement itself. said the thirteenthgeneration puppeteer KK Ramachandra Pulavar (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 2, 2020). He says, As the first man danced, his shadows danced along with him. This was the precursor for shadow puppetry and so also for drama and movies (Theodore, 2019). Tholpavakoothu as described earlier is a form of shadow puppetry from the Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram districts of the south-western state of Kerala in modern India and was part of the Malabar region before the formation of independent India. The word Tholpavakoothu is a combination of the 3 Tamil terms that is, thol which means leather, pava which means doll and koothu which means play. Traditionally Tamilian and of the Tamil language, the art form now is situated in the state of Kerala where Malayalam is the majorly used language. It has been classified as a folk-art form, ritualistic temple art form, verbal ritual performance, and traditional shadow puppet theatre art form. The art form is mainly described as a performance ritually conducted using leather puppets for goddess Bhadrakali in permanent theatres called koothumadams and started using Kamba Ramayana by the poet Kambar as its basic text after its 28
adaptation by puppeteer Chinnathampi Vadhyar. The history of the origin of the shadow puppetry art form of Tholpavakoothu is charted, debated, questioned and some parts left remaining unknown. To understand the history of Tholpavakoothu, it is important to investigate the history of how traditional shadow puppetry came to be in Kerala in the first place. 1.1.Shadow Puppetry in India References to shadow theatre and shadow puppets in ancient India seem to have been made through words like rupani dasayitu janesa in the 4 th rock edict of Ashoka and rupparupnkam of Therigatha (Buddhist tenet) and the Sitabenga caves seem to be used for the purpose of shadow puppet theatre shows (Varadapande, 1987 and Keith, 1992 as cited in Bhanumathi, 2004, p.13). Shadow puppetry can be found in the western state of Maharashtra known as Charma bahuli natya and known as Ravanachhaya in the eastern state of Odisha. The other southern Indian counterparts of Tholpavakoothu are Tholu Bommalata of Andhra Pradesh, the Togalu Gombeyaata of Karnataka and Tolpavaikoothu of Tamil Nadu. Shadow play in India is extremely diverse. In the Dravidian languages of south India, Pava, Bonirna, and Gombe mean toy or a doll. These flat shadow puppets or dolls are artistically operated with meaning laden in its each movement behind a cloth screen with light on it strategically placed to 29
showcase the shadows of the puppets to the viewers. Such shadow puppet theatre performances are considered to be the oldest form of puppetry by scholars and, debates about its origin being from India or from China, exist (Bhanumathi, 2004, p.10). The beginning of Tholpavakoothu can be traced back by looking at the development of the shadow puppetry traditions in South India and also by focusing on the development of shadow puppetry in the areas that are now under independent India s Kerala. Earliest references to shadow puppetry in south India can be found in the literary work called Thiruvasagam, a system of philosophy and religion composed by the saint poet Manikavachagar before A.D. 898 and then other references after 10 th century A.D (Bhanumathi, 2004, p.13). In the 10 th century A.D., ancient descriptions and the nature of small cave-theatre like Sitabenga caves refer to saubhika, that is the one who is a picture showman or storyteller and in Mair s work is interpreted as someone who through a screen made of sticks and cloth shows various individual characters at nighttime and performs in caves using artificial illumination (Mair, 2019, p.2). A 12 th century reference from a Buddhist chronicle from Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka) called Mahavamsa speaks of showmen who performed with song, dance and presented leather figures and that they were Tamil and other people who were also employed as spies (Coomaraswamy, 1927, p. 627 cited in Stache-Rosen, 1976). This adds to the references that suggest that shadow puppet traditions were found in south of India as well as other Tamil regions now not part 30
of modern Indian territory. 1.2.Shadow puppetry in South India Southern India s history is of over four thousand years and is one full of many dynasties and empires ruling and falling. There are prehistoric, ancient, and medieval traces of culture, inscriptions, and evidences of various dynasties that rose to power, and influenced the region right until the Independence of India from Western colonization. The entire southern Indian region that was previously divided based on the ruling powers into various empires, princely states, kingdoms, presidencies and provinces, after the Indian Independence in 1947, was organized into states. Owing to the increasing demands of a state reorganization in the country, the Parliament of India put in effect, the States Reorganization Act of 1956 which reorganized the boundaries of India s territories and states based on language used. In this way, the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the most recent in 2014, Telangana was born (under separate lines). In modern India, each state can be explained as being of different cultures. In that way, each state tradition of shadow puppetry has its own, individual history and development, similarities and differences and influences on each other pertaining to the regions it belongs to. Before the reorganization, one of the two major princely states in Kerala- the Malabar region (where Tholpavakoothu is performed) had been part of the Tamil region, 31
Madras province and eventually Madras state. Thus, for the purpose of understanding the history of Tholpavakoothu, it is most important to focus on the exchange of culture of shadow puppets between the neighboring states of present-day Tamil Nadu and Kerala specifically. Fig.1: Map of Southern India Source: South India Map Black and White. http://www.mapsopensource.com/southindia-map-black-and-white.html Table 1: Shadow Puppetry Traditions in South India Andhra Pradesh- Tholubommalatta Karnataka- Togalubombeatta Tamil Nadu- Tholubommalattam Kerala- Tholpavakoothu 32
1.3. Shadow puppetry in Kerala: Tholpavakoothu Malappuram Palakkad Thrissur Fig 2: Map of Kerala and three districts where Tholpavakoothu is mainly practiced Source: Kerala Map. http://www.mapsopensource.com/kerala-map.html In a very important text on the shadow puppetry play of Kerala, Inside the Drama House, the author Stuart Blackburn (1996) traces Tholpavakoothu s origin in Kerala as late as the 17 th century remarking it as a variation of a tradition brought to the older Tamil regions by Maratha settlers. But the researcher Salil Singh who also wrote extensively about Tholpavakoothu questions this by presenting the various references of a much earlier tradition of shadow puppetry in the entire south Indian region. There have been references of the intermingling of the styles of shadow puppetry across south India and influences 33
of the Maratha pictorial style due to the Maratha empire s rule in southern India of the 17 th century, especially on the puppets of the Tamil, Andhra and Karnataka regions (Singh, 1998, p.60). Singh then also places the modern Malayalam-speaking state of Kerala s shadow puppet tradition Tholpavakoothu itself as a tradition that can be traced back to before the 17 th century. The exact origins of Tholpavakoothu are not precisely found amongst the trajectory of temple shadow puppet traditions in India. Although, the development of the art form can be traced through the cultural, historical and linguistic processes that it went through to be the unique traditional shadow puppetry art form that it is today. In the 2013 blog page of master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar, it is stated that it is believed that Tholpavakoothu goes back 1200 years and began in the 9 th or 10 th century, a belief also iterated by his father master puppeteer Krishnan Kutty Pulavar. So, it can be said that the tradition s practices and rituals have developed over a long time. In my interview with the puppeteers of the Kavalappara troupe, puppeteer Rajeev Pulavar stated that they can trace about 8 of their ancestors performing Tholpavakoothu but added that researchers traced 13 generations of their traditional family who have been performing this ritualistic art form. This makes Rajeev Pulavar and his brother Rahul Pulavar, part of the 14 th generation as their father, the master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar is part of the 13 th generation of traditional performers. The art form traditionally 34
places importance to the ancestry of the performers as there are palm leaf texts with verses that pay homage to old teachers as suggested by one of the oldest living puppeteers Annamalai Pulavar, and pays tribute to these old teachers in invocations sung at the beginning of the performances. Researcher G. Venu (1990, p.26) who has worked extensively with traditional arts of Kerala, indicates that these invocations name two generations of puppeteers Kuzhiyathu Kandappezhuthachan, Venmaya Pulavar and then Chinnathampi Vadhyar who was the first performer to adapt the Kamba Ramayana text by poet Kambar for shadow puppetry performance. This opens a vista into the narrative of the history of Tholpavakoothu because this proves that the tradition of using Kambar s text was introduced at a later time. G. Venu (1990, p.26) states that even before Kamba Ramayanam, Tholpavakoothu was definitely being performed in the Bhadrakali temples of Kerala. Master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar in our interview said that before Kambar s text gained popularity, it was Tamil folk stories like Nallathangal, Harishchandran nadagam and others that were famous and used in the shadow puppet performances. This suggests that mythology entered and assimilated into the traditional trajectory of Tholpavakoothu at some point after the 12 th Century because Kambar lived, worked and wrote the 11,000 stanzas of Kamba Ramayanam in the 12 th century C.E. This could be seen as one of the most prominent changes that occurred in the tradition of Tholpavakoothu as Kamba Ramayanam changed the course of the art form for the next 35
generations that followed. 1.4. The Traditional Tradition is a term that can be difficult to define because of the extensive work done related with the term, and also because it is seen as a term that everyone is aware of because of the commonality of its usage. Indeed, Scottish philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre sees this nature of tradition being extremely debatable as a strength. The definition and function of defining something as traditional can differ with different cultural artifacts such as traditional arts, traditional narratives, traditional rituals, traditional beliefs, traditional modes of transmission, etc. (MacIntyre, 2020). Generally, traditions are culturally identified, practiced patters of social enactments passed down through generations. According to MacIntyre, tradition is a set of inherited practices, an implicit knowledge of the ways to perform even in the absence of formulated rules and regulations. Nineteenth century thought looked at traditions as unchanging, and immemorial. But 20 th century folklorists delve into more complexities of tradition, i.e. looking into a more complex relationship between the past and the present in terms of past preceding the present and present reflecting the past. Traditions can die out if they are no longer able to accommodate any new ideas and don t fulfill their particular social purposes. Traditions can also go through changes or transformations or adapt when other traditions appear as 36
better fitted alternatives for the specific social and temporal requirements (Cohen, 2007). In the Indian case, anthropologist Milton Singer (1971, p.6) argues and is seconded by Indian Sociologist M.N. Srinivas (1956) that traditional Indian society was not resistant to change and adapted and continued with strategies that have evolved over time. Singer departs from the traditional as something that is stagnant Thus, a tradition of Tholpavakoothu performance existed in Kerala even before the entrance of Kamba Ramayana, and the eventual introduction of the epic, mythological text serves as an excellent example of changes in tradition. The Kamba Ramayana text made its way from the Tamil region to the Palghat/Palakkad region (present central- Kerala), the region through which River Bharatappuzha flows and shadow puppet play is performed. A trade route has been identified along the Bharatappuzha River and the text was supposedly brought to Kerala by Tamil weavers, traders and merchants (Mannadiyar, Chettiyar and Mudaliyar) owing to their involvement in the Rama cult and with Kambar s literature generally. 37
Fig 3: Map of River Bharatappuzha flowing through areas in Kerala where Tholpavakoothu is performed Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:bharathapuzha_map.png 1.5. Caste Dynamics in Tholpavakoothu A composer of the Chettiyar community, Chinnathampi Pulavar, an aficionado of the Ramayana was the first person to have adapted the verses from Kamba Ramayana for shadow puppetry in Kerala apparently in the late 1700s (Blackburn, 1996, p.46). According to local stories, he supposedly did so to present the Kamba Ramayana to ordinary people irrespective of their caste through the medium of shadow puppetry. It is said that the motivation behind this was an incident when Chinnathampi Pulavar went to a Brahmin s (priest- higher caste (avarna)) house to attend a recitation of Valmiki Ramayana (the original Sanskrit text) but was refrained from doing so because of his lower caste (savarna) status being a non-brahmin. Such exclusion based on the caste 38
system in many public spaces, applied to religion, ritual, art, literature, civil service and political leadership (Perinbanayagam, 1971, p.207). Thus, it can be said that by adopting the Tamil Kamba Ramayana in shadow play, Chinnathampi Pulavar s innovation revolutionized the art form to transmit a popular Bramanical, Hindu, Sanskrit epic in its Tamil format instead to the ordinary, non-brahmins who spoke the indigenous languages. This can be seen as a resistance to the Brahmanical hegemony through art, and democratization of presentation of a Brahmanical text. Master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar deems it as a very important point to see that the art form was revolutionary even at its inception, as the audience could constitute people from any and all communities. The general disassociation of Tholpavakoothu from the higher caste Brahmins (priests) in the context of its creation can be perhaps traced back to the caste, lifestyles, beliefs and scholarship of communities that were involved in shadow puppet play, and Kambar s literature. Firstly, Kambar himself was born of a caste of temple servants and musicians, and the editors and commentators of Kambar s text were non-brahmins communities like Mutaliyars. In fact, the Brahmins in south India had always associated themselves and followed rituals according to the original Sanskrit Valmiki Ramayana. Secondly, it was non-brahmin itinerant groups that led nomadic lives from present day Tamil regions who brought the art of shadow puppetry storytelling with them to Kerala 39
along the river Bharatappuzha (River Nila). Other communities like the Nayar families in Kerala were also performers of shadow puppetry. 1.6.The Puppeteer Community According to master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 2, 2020), the earlier Tamil performers of shadow puppetry travelled along the Bharatappuzha river with bullock carts and would perform various folk stories place to place in their bullock carts. They would talk about the stories of Nallathangal, Kourankatha, Harishchandra and would perform with puppets late into the night. As stated above, the mythological Hindu epic Kamba Ramayana only made an entrance at a later point of time into the art form along with various other beliefs. He explained that the Vaishnava caste businessmen communities (worshippers of deity Vishnu) who travelled for business would be accompanied by the Shaiva community (worshipers of deity Shiva) who were speakers and orators and would travel and observe the villages especially in December after the temple ulsavam (festivals). Adding that the styles of performances differed with different gramam (villages), the puppeteer said that the community of performers he belongs to were not travelling performers and instead performed in permanent theatres called koothumadam. Belonging to the Shaiva faith, 40
being speakers and orators, the origin of their community-the Kavalappara sangam (assemblies of Tamil scholars and poets) being from Thanjavur (present day Tamil Nadu) is debated. The Kavalappara sangam was the latest group that was formed. The main 5 puppet troupes or Sangams of Kerala were Mathoor sangam, Puthoor sangam, Palappuram sangam, Karippodu sangam and Kollengode sangam groups. The Kavalappara Sangam belonged to the Puthoor sangam at first and was the only troupe to perform the entire Ramayana from start to end (Balakandam to Yudhakandam). The Kavalappara kingdom s King bought this troupe in the 1740s for a specific price and relocated them from Puthoor to the Kavalappara kingdom (ancient Nedunganad, present day Palghat/Palakkad, Kerala) to perform at the Aryankaavu temple for 21 days regularly. The story goes such that the Kavalappara king did not have the luck of an offspring which worried him. An oracle then said that conducting Tholpavakoothu rituals would solve this problem and so this troupe of performers with highly learned puppeteers were brought to perform. This shift gave the troupe a naadu (country, village- home base), a nagaram (city- hometown) to settle in and land for farming. The group relocated there and, in those days, the ritual performances, the pava (puppetry) work and the koothumadam (theatre) work were done after the farming work and after the harvest season. In the 18th, it was the Kavalappara King who helped and funded new innovations in the art form by supporting the making of new puppets, adding new colors, and 41
supporting modern changes. A difference in the Kavalappara puppets in comparison to the Chalissery puppets can be seen due to this. The Kavalppara kingdom welcomed in new artists for the puppet making, and for the kotthu work (the carvings in the puppets); provided resources for new color making, which introduced much more innovations in coloring the puppets. The Kavalappara kingdom in that way, helped to characterize a distinct Kavalappara style of shadow puppets, and provided the sangam with a lot of creative support. Due to this the Kavalappara sangam could properly establish itself in present day Shoranur, Kerala and they continue to perform to this day. They think of it as a lucky event because on the other hand, other artists from the group of Mathoor sangam, as well as the entire Kollengode sangam itself doesn t exist anymore due to inactivity (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 2, 2020). Thus, communities such as the artists of the Kavalappara sangam, that travelled or were bought and relocated, established themselves, brought with them the ancient Tamil shadow puppet traditions and along with it the various cultural factors like their language, beliefs, art styles, and teachings that were further influenced by their new surroundings and also influenced the culture of the new places they settled in. Basically, because the Palghat/Palakkad region (where the shadow puppets flourished and are performed) has been a borderland between the Tamil and Kerala regions, culture has always intermingled and the same is true for the intermingling of 42
languages, beliefs, myths, and shadow puppet traditions in this area. Tamil language had been the dominant literary language until the development of Malayalam due to Sanskrit s influence in the 13 th or 14 th century. Thus, because the Tamil shadow puppet communities travelled and settled in these borderlands, the Malayalam language began to seep into the speech of the puppeteers to be able to satisfy their Malayalam speaking patrons. The Malayalam language then naturally also made its way into narrations of Tamil texts by the puppeteers including the Kamba Ramayana, bringing changes to the Tamil text and traditions. The local dialects were also intentionally used by the puppeteers to connect better with audiences who might find it difficult to understand Sanskrit. 1.7.Beliefs and Myths Along with communities that brought Tholpavakoothu to the Palghat/Palakkad region in Kerala and Tholpavakoothu s strong literary connection to the Kamba Ramayana text, the religious beliefs and myths that connect the art form and artist to Kerala s folk culture are important to understand the performance, logistics, function and further development of the art form. Shadow puppet theatre developed and formed its own distinct characteristics cased on the indigenous culture whichever civilization it was introduced and settled into (Chen, 2003, p.49). 43
Traditionally, Tholpavakoothu in Kerala was performed in koothumadams (drama houses) i.e. permanent theatres situated outside but within the premises of Bhagavathi (meaning- goddess), Bhadrakali, 2 and Mariamman temples specifically spread across the Palghat/Palakkad, Malappuram and Thrissur districts in central Kerala. Although the art form narrated the story of Rama, the hero through Kamba Ramaya, the art form was also based on myths of Lord Shiva and Goddess Bhadrakali due to the Shaiva and Vaishnava background of the puppets and the popularity of Goddess Bhadrakali in Kerala respectively. The stories of Rama appeared in Tamil literature before Kambar s interpretation but Rama Bhakti, i.e. devotion to a hero, or God Rama was not part of the folk religion of south India (Blackburn, 1996, p.41). It is suggested that in pre-modern times, Rama was not being worshipped and was seen as a model, a King. Kamba Ramayana in that case was a cult classic, because this text set off a popularity of the Hero Rama in folk religions of south India and also influenced stories of Rama in Southeast Asia. In the case of Tholpavakoothu, Rama did eventually integrate with the local legends, but was still not situated at the center of the art form, but amongst the base legends of Goddess Bhadrakali and God Shiva. In a study on the culture of myth and legends on the banks of river Bharatappuzha, the researcher Hashik (2012, p.225) suggests that in the context of folklores, myths have 2 Bhagavathi and Bhadrakali are used interchangeably by puppeteers. 44
the ability to migrate and proliferate across larger geographical spheres (like Ramayana), while local legends (like Bhadrakali s legends) that are deep rooted in their localized spaces shape local aspirations, ideologies and worldviews. Although the goddess is a pan- India myth, Bhadrakali as the local people s goddess had a systematic effect on shadow puppetry and the puppeteer communities that settled in Kerala, brought their strong beliefs in Shiva and Rama and were further ingrained by Bhagavathi. Tholpavakoothu is said to be performed in the first place for the Goddess Bhadrakali, and according to an interview of a puppeteer, the puppet play is known amongst locals as a drama for Bhagavathi (Blackburn, 1996, p.51). In Kerala, Bhagavathi is a predominant deity which is evident in the high number of Bhagavathy- Bhadrakali temples it houses, and the case in point would be the whopping number of more than 200 Bhagavathi shrines/ kavu (sacred groves) just along the Bharatappuzha River (Caldwell, 1996, pp. 195-226 in Hawley and Wulff, 1996). There are several, differing myths regarding the origin/birth of the goddess among various non-brahmin, non-sanskritic communities but is generally a feared and respected goddess of protection and destruction. Bhadrakali/Kali is intrinsically tied with the Lord Shiva because the word kali comes from poison kaalakoota stuck in Shiva s neck. Worshipped in the form of Bhadrakali, the most common myth in Kerala is Dharikavadham, and in many of its versions she kills the powerful demon Dharika and was in return blessed by her creator 45
Shiva to become the people s goddess in Kerala. Especially among the banks of the river Bharatappuzha where shadow puppets thrived, many ritual performances of worship are seen offered to Bhadrakali. Worshipping and performances traditionally took place in the kavu (sacred groves) along the Bharatappuzha river, and each kavu had a different legend attached to it. Tholpavakoothu is one of the important ancient ritualistic performances that took place in the premises of these Bhadrakali temples and performed as a ritual votive offering to the goddess herself. The performance is supported by various legends and myths, but the one that seems to be the most common is a certain sankalpam (Malayalam word meaning concept or idea, and in Sanskrit meaning the reason/motivation to perform to achieve a goal). According to the puppeteer of Kavalappara sangam- Rajeev Pulavar, the performers build an image (sankalpam) of the Goddess watching them perform the Ramayana story and conduct the rituals for her. The most common myth behind is that when Goddess Bhadrakali who was created by Shiva was busy fighting the demon Dharika, Lord Rama in the north of India was busy battling the Lankan King Ravana. Having missed this epic battle and having heard all the locals and Gods talking about the battle, Bhadrakali expressed to her father Shiva her wish of witnessing the great Rama-Ravana battle. This led to Shiva sending her to the Earth and see the Ramayana story be enacted for her to view through shadow puppetry/ Tholpavakoothu by the Nayar community. In another myth, a victorious Bhadrakali is 46
told that Rama s victory over Ravana was superior to hers, and to compare the two battles, Shiva performs the whole story of Rama from birth, battle to his coronation through Tholpavakoothu. The ritualistic art form and artists heavily relies on beliefs constructed of these local legends, and incorporated myths in many ways and for many purposes. These ambivalent beliefs are transmitted and reproduced in every aspect, action and tradition of Tholpavakoothu and are the base behind the sankalpam, logistics and carrying out of the ritualistic performances. 1.8.The Puppets Starting with the basics, the puppets of the Tholpavakoothu are of the opaque, silhouette type and were traditionally made of deerskin of the Spotted deer (Axis axis), Sambar deer (Cervus unicolor) and Antelope hide because it is considered sacred and also the skin is thick which makes it a better material in terms of presentation through shadow and durability of this material (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 1, 2020). This is also because a mystical deer is an important character in the Rama story considered divine by the puppeteers. The traditional preparation process of puppets included 47
treating the skin with water and ash, sun-drying the hide, salt treatment, hair removal with bamboo tools, drawing and carving out the desired shape, using chisels to make holes called kotthu work and coloring the puppets for differentiating and identifying them (Bhanumathi, 2004, p.117). Traditionally, items that were available in the natural vicinity were made use of. For example, the colors used to paint the puppets were vegetable dyes procured from trees like Champpanga, Kasav and Neeli, and the regularly used black color was a mixture of gum from leaves of the veppa tree and black soot that are found in lit and used coconut lamps. The puppets were thus, ritually created and can be traced into how every step of the kotthu work has some ritualistic relevance, for example, cutting out the head and facial feature like eyes and mouths of the puppets was the last step because opening its eye and mouth meant giving life to the puppet (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 1, 2020). Venu (1990) who has worked extensively on the shadow puppets of Kerala organized these puppets into 4 categories based on their postures, i.e. Nirthu (standing), Iruthu (sitting), Nadathu (walking), and Yuddha (fighting). 130 or more puppets are used for the entire Ramayana story, because the representation of all the main characters in all these postures, and with movable hands and limbs made by creating joints on the puppets, are seen carrying out many actions as per the story and for the visual effect in the play. Puppets of main characters, animals, narrators, mythical creatures, rituals, of brahmins are all part of the narration and are all prepared in specific 48
sizes, for specific reasons and depictions that fit the narratives. The storage and maintenance of the puppets by storing them in bamboo and palm leaf baskets, varnishing the puppets, protecting them from insects, storing it away in exclusive rooms or hanging up it in roofs are all practices followed from pre-modern times until today. Traditional knowledge of the art of creation and preservation of puppets, along with myths and beliefs and performance traditions were passed down amongst the generation of puppeteers. 1.9.The Performance The ritualistic performances were traditionally conducted only for 5-6 months of the year from Makaram to Medam (Malayalam months) which is from about January to May following the Hindu calendar and each troupe practiced the rituals before, during and after the puppet play in their own style, in designated or family owned temples. For the rest of the months there would be no performances or rituals and that time would be spent in agricultural work by the puppeteers. They would annually perform the Kamba Ramayana in 21 parts over 21 days or durations ranging between 7 to 70 days as per each temple and 49
the patrons requests to appease the Goddess (with respect to the local legends) so that she would be happy and bless the artists, audience devotees and the whole village. The performances always took place from night time till dawn, generally from 10 pm to 5 am, because according to the Hindu time system, the night time is Deva yama (Deva: God, yama: time) and they performed only at night because that time is dedicated to the Gods, and the performance is wholly dedicated to the Goddess Bhadrakali (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 1, 2020). As explained earlier, the performance traditions can differ from temple to temple and troupe to troupe and each tradition belies purpose, and beliefs inculcated rituals. Traditionally, Tholpavakoothu is the only shadow puppet theatre tradition that is performed in permanent stages/ drama houses/ theatres called the koothumadam which is one of the most unique aspects of the art form. The koothumadam is not recognized as part of the formal confines of the temple and Tholpavakoothu is not considered as part of the temple s formal rituals. Until the 1937 Temple Entry Act was passed in the princely state of Travancore (in present-day Kerala), people of lower castes were banned entry into Hindu temples making the temples and rituals and performances inside the temples exclusive to the higher-caste population. Situated outside the prime sanctum of the temples, the koothumadam was a democratic space where people irrespective of the caste could watch and participate in the ritualistic performances in some ways. The 50
koothumadam is still a holy establishment in the way that it is built facing the temple or the flagstaff of the temple, with the belief that the goddess will be watching the performance, and so the preparation of the koothumadam is done with consideration of rituals to get ready for the performance. At first, a little after sunset the goddess is prayed to (pooja) and offerings are made to her and oil lamps are lit and kept in front of the goddess. Then, a Tookuvilakku (a hanging oil lamp typically made of bronze) is lit with the flame from the oil lamp earlier offered to the goddess and brought to the koothumadam and hung in the front of it so as to ceremonially bring the lamp that illuminated the Goddess to the theatre. The puppeteers believed that as they did this, the Devi (goddess) was present in the form of the flame, as light watching over them (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 1, 2020). When the lamp is hung, kelikottu i.e. instrumental music is played as an accompaniment mainly with instruments like two drums, the Ezupara, and Chenda; Ilathalam (Cymbals), Shankha (Conch) and Chalanga (ankle bells). Traditionally, the puppeteers themselves would be trained in playing the chenda and would play it for the whole night. Then, the screen of the koothumadam is prepared by carrying out the ritual called koora iduka (koora- curain, iduka: placing) by hanging and stretching a white cotton cloth called ayapudava representing earth and heaven, and then covering the lower part of the screen with a black cloth representing hell or netherworld. Then the puppets 51
would be pinned onto the screen for worshipping. As time passes, close to 9pm people begin to gather to watch the performance and the poojas (ritualistic prayers). People would gather and watch the performances even at night because they believed that watching a ritualistic performance meant for the goddess eyes would be a holy blessing for them. The people believed that watching certain episodes through the night would even relieve them of contracting eye diseases. This would also lead to local participation in the performance for instance, a special event called Garudappathu in which a puppet made of wood of the character Garuda (a Brahminy kite) who was a helper of Rama s side in the Rama-Ravana battle is of importance. In the event, the Garuda puppet is attached to a string tied connecting a pillar far from the koothumadam to the theatre s roof and the puppet is moved at a specific point in the story by the local crowd of devotees accompanied by loud fireworks, music and dancing. A fear and respect for the goddess and wanting to seek blessings of the goddess and witnessing Rama s holy story were some of the reasons why locals would flock to watch the performances at night. Before the rest of the ceremony continued, the Velichappadu i.e. oracle or mediator of the goddess clad in red silk scarves and anklets, holding a sword would walk around the temple thrice, bless the crowd by relaying the Goddess message and would also bless the Tholpavakoothu artists at the koothumadam granting them the permission to perform. The Velichappadu is of importance to Goddess Bhadrakali temples and the 52
ritual would differ each temple, for instance, the Velichappadu would arrive with a huge procession covering the distance from the temple to the koothumadam. Following the oracle s blessings, there would be preliminary music, followed by the Kalarichindu ritual in which the puppeteers sung ritualistic praises for Gods and Goddesses like Ganapathy, Saraswathy, Mahavishnu, etc. This is followed by the important ritual of lighting the lamps inside the drama house. 21 half-cut and de-husked coconuts were placed one after another on a lamp stand called vilakki-rnadam behind the screen filled with coconut oil and wicks and covered by wet clay at the bottom to sustain the burning without overheating. The puppeteers lit the traditional lamps one by one from right to left with the holy flame from the Tookuvilakku and would be followed by throwing white telli or dried sap powder into the flames igniting the lamps, creating visual effect then and at later exciting points in the play and slowly illuminating the koothumadam and revealing the puppets hidden in the dark. The puppeteers believed that lighting the lamp one by one meant killing the evil in the village and thus were responsible to perform these rituals that would bring prosperity to the village. The puppeteers in this way played an important role in the society as they were considered as scholars Pulavar by the locals and respected for their beliefs, their knowledge in religious texts, everyday affairs, and traditional knowledge of the rituals and the art form. After the lighting, the Madapulavar (stage manager) would conduct the 53
Ranga pooja and purify the stage for the success of the performance, followed by the presentation and worshipping of the God Ganpati puppet through hymns for his blessings. In Hindu traditions, many rituals and events are started by giving ode to the Lord Ganpati, which is a tradition followed in Tholpavakoothu as well. Next, the puppets of Brahmins called patta pavakal are shown who act as the Sutradhars i.e. narrators during the performance. Although majorly dissociated from the Brahmans, in this way, the Brahmans feature in the play and the puppeteers converse with them. The Brahmans are important in the sense that on the screen they next sing and worship Mahavishnu and other Gods, praise the sacrifices made for humankind. These kinds of holy praises and pooja are specifically performed by the higher caste Brahmins and so they appear on the screen for this purpose and quickly are taken off the screen before homage is paid to the teachers of the puppeteers. In this a certain caste dynamic is visible as the higher caste Brahmins wouldn t share the same space as the lower caste teachers of the puppeteer Pulavars. Practice of caste can be seen even in non-brahmin spaces and the hierarchy of high and low castes is woven into narratives by lower caste community members as well. The ritual of praising and paying homage to senior puppeteers and teachers is called Guruvandanam and indicates the respect given to traditional knowledge within the art form. This is followed by the Brahmin puppets returning and summarizing the story for the day and an important thanksgiving ceremony before the play starts. The puppeteers 54
thank the family that provided them with meals the day of the performance, then thank the patrons and temple authorities and bless them with good health. Traditionally, patronage would come from Kings like the Kavalappara King who supported the art form because of his belief in the rituals of Tholpavakoothu in yielding the kingdom a son who would save the land from being bequeathed by the British colonialists. Patronage would also come from the temple authorities, and local people who would sponsor the performances owing to their strong beliefs in the importance of conducting the rituals of the art form. Patronage would also come from individual families who paid the puppeteers to pray for their good health, good luck, profits and happiness. The puppeteers would receive patronage in terms of supporting the art, money and also in the form of paddy to be distributed among the troupe members. The puppeteers would pay thanks to all these people and institutions for their contribution. The patronage is directly correlated to the beliefs among people and the sacred function that the ritualistic art form fulfills in their everyday life and is sustained to a great degree because of people s beliefs and contributions. After the thanksgiving, the play would begin for the night and puppets would be the main characters of the play. Along with the narration, there would be manipulation of the puppets in accordance with the plot and use of music and sound effects. The puppets are pinned on the screen and when in use, they are manipulated by a puppeteer with a 55
wooden stick (kol). The puppets that are good characters are manipulated on the right side of the screen and the evil characters are manipulated on the left side. During narration along with music, the artists create special sound effects and rhythmic syllables like sopai sopai, Dhin Dhi Dhi Dhikita Tai', and Titha Dinta Tai to complement and make battle scenes more exciting for the views. Traditionally, more number of puppeteers are required for Tholpavakoothu as the tasks are divided in the way that the main narration is the responsibility of the senior most Pulavar (scholar), experienced puppeteers also participate in narration and intellectual, philosophical debates with the senior member, the junior members manipulate the puppets and others members act as musical accompaniments. For the performance, the story of the text containing more than 12,000 verses would be divided into 6 episodes and performed over 7-49 nights. The episodes were Balakandam (birth of Rama), Ayodhyakanda (life in Ayodhya), Aranyakanda (life in the forest), Kishkindakanda (meeting Hanuman and search for Sita), Sundarakanda (Hanuman s journey) and Yuddhakanda (the great Rama-Ravana battle). This would be followed by Pattabhishekam i.e. Rama s coronation as King. The puppeteers would first recite the kavi or verses and then explain their meanings while deriving information from older texts like puranas, Upanishads, etc. The puppeteers life experience, education and traditional knowledge greatly influenced the worldview, the artistic vision and adal pattu 56
(adal- acting, pattu relating to) of the puppeteers oral narration of the Ramayana text. The puppeteers shaped the Kamba Ramayana text specifically for Tholpavakoothu into a work that is constructed of verse and partial prose called Adal pattu by using 3126 out of 12,026 of Kamban s verses and appropriating it for shadow play. They would sometimes diverge from the text and added their own verses, comments, dialogues, debates, opinions, advice and each puppeteer could practice creativity while they performed and charted these modified scripts on palm leaves which were preserved and passed down for the coming generations. The Tamil text then was filled with Sanskrit and Malayalam words, comments and anecdotes. Generally, when tradition is defined in a linear method, it is seen as orthodox, conservative and something so rigid that there is no space for freedom of expression, growth of personality and potential (Bharathi, 2014, p.113). Thomas Green (1997, pp. 799-810) also identifies the relatively fixed form that tradition carries at its core to be recognized and transmitted in its unique form to upcoming generations but also highlights that traditional performances are subject to variations within the group s standards and become part of the tradition itself. Although being a traditional art form, Tholpavakoothu is a result of many creative variations by the puppeteers which eventually with time assimilates into the making of the tradition itself. The beliefs which connected the art form to the locals, also connects the artists to the art form. The artists did not require large audiences to attend the performances and 57
would perform the rituals in front of absent audiences, i.e. without any viewers as put by Stuart Blackburn because they were mainly performing and conducting these rituals for the Goddess to see. Just as the viewers felt blessed watching the performances, the puppeteers saw the opportunity to be playing and embodying Rama through the play as a purifying ritual that brought them blessings from the goddess. The beliefs, local legends, myths and artistic traditions played an important role in the functioning of the art form and was one of the significant ways in which Tholpavakoothu fulfilled many of its traditional social functions in the society. 1.10. Social Functions and the Knowledge of the Puppeteers Puppeteer Rajeev Pulavar (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 1, 2020) narrated that in the older times, puppetry was one of the only modes of entertainment for the public and even more so for people of the lower castes who were barred from entering temples or public spaces where only classical art forms like Kathakali and such were performed for the viewing of higher caste people. According to him, puppetry was the only medium of entertainment, communication and participation and this is seen in shadow puppets in all over Asia, as they have fulfilled social functions such as the magico-religious, 58
educational functions, the function of reaffirming cultural and social institutions and the reinforcement of traditional ethics and moral standards in the past (Orr, 1974, pp.79-81). The older generation of puppeteers, or the learned, master puppeteers were called Pulavar i.e. a scholar with knowledge of many things including language and literature. According to master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar, in 800 CE, the Pulavars were advisors to the kings of the Tamil Chola dynasty of South India (reign: 300s BCE 1279 CE) and would be present for and asked for their opinions and advices regarding royal matters. This allowed them to gain such a status in the society that they were invited by the locals to participate in sacred ritualistic ceremonies like Namakaranam sanskaram (naming ceremony of infants). As explained before, the conduction of the ceremonies was seen as a ritual that will bring health and happiness to life, but the Pulavar also played a key role in it. The locals would often consult the puppeteers on personal matters of their family life, their work, and their problems. Not only that, the puppeteers during the performance itself would present their knowledge on an array of subjects ranging from philosophy, medicine, astronomy, astrology, social and moral responsibilities and issues. Master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar said that a Pulavar was expected to have knowledge about everything and should be ready to answer any questions posed by the villagers because they were a major source of knowledge for the villagers. They would impart advice about childbirth, about what should be done each day after a baby is born. 59
The Pulavars were required to have sufficient knowledge of Ayurveda, a medical system originating from the Indian subcontinent. They were knowledgeable in mathematics and would explain it with the help of instances from the Ramayana text (like size of rope used, etc.), and in other sciences. They would advise the locals about the religion of Sanatana dharma (now Hinduism), and about meditation. They also imparted advice on manhood and womanhood and the roles and responsibilities of a good man and woman in the society. He said that the Pulavars were so knowledgeable that they could narrate, discuss, debate and touch on so many topics that they had the ability to keep reciting and explaining just one part of a song for 4 days straight without a break. This level of knowledge was achieved from the extensive nature of traditional training and learning that the puppeteers had to go through to be Tholpavakoothu artists. They were trained to learn the oral narrations of Kamba Ramayana verses and related subjects, other ancient texts like Puranas, Upanishads, Tharkas, Vedas, Sanskrit Shlokas and Ithihasa, use Sanskrit, Malayalam and Tamil languages and study the various disciplines mentioned above. They were trained in the traditional knowledge of the art of puppet making, preparation and storage, puppet manipulation, koothumadam preparation, traditional lighting traditions, musical accompaniments, pre-performance rituals and performance traditions. They were required to learn and continue the traditional beliefs and so believed and worshipped the goddess Bhadrakali, God Shiva, Rama and other 60
Hindu gods. They were also required to learn and continue to carry out traditional practices like dressing modestly in public and in the temple while performing, practicing vegetarianism and teetotalism, maintaining a vridam (fasting) days before the performance, practices of apprenticeship, and of practicing agricultural work. A scholar an in-depth knowledge of all this and experience is given the high status of a Pulavar. The Pulavars are the masters or teachers in charge of passing the traditional art, traditional knowledge, beliefs, practices and training to young puppeteers. A very important feature of the traditional is that its production or reproduction is not easy, because large trajectories of traditional knowledge compiled over generations, the passing down of it and extensive learning of it would be required to create traditional works of art. Thus, how it is passed down is very important. Although styles can differ by troupe and by sangam (group of artists), all the Tholpavakoothu groups were trained within the Gurukula (guru- teacher, kula- family, home; a spiritual education system of ancient India) system. In the case of Tholpavakoothu the traditional knowledge was traditionally passed down among the male members of the family. Echoing the Brahmanical and patriarchal tenets present in the society of that time, the art form was not passed on to the women of the family or to lower caste men. Although the ritualistic performances were open to view for all people regardless of caste or gender, the same dynamics could not be recognized amongst the puppeteers i.e. the performers. The apprenticeship was limited to 61
the males of the family, and if there were no males in the family, many rituals would be conducted to be blessed with a male child. Rajeev Pulavar suggested that women weren t allowed in pre-modern times to work outside of the domestic sphere and that this must have reflected in the Tholpavakoothu practice as well. Hindu religious custom perceived menstruating women as impure, due to which women were kept away from performing rituals in the temple for maintaining the temple s sanctity. It has been suggested that the same logic was used to keep women from entering the Koothumadam (Bhanumathi, 2004, p.137). It can be seen that in the traditional village setting of the gramam where Tholpavakoothu was performed, the people s beliefs in the Gods and Goddesses blessings were in fact, the cornerstone that enabled patronage, continuity of local participation and fulfillment of several social functions by the art form and the artist, thereby leading the continual and traditional practice of the art form. The traditional knowledge and artistry itself were majorly based on these beliefs, local legends and Hindu myths too. The site of symbolic production that generated these sets of practices evident in Tholpavakoothu consisted of the prevalent religious beliefs of that time that originate from Sanatana dharma, Shaivism, Rama Bhakti and very importantly the Bhadrakali faith, myths and local legends. The communal sense shared amongst the villagers, patrons, artists were dominated by religious ideas. 62
The myth or patterns of idea and thought that influence the practice of them, a traditional art form like Tholpavakoothu seemed to be created, grown, and continued majorly owing to a shared culture of religious beliefs, myths and local legends in the premodern part of its history. Much of the cultural life seems to be of a traditional nature where religious beliefs dominated everyday practices which also reflected in the ritualistic performance of Tholpavakoothu. Master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar highlights a symbiotic relationship between the practice of the art form and the people when he said that, the rituals of Tholpavakoothu are the beliefs of the people (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 2, 2020). Although, the ritualistic theme in the Sanatana/Hindu life is of significance to Indian culture and cultural artefacts like Tholpavakoothu, the influence of secular trends could not be overlooked. Tholpavakoothu was a creation of integration of practiced rituals, beliefs, social functions, the socio-political system, patronage, local environment and local participation of people across caste boundaries as it reflected tenets of all these social factors in its existence, and functioning. Although changes and modifications are not normally considered part of that which is traditional, we could clearly see that a traditional art form like Tholpavakoothu, even in its pre-modern era was open to innovations, modifications, improvisations and was changing in its own way. The influence of the majorly Hindu religious culture on the practices was seen in that the art 63
form had specifically assigned social functions, appointed status to the puppeteers, barred women from performing, was open to lower caste audience but not lower caste apprenticeship. Importantly, Tholpavakoothu was a ritualistic performance that did not even require an audience as it was performed for the goddess, and the purpose and value of the art form were not based on an economic sense which is a complete opposite from the modern definitions of what art is. Thus, Tholpavkoothu in its pre-modern form was a traditional, ritualistic, temple shadow puppet votive offering performed for the blessing of the goddess and performed the function of a social center of knowledge, prayer and well-being for the locals. The next chapter will look at the way the meanings of art, audience, tradition changes and how Tholpavakoothu goes through significant changes in Modern Indian era. 64
Tholpavakoothu in the modern era According to Puppeteer Rajeev Pulavar (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 1, 2020) the support of the Kavalappara King in bringing artistic innovations to the Tholpavakoothu practices in the late 18 th century was one of the first trends of modernization the art form had seen. The Pulavar family described Tholpavakoothu as the foundation of modern puppetry. They stated that modern cinema was also developed from Tholpavakoothu as they related the modern film theatre to the koothumadam. In this case, modernity can be understood as completely new and advanced and characteristically opposite setting it apart from the traditional but also something that stems from and is a continuation from the traditional. 2.1. Indian Modernity The concept of aadhunik i.e. modern had already appeared in Indian thought as early as the 10 th century BCE and by the 18 th century the performing art of theatre and the visual arts of the Indian subcontinent became aadhunik (Khurana, 2020). In the text on Modern Indian history, Metcalf and Metcalf (2012, pp.92-93) suggest that various modern practices and institutions like municipal cemeteries, state-sponsored scientific 65
and survey institutions originated in India. But what does aadhunik or modernity mean in the context of an art form and how and when did a performative ritualistic shadow puppet theatre art form change, modernize? It can be difficult to allot a date as to when a process of modernization begins clearly. The historical periodization of places and assigning cultural trends to these periods like traditional, modern, post-modern can differ based on disciplines, writers and analyses which makes it difficult to place Indian modernity. The ideas of modernity that formed the modern era starting from the 17 th century in the West spread to many other civilizations through movement of thought and people leading to explorations, colonization and development of ideas like industrialization, globalization, capitalism, urbanization, rationalization, democratization, individualism, scientific, political and technological processes. Although modernity is impulsively related to Westernization, each culture has been influenced by a modernity that is unique to itself. One by one, the changes that took place in Tholpavakoothu can be observed to understand the modernization process that took place in India. The British colonization was the most prominent colonial rule over India lasting from 1858 to 1947 and was an administration which influenced the nature of the process of modernization in India. The British introduction of modern systems like railways, telegraph systems, postal service, citizen education, conduction of census into India are recognized as the British contribution in the formation of modern India. In fact, the 66
formation of the nation of modern India is considered a result of British colonialism, divide and rule and nationalistic ideology. Many of these social reforms and changes were seen as making positive changes to India but also were criticized by scholars as having negative effects like racism, militarism and economic exploitation. Thus, in terms of India, the beginning of modernity is generally associated with the European, particularly the British colonial rule and legacy and so the mid-19 th century is considered the beginning of the modern period in India. 2.2. Tholpavakoothu and Modernity According to master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar, the Tholpavakoothu traditions continued and were even promoted by the British rulers. He said, During the British rule when King Ravarman was the ruler of Kavalappara who supported Tholpavakoothu and the artists, the British did not meddle and actually helped a bit. There was no strong influence causing obstacles, in fact they did promote (the art form). They were scared that if they disrespect the myth and traditions it would be troublesome. This proves that they were strong but careful. The locals thought of us puppeteers as people of God and they saw that. The artists were talented to praise the people in any given situation and would back then even include names of British colonels in the narrations, giving thanks or blessing them, so the British officers respected the art and the artists. There is a 67
general lack in references of shadow puppetry during the colonial period from the 16 th to early 20 th century as it remained largely localized and attached to its older ritualistic temple settings. There is reference of Thoolpavakoothu traditions being practiced, new koothumadam (drama-houses) being used for performances, and more puppeteers being employed for the ritualistic performances in the early 20 th century (Kurup, 1988, pp.49-50). It was in the 20 th century that Tholpavakoothu saw some of its most significant documented changes. According to Trivedi (1999), performing arts change with the changing social environments and patronage patterns. Tholpavakoothu has modernized very uniquely in comparison to the other shadow puppet play performance traditions in southern India. Even with the development of electrical technology, Tholpavakoothu traditions made use of the traditional lamps unlike the other state traditions which switched over to electric lights for their performances. On the other hand, many temples began the use of microphones and speakers to support the narrating puppeteers even though traditionally it obviously wasn t the case. Puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar remarked that his ancestors who had been performers during the British colonial period would perform right from 8pm to 6 am in the mornings and would do so without using microphones, and had been trained in endurance, being loud, commanding and assertive. But the usage of microphones was done to reduce the strain on puppeteers who have to perform overnight 68
without breaks for series of nights and also to make sure they were audible in order to maintain the interest of the audience. Although, according to Bhanumathi (2004, p.150), the audience did not require usage of microphones to keep their interests vested in the ritualistic performance because shadow play was one of the main sources of entertainment and communication, and instead the audience would just sit close to the Koothumadam for listening to the narrations. The researcher points out that this was the case before the development of modern mass media, which implies a change in the dynamics of the art form, the artists and the audience as modern mass media developed in Kerala and India. 2.3. Changes in Tholpavakoothu Technological advancement affects art due to the influence it has on its materials, techniques, the social environment it is situated in and in turn, the lives of the audiences and importantly, the artists. Puppetry has always been an important mode of communication and entertainment due to the important social functions it fulfilled. Puppeteer Rajeev Pulavar (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 1, 2020) relates puppetry to modern mediums of communication and entertainment like cinema because of the commonality of both to seek to entertain and spread social messages to the public. 69
Modern mass media with its development began to take over many spheres of social life. With increasing popularization of video, cinema, other modes of media, the definitions of what is entertaining began to change. Temple festivals began to introduce other classical forms like Kathakali, Ottanthulal, and Bharathantyam, classical music and other events pertaining to the people s interests which would precede the traditional puppet theatre rituals. Puppeteers were knowledge bearers for the locals regarding arrays of subjects as mentioned before, but new sources of information and communication developed with technology and people branched out to them. For instance, people started acquiring information from print media, radio, video at their disposal and did not just rely on traditional modes of communication and entertainment. The duration of the performance of Tholpavakoothu is also important to take into account. Due to industrialized structure of work and introduction of a 9-5 job structure, it became tougher for locals to maintain their attentions at nights for witnessing and attending the ritualistic performances when they had to commute and work the next mornings. As a result, the duration of the performance was reduced to one week in many temples. Although Tholpavakoothu is mainly performed for the goddess, the younger generations were getting interested in performing for an audience full of people. This signifies a change in the meanings of performing arts in society. Modern era brought along with it a culture that assigns value in the economic 70
nature of objects. In such an industrial culture, where art is the object and is the commodity, fame adds value to the art and artist. Due to increase in demands for other mediums even within the temple premises, Tholpavakoothu began to see a reduction or stagnation in patronage from the temples itself. It was observed in the book by Bhanumathi (2004, p.128) that the temple authorities began to spend more money on other forms of entertainment and the temple festivals included dance and music performances and fireworks which were more well-attended than Tholpavakoothu. Investigator Bhanumathi observed that the traditional culture of the temple festivals shifted from being based on the religious and spiritual beliefs of the locals to being sources of fun and entertainment instead. The popularity of the art form was affected by the increasing popularity of mass media, but Tholpavakoothu is a unique localized performance ritual within the central parts of Kerala which was not much known amongst other parts of Kerala in its particular form according to Salil Singh. Although it is important to intersect at this point and add that maybe Tholpavakoothu in its particular form was unknown but shadow puppetry and Tholpavakoothu-esque style similarities can be seen in Orissa and even shadow puppetry in Southeast Asian cultures like Wayang Kulit from Indonesia, neither being as traditionally rooted as Tholpavakoothu in modern times. If the fame of the ritualistic art form is based on a national, or global recognition of it, it was in 1935 that 71
Western scholars from Germany and USA first reported Tholpavakoothu as a lost art form, as little known to the outside world. According to Samuel Parker (2013, p.152), modernity is intrinsic of a certain universality which leads to the formation of homogenous definitions and yardsticks. With this in consideration, it is necessary to see if the art form was facing loss or in fact only changing with time. 2.4. Loss and Innovations Loss was definitely one part of the modernization process of the art form, but this also paved a way for the artists to retain as well as make innovations with the art form to adapt to the changes in the society. After India gained Independence from British Rule in 1947, and with the formation of the state of Kerala in 1956, the traditionally Tamil puppeteers who were settled in Kerala largely integrated into the society with next generations being Malayalam speaking. This affected the narration made by the puppeteers during the performances having strong Malayalam accents and usage of the language due to Malayalam s increasing influence. In the early twentieth century, non-brahmin Tamil people began to seek an identity which was still Hindu, but non-brahmanical which led to an increase in the promotion of Kamba Ramayana, and advocacy for a link between land and language which reflected in Tholpavakoothu s artists continuing to use the 72
Dravidian Ramayana, and the Dravidian language for the narrations (Blackburn, 1996, p.29). But the Kamba Ramayana still used some Sanskrit, along with Tamil and Malayalam. An overall decrease in the common understanding of Sanskrit language led to upcoming generations of artists as well as audiences finding it difficult to understand the text and oral narrations during the performance attracting lesser audience members and thus, lesser patrons. In the modern era, many logistical, technological parts of the art form went through changes because of natural and social factors. The traditional knowledge that was passed down by the puppeteers like narrations, puppet preparation and maintenance, and traditions begin to decline in number and quality as performances, artists and audiences declined. For example, with time, deerskin became unavailable as it became difficult to procure, it was expensive and was deemed bad for the environment due to which modern puppets were made of other materials like ox or goat skin. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960 in India made it tougher to keep using deer, cattle skin, etc. Due to changes like that, there was a loss in the traditional ways of preparation and of puppets and the art was only passed on and retained by a few puppeteers like Krishnan Kutty Pulavar and his sons, i.e. the Koonathara (Kavalappara) troupe. Unlike other state ritualistic puppet theatre traditions, the Tholpavakoothu artists did not deviate from traditional practices for a large share of the 20 th century. For example, 73
the exclusive narration of the Kamba Ramayana continued until the beginning of the 21 st century, although changes began to occur after the 1970s. According to Orenstein (2014, p.210), a significant change that can be seen in the oral narration of Kamba Ramayana in the modern times is departure of the puppeteers from knowing the text by heart and thus creating improvisations while explaining the text and verses. She suggested that young puppeteers in the modern society instead began to rely on the palm leaf texts passed down by their ancestors to read from which brought certain changes in the puppeteer s understanding and relationship to the text, thus affecting the performance. The problem would have been that if the puppeteers didn t improvise and add in their insights and knowledge relevant to the changing social environments into the narrations, the artists and the art would not have been fulfilling one of the major social functions of Tholpavakoothu, which was to spread information and advice the locals. In terms of social functions, the shadow puppets also did not play much of a role in the Indian Independence struggle because of the British colonialists who were relatively flexible in the freedom of expression that was allowed during their colonial rule (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 2, 2020) This was unlike the situation in Indonesia, where along with other functions, wayang kulit played a role in spreading propagandic messages during the Indonesian freedom struggle for Independence but was met with strong censorship by the Dutch colonial powers. It is suggested by Richard Schechner 74
(1990, p.27) that Dutch colonists would push for nonmodernity in wayang to retain its purity, to fulfill its ritualistic and mystical functions but not showcase the changes taking place in Indonesia due to the Dutch rule and so would neutralize the art form off politics and history. It is perhaps possible that a similar situation occurred with the British rule in India as the British Government had implemented the Dramatic Performances Act in 1876 to censor Indian theatre forms which began protesting against the colonial powers through plays. Tholpavakoothu was a localized, ritualistic temple practice which made it difficult to relate it to the Indian freedom struggle for Independence. It can also be said that with the development of modern mass media, at that point of time the Indian government was not able to identify the various functions of a folk-art form like Tholpavakoothu. In the years after the Indian Independence when India s identity as a nation began to consolidate further, the Government of India set up institutions to work for the continued functioning and practice of Indian traditional performing arts as well as other arts. This was done by the Government as a part of retaining India s cultural identity across the country with its multiple art forms (Lopes, 2016, pp.163-164). But the Government also began these restoration projects with an objective to promote economic self-sufficiency among the various rural communities engaged with traditional art forms. They wanted to tackle issues of starvation and developing poverty that the artists would 75
find themselves within the new modern economic models that affected their traditional patronage models. 2.5. Problems In the modern era, loss of royal patronage in India severely affected the puppeteers along with the thinning audience and decline in numbers of artists continuing to perform the art form. In 1971, the Indian Constitution passed the Twenty Sixth Amendment which put an end to financial privileges like the privy purse based on royal status. In the state of Kerala under the Communist Party s term, the historical Kerala Land Reforms Act was passed in 1970 ending the feudal system of land aristocrats called Jenmis and redistributing lands held by landowners and temple estates among tenants and farmers. According to Blackburn (1996, pp.17-18) this policy caused a decline in donations in the form of paddy given to artists by previously rich landowners causing further decline in the number of performances. These were moves made by the Indian government to achieve economic development and modernization. But with this, they stripped off the elite aristocrats and royals from their huge lands, and economic privileges which had previously until then made them one of the major patrons of arts like Tholpavakoothu. Troupes like the Kavalappara troupe relied on a patronage model where they performed, 76
received appreciation, and fed during the performance months. With decline and loss of the royal patronage, the puppeteers had to shift from that traditional model to an entrepreneurial model where they had to be self-sufficient to find funds to sustain the art form, and importantly to sustain themselves and their incomes (Orenstein, 2014, p.209). By 1972, researcher Dr. Chammar Choondal documented 63 temples where Tholpavakoothu was being actively performed which shows a possible decline in venues for the ritualistic art form from the 100+ temples originally identified across the Tholpavakoothu belt along the Bharatappuzha river. As patronage dropped in some temples, the number of days of the rituals dropped and so did the number of artists that participated in the art form. As the number of artists dropped, so did the quality of the performance and the traditional knowledge being passed down and used. The older puppeteers would be engaged mostly in their ancestral occupations as Tholpavakoothu was performed according to seasons. In the pre-modern era, the artists sustained themselves on the patronage from temples and agriculture or their ancestral occupations and that was enough as Bhanumathi (2004, p.141) suggested that they led simple lives. The researcher compared it to younger generations of puppeteers who have different aspirations, acquire education outside of the art form, want permanent sources of income to maintain modern lifestyles. According to Salil Singh (1998, pp.264-267), at this point of time for the art form, the instability in income discouraged younger generations from 77
engaging in the art form. Modernity was generally considered as the opposite of tradition and noted a process of departure from pre-existent, traditional systems and institutions to new, modern systems and institutions and innovations. This process of modernization of non- Western cultures came to mean transition from traditional to modern to be the diffusion of Western ideas of modernization, and came to be associated with the modern development or progress of non-western cultures like India into a universal standard character of European modernity (Rostow, 1990). Modern changes were considered favorable and whatever that preceded was less favorable. The assumed universality of modernity, homogenous development and the British colonialism s illusion of permanence was rooted in the Enlightenment movement s ideas of universal human destiny and Western standards and definitions of development. The yardstick for development was mainly seen as economic and the historical process of industrialization inculcated an economic sense in many spheres of the social life for a developed society. Modernity assumed a growing, globalizing presence where the ultimate reality in the society that appears to affect all practices is of an economic nature and is constructed of monetary symbols of value and has only one goal, that is economic progress. This kind of economic influence on society, built of monetary symbols socializes and naturalizes an economic way of assessing the value of culture. A ritualistic art form traditionally 78
passed down and performed for sacro-religious ritualistic functions began to change in a way where the value of the art form began to be measured by audience, popularity, entertainment value and seemed to be going through cultural loss. 2.6. Stepping Outside the Temple: Innovations in the art form At this cusp of major change, it was late master puppeteer Krishnan Kutty Pulavar (KK Pulavar) and G. Venu who identified the declining audience, loss of patronage, and a level of ambiguity in the future of artists who would participate in continuing the tradition of the ritualistic art form. As a move considered revolutionary, the troupe under the leadership of master puppeteer KK Pulavar shortened the long Kamba Ramayana epic into one hour and showcased only the main storyline with major plot points for dramatic effect. This was done for the first time in the year 1969 on the request of an American scholar and filmmaker Clifford Jones who was filming for a project about the traditional performing arts of Kerala (Salil Singh, 1998, p.268). This standardized and shortened version of the usual week-long running ritualistic performance began to be performed at the request of visiting audiences, scholars and student researchers who were mainly from outside Kerala at the koothumadam of the goddess Mariamman s temple at Koonathara near their family home itself. This permanent theatre proved to be a ready venue for 79
occasional performances requested by visiting audiences even after the main temple season passed. Although this was unorthodox for the time, the artists still observed all the rituals important to the performance when it is practiced in the temples. For example, the koothumadam was built in a way where it still faced a small temple of the goddess, the fire used to light the lamps for performing was brough to the koothumadam from the temple and permission and blessings to perform would be granted prior to the temple through velicchapad (the oracle) just like at the koothumadam near the temple. A show was performed for the Kerala Government s Loka Malayalam Sammelanam (World Malayayalam Convention) in Trivandrum where this shortened and standardized version of the performance was showcased where KK Pulavar first met the researcher and artist G. Venu. It received positive reviews, was documented by newspapers and the artists were from then on able to even go on tours and perform this short version of the play at much more venues to new audiences. Master puppeteer KK Pulavar with the help of G. Venu created a shortened version together with appropriate changes and the art form was first performed outside Kerala in 1978 at the National Shadow Theatre festival in the city of Bangalore in one of the other southern Indian state, Karnataka. This made it the art form s first national recognition in modern India. This convention was held due to researcher Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay s contribution, who worked immensely for Indian traditional art forms. Master puppeteer Ramachandra 80
Pulavar (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 2, 2020) narrates about when in 1978 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay visited him to get him on board for the research on traditional puppetry and puppet making in India. Just a year after that, the art form achieved its first international recognition in 1979 when the troupe went on to perform in Soviet Union (in present-day Russia) at a UNIMA (Union Internationale de la Marionette) puppetry festival represented in India by Meher Contractor (an important figure in the development of Indian puppetry). This made Tholpavakoothu the first folk art form from Kerala to have ever performed on Russian land. The troupe then went ahead and performed in countries like Sweden, Germany, Japan, Ireland, Thailand, etc. Master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar cited this kind of international touring, exposure and appreciation to have motivated him as an artist to recommit to the art form. This kind of exposure helped in the beginning of a diversification in the kind of stages where the troupe could perform and diversify the sources of sponsors that could help support the future continuation of the art form. When it was off-temple festival season, the Tholpavakoothu artists originally had to depend on their ancestral occupations such as farming as mentioned before. But in its modern era, the artists receive sponsorships and different stages to perform and showcase the art form even outside of the temple season. This began to diversify the sources of livelihoods for the artists all year-round. In modern India, the most significant change that took place in the history of Tholpavakoothu was 81
that it turned into an economic profession for the puppeteers. In the 20 th century, youngsters belonging to many troupes had to take up permanent professional jobs for income as they couldn t depend on Tholpavakoothu for the same. Researcher Sam Parker (2013, p.154) equates modernity with a fundamentally economic culture, within which a traditional art form like Tholpavakoothu slowly developed into a profession on which the artists began to depend economically. With this, the trend of commodification of art forms began so that it could make its own place in the marketplace as a product that can be sold to viewers. To be able to adapt into the modern marketplace Tholpavakoothu had to go through changes so as to appeal to a wider set of audiences. Ramachandra Pulavar and the entire Kavalappara-Koonathara troupe have immense respect and gratitude for master puppeteer KK Pulavar. They commend him as at that time he was courageous enough to take the art form out of its religious context and onto a stage and appropriate the art form in various ways to fit into this new format and context. Master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar said (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 2, 2020) that his father KK Pulavar believed that changes can and should be brought to the art form to continue it, a belief puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar shares himself. He stated that his father struggled a lot as he received backlash from most other troupes practicing Tholpavakoothu in temples and also the locals in some cases for bringing changes. The backlash was based on some of the rules, traditions and 82
particularities of the art form that had been passed on from earlier generations that other troupes felt the Koonathara troupe led by master puppeteer KK Pulavar was deviating from. They criticized this move because they felt that taking the art form from inside the kshetram (temple premise) to outside stages would destroy the sanctity of the ritualistic nature of the art form. Master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar remarked that an innate culture among the Tholpavakoothu artists is that they perform in their own land and that they have been taught that they shouldn t go seeking things outside their land to perform because everything they would need is right there in their land. The ancestors have said that the performance is something between the worshippers (artists) and the mother goddess which makes the koothumadam a ritually bounded place and so performing outside and making the necessary changes to the art form would destroy the purity of the art form. Milton Singer (1971, pp.193-195) suggests that an assumption usually made is that tradition is maintained by clinging onto the old, traditional culture and that modern culture displaces the traditional upon change. The temple and the koothumadam as suggested by Singer fall under the ritually traditional sphere because of its history, religious context where the rituals of the performance are conducted for worship and for being witnessed by the Goddess. Due to the certain fixity that has come to be associated with tradition, the ritually traditional sphere also called the ritually restricted sphere doesn t seem to accommodate change in its traditional practices and ideologies although 83
this may differ based on different cultures. In the case of Tholpavakoothu, the ancestors word, importance of land and importance of following the traditional rules inspired a backlash against bringing unorthodox changes to the art form. Thus, it has been challenging for artists to bring changes to an art form in its traditional sphere. But when the art form is taken out of its traditional sphere and brought into a space that is ritually neutral, there is more potential and freedom to innovate. A ritually neutral area or sphere is described by Singer as a neutral area where scriptural and customary norms are not applicable in the same intensity as it is in traditional spheres. According to Singer s research, in modern society, the traditional population s social and economic dependence on innovations in these ritually neutral areas increases. He suggested that the process of neutralization had influenced modern industrial technology, enterprises, employments and modern professions of law, medicine, teaching, and government for hundreds of years. And that this process had led to the creation of spheres where any particular caste or religious group did not hold monopoly and was a public area open to all. The unique aspect of Tholpavakoothu is that it has historically seen innovations and changes even amongst such long-established and practiced structures of cultural tradition. The Koothumadam near the temple was laden with rituals but also defied Brahmanic rules as it was placed outside the temple and the viewership has always been diverse and open to all. The art form kept changing based on the artists needs to 84
adapt to the changing society. The motivation of the artists underwent changes with need as it became important to manage their finances along with their ritualistic and artistic responsibilities towards the art forms. The preferences of the patrons, sponsors and audience began to influence the art form. They wanted entertainment quotient which led to reducing the scholarly debates that would usually entail in a Tholpavakoothu performance. Traditional musical accompaniments began to be replaced by popular music. The Tholpavakoothu artists for their economic interests and continuation of the art form innovated and brought changes by observing and emulating new products and styles. Thus, many factors were shaping the artistry of the art form in modern era in order to cater to a wide range of audience. The art form saw a shift from not depending on audience inside the temple to depending on different kinds of viewers for its sustenance outside of it. They brought these changes with the risk of criticism or ostracism. The new developing motivations behind the actions of the modern artists of the Koonathara troupe were criticized by senior puppeteers. According to Salil Singh s records, many senior puppeteers were not pleased with the appropriated forms of the art form. They criticized the condensation of the long narrative to a 1-2-hour version as that appropriated the art form and leads to a reduction in the quality of the art form and the loss of important stories. They criticized that these innovations that were carried out to cater to foreigners and tourists focused too much on 85
the financial aspect due to which the bhakti (religious) aspect of the art form got overshadowed. Salil Singh (1998, p.265) points out the events taking place in reaction to the changes in the art form as ironic. The backlash against the revolutionary steps taken by the Koonathara troupe was based on the idea that because Tholpavakoothu is a hereditary art form, it should be preserved and not be tried to change. They criticized the art form being taken out of its local ritualistic context and shifted to a modern, performative context. The new generation of puppeteers of the Koonathara troupe like puppeteers Ramachandra, Viswanathan and Lakshman Pulavar at that point of time also were hesitant to make any bold changes to the art form. Singh then points out the irony that although other puppeteers criticized their move outside their ancestral lands to perform, it was also in these ancestral lands that Tholpavakoothu belonged to that there were more challenges for the art form. In places like Edapal, the performances happened in the temple without any audience at all. According to Seltmann s work dated 1986, the number of troupes performing were 40 in 1982 and according to Blackburn s work dated 1997, the number of performing troupes had dropped to 25 by the year 1989. This was due to the intensive training required, less income and less popularity and appreciation among the younger generations. As the troupes became smaller, the quality of the performances degraded. By the 1980s, many troupes didn t have the knowledge to 86
maintain damaged puppets and did not make new ones because the knowledge was not being passed on like older times (Blackburn, 1996, pp.238-239). It was the case not only in Kerala, but also in shadow puppet traditions of other states like Maharashtra and south Indian states. In this situation, master puppeteer KK Pulavar and his troupe were one of the only ones who were capable in the art of puppet making. He was a nationally recognized puppeteer and was awarded the National Award for his craftsmanship by the All India Handicrafts Board, New Delhi. The art was passed on in the Koonathara troupe and they shared this knowledge with others, as by 1980s, Ramachandra Pulavar and other members began participating in activities to teach the art of puppet making. In 1982, Ramachandra Pulavar was called on to make puppets for 2-3 years, under a scheme by the Handicrafts of India in Sawantawadi, Maharashtra (online livestream, 2020 November). The troupe was involved in puppetry making training activities through the 1980s and 1990s on behalf of CCRT (The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training) 3 and Delhi Handicrafts in schools. These activities began to be another source of income for the artists as well as played an important role in promoting the art form and gave the artists a chance to hone their own skills (Orenstein, 2014, p.211). Thus, puppet making as a separate source of livelihood began to be established by the Koonathara troupe. The researcher Salil Singh (1998, pp. 267-277) agreed in his thesis that changes 3 CCRT is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture of Government of India. 87
like modern compressed narratives and beginning to perform the art form outside the temple fulfilled both the artistic-dramatic, economic as well as the ritualistic functions, enabled Tholpavakoothu artists to present the art form to new, appreciative audiences in India and also internationally. He deemed it as an important development in the art form but also highlights the importance of depending on local audiences in the original vicinity of the art form for long term sustenance. But one of the biggest challenges posed to Tholpavakoothu at this period of time was the dwindling engagement of the local communities with the art form. The artists of the modern generation in the late 20 th century began to be engaged in Western education and other kinds of employment. The existing troupes were divided on performance styles and traditions and took different paths. Due to this and the reducing number of puppeteers, the main troupes fragmented into smaller groups who then included a greater number of temples to perform in. In Stuart Blackburn s work on Tholpavakoothu in 1997 shows 79 temples where performances happened in comparison to 63 in 1972. According to Salil Singh (1998, p.271), due to spreading it too thin, the quality of the performances went down. Master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 2, 2020) suggested that in Kerala itself the culture was changing as people began to migrate and not return or return with different ideologies. According to him, a distance began to widen between people and traditions because of modern lifestyles due to which they don t 88
understand the importance of an art form like Tholpavakoothu. He highlighted the Tholpavakoothu practices being discontinued in some temples. A specific case was of the Panthakal Kaavu Pattambi temple in Palakkad where the art form had not been performed since the year 1995 but was rebooted 6 years later as the villagers suffered with many problems and hoped to solve them by restarting the performance of the Tholpavakoothu rituals once again. The beliefs and in turn, the Tholpavakoothu traditions were seeing fluctuations in this period. 2.7. Neo-liberalization and globalization The 90s and leading up to the early 2000s was a period of confusion for traditional art forms in India. The whole world was connecting and changing, and it did not carve out a niche for traditional art forms. Puppeteer Rahul Pulavar of the Koonathara troupe in the interview connected the globalizing world of the 90s and its after-effects to a state of confusion for traditional art forms in India. In modern India, with the influx of new media and new values, the localized context which was the backbone of traditional art forms like Tholpavakoothu began to go through changes. It could be suggested that even the traditional art forms faced the challenge of an identity crisis in the way that innovations were being made, it was gaining recognition nationally and internationally, but losing engagement locally. The theme of the play, that is Ramayana was close to second nature 89
to the people as everyone knew the story and had been listening to it their whole life. People began to be attracted to new ideas, themes, stories and sources of entertainment and information. But at the same time, the influence of modern mass media did not have an even geographical development across the wide population of India. In India, in the 1980s an acute economic crisis was triggered by increase in world oil prices, political situation was unstable, and India was defaulting on international payment obligations. India s inward-oriented and state-run strategies were criticized at this point of time by outward-oriented laissez-faire capitalists (Toye, 1987). Capitalism in India has developed through trade, industrialization, technology and markets since the East Indian Company during the British colonization and began to economically liberalize in the 1980s and notably developed after the neoliberal reforms of 1991. India then opened up to global markets, underwent the beginning of an economic boom, witnessed the production of a consumer culture and joined the global trends of a free, liberalized market-economy (Morcom, 2015). At this point of time after opening up to the world, India witnessed a rise in foreign investments, followed by rise in literacy, food security mostly in the urban pockets of the country. India s GDP and growth rate increased in this period and changes took place rapidly due to this having various influences on Indian culture. Morcom (2015, p.289) suggests that capitalism affects the economy, society, life, culture through the rise of global consumer products and trends. She highlights the prominence 90
of globalization i.e. a global flow of ideas, money, culture, people in the neoliberal world. Researcher Sam Parker (2013, pp.152-154) explains how a capitalistic culture had begun to influence Indian culture and values and uses the term economic imperialism coined by Barry Schwartz to explain the way economic values began to seep into many domains of life turning them into economic spheres. But just like mass media, economic values, capitalism, economic development and employment did not enjoy an even development all across the country either (Harvey, 2006 cited in Morcom, 2015). Sam Parker suggested that the spread of economic values into other domains of culture has to be observed at the grassroots level in all kinds of agents, and that it takes time to make such observations. It would be premature to assume that a globalized economic system led by a neoliberal mythology of free-market and economic value has completely hegemonized all parts of cultural life. Studies show that the spread of globalized, capitalistic neoliberal reforms does not mean the wiping out of the existence of non-capitalistic economic activities. But in this study, its influence can be observed in the context of how traditional Indian performing arts like Tholpavakoothu metabolize the changing times with their own adaptive strategies. The after-effects of neoliberal economic globalization of India on traditional Indian cultural products like Tholpavakoothu and on the social factors that guide their practices in today s time can be traced in the late 90s, the beginning of the 21 st century and in its current state. 91
Tholpavakoothu Today: The Koonathara troupe of puppeteers and observations of the present-day scenario of the art form The modern Indian Government recognized the struggles that traditional performers had to face in the changing social environment of India. In the wake of globalization, a localized, ritualistic art form like Tholpavakoothu found itself receiving international recognition but was struggling to reorient itself in the younger, modern India and its changing local setting. The government made initiatives to bridge the developing gap between traditional art forms and modern India. Shadow puppet traditions from 5 states of India were chosen to be brought together for this purpose. Funded by the Indian Government cultural agencies Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, a convention called the National Shadow Puppetry Festival was held at Dharmasthala, Karnataka in 1996 where some traditional shadow puppet theatre troupes were brought to support traditional ancient art forms that were struggling to fit into modern India s cultural fabric. To bridge the gap between the ancient themed art forms and contemporary themes, the troupes were asked to present the story of Mahatma Gandhi (important figure in freedom struggle and Indian Independence) along with the traditionally presented mythological tales of Ramayana. Salil Singh (1999, pp. 154-155) 92
described these performances as awkward and anticlimactic and criticized this experiment doubting traditional puppet theatre s place in modern India. Underresearched and under-executed government projects for revival of traditional arts like puppetry may run the risk of not fully understanding the folk traditional elements. The Koonathara troupe led by master puppeteer KK Pulavar performing Tholpavakoothu participated in this convention but stood out as they performed with their own compressed version of Kamba Ramayana narratives and unlike others used traditional oil lamps for the performance. According to Singh, the performances were awkward as the suggested theme of these commissioned shows was not culturally connected to the traditions of these art forms and puppeteers. The researcher Salil Singh suggests that the puppeteers during that period would either have to modernize the art form without looking back, in the search of an aesthetic that fits in the modern context or could keep practicing the traditions as they were and not change with the changing socio-cultural realities. If we apply this dichotomous plan of action to Tholpavakoothu, the paths taken by the Tholpavakoothu artists can be understood. Even when Tholpavakoothu witnessed cultural loss, except the Koonathara troupe, no other artist troupes wanted to deviate from the traditional practices. This only led to further stagnancy or loss and failed to adapt according to the changing times. Following this, the Koonathara troupe focused on innovating and themselves 93
appropriating the art form for changing times. The new millennium, year 2000 was characterized by a significant innovation made by the Tholpavakoothu artists. The Koonathara puppeteers made their first shadow play show based on a narrative other than the Ramayana. The story they used was Panchatantra, a collection of stories consisting animal characters giving moral values lessons from ancient India. For this narrative, the puppeteers made use of their traditional animal puppets. 4 The troupe continued on with this until the demise of the late puppeteer KK Pulavar. Puppeteer Rahul Pulavar (R. Pulavar, personal communication, November 20, 2020) narrated how KK Pulavar s frequent and important collaborator G. Venu thought that this period was the peak of the art form, but after this they found themselves being lost and scared of how the art form could be successfully expanded with the ever-changing modern society. Puppeteer and late master puppeteer KK Pulavar s grandson, Rahul Pulavar confirms of the absence of substantial matter or performances being recorded in the early 2000s and remarked that the art form was static at that point. In the year 2007, the Koonathara troupe further experimented by finally using the theme of Mahatma Gandhi s life and appropriated it for a Tholpavakoothu play. This was their first project in which they dealt with a text that was not mythical but was historical. The puppeteers experimented with 4 Technically, before the Kamba Ramayana, the Tholpavakoothu/shadow puppet artists were performing old folk stories of that time but in this instance, they had diverted from the Ramayana story after centuries. 94
creation of appropriate puppets like automobiles, weapons, modern clothing, etc. for this narration. This managed to give the troupe more chances to perform in schools and other venues. Rahul Pulavar remarks that in the process of innovation and expanding the art form, there were both successes and failures. He added that this period of time until 2010 was filled with experimentation and attempts for the artists and art forms to adapt to the ever-changing society and thus seems like a static period for Tholpavakoothu artists. Puppeteer Rahul Pulavar in our interview mentioned 2010 as the year when the troupe once again began to create and release processed works. Being part of the new generation of Tholpavakoothu artists, puppeteer Rahul Pulavar says he understands his ancestors like late master puppeteer KK Pulavar and his father Ramachandra Pulavar who decided to reform the art form structurally. He remarks how this process of reforming a 210-hour performance into a 1 hour-version must have been full of challenges and must have faced so much backlash but says that it is these actions that keep them connected to the art form today. The troupe follows the belief that every art form diminishes at some point and that adapting to the changing society is what keeps the art form going. The troupe in today s scenario have learned from history that it is important to perform the art form in the kshetram (temple) as it always has and also to perform on contemporary stages with the help of modern themes that are pertinent to today s society. The modern puppeteers recognized the need in today s socio-economic 95
environment to create and represent many stories in many languages to connect with varied audiences and create opportunities in many new avenues for the art form to expand, as well as rebuild a strong base in the art form s original locale. The Tholpavakoothu artists did this by compartmentalizing the beliefs, motivations and cultures that influence the traditional and modern versions of the art form in their own spheres, by letting them interact with another and by not letting one dislodge the other. The field research conducted in Shoranur, Kerala of the Koonathara troupe quickly observed the troupe s practice of balancing the different facets of the art form for its long-term sustenance. 3.1. The Koonathara troupe in March 2020: Field research observations I commenced my field research in the town of Shoranur in the south-indian state of Kerala from 1 st of March until the 10 th of March 2020. On the 1st of March, I visited the home of the artists of the Koonathara troupe, i.e. the home of the Pulavar family who have generationally been Tholpavakoothu artists. On the first day, I was able to have a recorded interview session with the artists Rajeev and Rahul Pulavar. Through the freeflowing, open ended interviews I was able to at first grasp, the essence of the rituals of the art form and its current practice. They explained to me about the art form, its performative details and contemporary state of the art form. One thing we were able to focus on was the artist s position in the growth of the art form. Speaking with them, I 96
enquired into the details of the relation of Tholpavakoothu to the artists, the local audience, the new audiences it s reaching and the identity of the art form. When I visited their home, I got a chance to look at the usual leather puppets that the artists traditionally use and they explained to me the materials, the usage and the symbolism behind the puppets. The puppeteers keenly explained how the myths have been passed down along with the artistic knowledge. As the knowledge and skills of the art form is passed down among the younger generations of puppeteers, so are the beliefs. The myth/ sankalpam that the ritualistic performances are carried out for the goddess Bhadrakali to see still holds as much importance as it did before in pre-modern era. The puppeteers confirm the existence of many myths that were used to showcase the stories in different ways, but the myth in which goddess Bhadrakali wants to witness the Ramayana battle is still the most popular as the modern puppeteers base their temple ritualistic performances upon it. The puppeteers commented that the beliefs of the audience, the sponsors and the artists and their interactions with one another and with the art form play a very important role in the functioning of the art form in today s time. Puppeteer Rajeev Pulavar says that the art form is still being performed in the temples by them most importantly for the mother goddess enjoyment. The audiences have their own belief systems and specific roles of participation in the ritualistic performances that is ingrained into the culture. The locals join in on the festivities of the temple festivals. The temple festivals 97
have shifted from mainly religious to entertaining events in the present scenario. During the field research, the locality of Shoranur was bustling because of the festivities causing intense traffic, crowds, loud music, street dancing, and fireworks shows. In today s festivities, puppeteer Rajeev Pulavar states that the modern solution to attract people and collect money to fund the temple activities is to conduct singing and dance programs. On the night of March 1 st, at the Kozhimamparambu temple, I was able to attend such a music-dance program conducted on a makeshift stage in the temple premises, opposite to the koothumadam. This entertainment program was well-attended with more than 50 families participating in the performances. The event was followed by the Tholpavakoothu rituals but what I observed was that most of the people left the temple premises after the entertainment program. Puppeteer Rajeev Pulavar states that this has been the state of temple performances in the modern age where the audience s preferences are changing. This pattern was repeated in all the temple performances I attended. The only viewers left behind wait until a certain point in the prayer rituals of the Tholpavakoothu performance to receive the blessings for the goddess. Some common beliefs among many locals are that watching certain episodes of the performance are lucky, and that conduction of the performances itself brings the village good luck. I observed some villagers bowing their hands and holding their hands in the Hindu prayer position looking at the koothumadam but did not wait to watch the performance. The 98
audience only consisted of 2-5 locals, photographers, videographers possibly there for research or documentation purposes. But the audience is not completely cut off from the ritualistic performance. On the 3rd of March, I watched another night temple performance at the Kavussery Temple. As it was the first day of the 14-day long performance there, I was able to witness the rituals before the start of the ritualistic art form and got a chance to see the local people s involvement in the performance. Different families that live near the koothumadams are responsible for sponsoring meals and refreshments for the puppeteers who have to perform all night. In conversation with the locals, they narrated old experiences of rushing to the temples after schools and sleeping on their parents laps while the performances went on at night. They explained that even listening or being in the vicinity of a Tholpavakoothu performance was considered lucky. The locals also still participate in the Garudapatthu in Puttur Kaavu (Palghat), Aryan Kaavu (Shornur), Payilur Kaavu (Kollengode) and other temples as before. I observed this event on 7th of March when I revisited the Kavussery Temple as the 14-day performance happening at that temple was having its Garudapatthu ritual on that day. The audience participation in this event in terms of sponsoring, fulfilling the ritual and dancing and singing on chenda music and popular film music displays a modern involvement of locals. For the locals, the Tholpavakoothu rituals are mostly sources of religious beliefs and not for entertainment but such events that also include 99
fun attract more people to attend the performances. The villagers and artists have established a system wherein the locals pay some money to the puppeteers to pray for them and their families during the rituals of the performance. On the night of 1st March, I visited Kozhimamparambu Temple at Cheruthuruthi at 9 pm as the performance ritualistically takes place at night owing to the myth it follows of the story of Bhadrakali goddess and the demon Darika. The performance overnight is staged for the goddess to watch herself. Here, I observed this system of micro-sponsorship and participated in it. As the puppeteers were prepping for the rituals and the performance, one of the puppeteers sat on the stairs of the Koothumadam and a line was formed in front of him of people waiting to pay for their family names to be read and blessed during the course of the performance. The people had to enlist the name, birth date and year and Hindu birth nakshatra (birth star) of the persons seeking blessings and had to pay 10 Indian Rupees (INR) for each family member to receive blessings. The puppeteer Rajeev Pulavar suggests that the people need the art form which is why it continues to exist. Unlike other classical art forms in India that receive huge patronages from the higher class and caste section of the society, Tholpavakoothu is an art form anyone can watch, anyone can contribute to, can participate in, enjoy and seek blessings from. The puppeteer stresses the importance of even the smallest contributions of 5-10 INR as important as these sponsors are necessary for the koothumadam maintenance, and the traditional 100
materials like coconuts, oil, telli, etc. The puppeteers are also able to generate income from the money these devotees offer. The art form has always received patronage from temple managers, or temple administrators called deshakar. In today s patronage system they pay the troupes 350-500 INR per day which is divided amongst the puppeteers based on seniority. Although, puppeteer Rajeev Pulavar does add that the number of deshakaar involved in temple activities has decreased in comparison to older times due to which temple administration has faced certain functional problems. Still, the puppeteers remark that situation with local performances and traditional rituals are continuing efficiently due to the strong beliefs of the people in the art form. They say that awareness of the art form is not large yet, but people spread the benefits of these rituals which attracts more and more people to fund private ritualistic performances. There is a waitlist running up to 5 years long with people waiting to sponsor ritualistic one-day or several days of performances for their good luck and fulfillment of wishes. The troupe conducts these performances all year around even in off-seasons in the koothumadam that they have built in their own home. I got the opportunity to observe this home-made stage theatre. The puppeteers point out that all the ritualistic performances conducted at this stage theatre are done with all the proper rituals just like the ones done at the temple. They showed me the frame of this stage they set up at home themselves and explained to me that they perform there for tourists, and 101
for people who visit their homes and are unable to watch their temple and stage performances. This space for them is also a workshop as I was shown their collection of Tholpavakoothu puppets, other puppets, the materials and tools used to prepare the puppets and other materials required for the performances. In this personal workspace, the balanced and compartmentalized methodology behind the Koonathara troupe s art is evident. They carry out traditional ritualistic performances here, make their own puppets, and care for their traditional puppets. At the same time, they have a specific section where they put many puppets up for sale to clients who use it for decorative purposes. The space as mentioned before is also used to perform for tourists, visitors, scholars, researchers and photographers or videographers who have previously made documentaries on the art form. On 2nd March, I had the chance to interview the esteemed artist K.K. Ramachandra Pulavar, son of the late master puppeteer KK Pulavar who was able to delineate nuanced details about the traditional art form and its history and current growth due to his experience. According to him, people have money but don t have peace of mind which is why they still consult the Pulavars for sharing their troubles, for advice and solutions and strongly believe that the holy ritualistic performances are good for them. 102
The master puppeteer narrated from experience; 3 years ago (2017) in Trivandrum a family was on the verge of divorce and at the same time were also struggling financially. They tried marriage counselling, family intervention and pooja (holy praying) but it didn t work. Then they were suggested to sponsor the conduction of a Tholpavakoothu performance. By then, the performance and temple festivals season were already over. But as they were struggling, I agreed for performing the archana (worship). I performed in our own theatre (as the temple festival season is over and this is a personal sponsored ritual), pooja, prasadam (food that is religious offering) was given to them. I prayed for a solution for them along with the prasadam. They ate it, and in a week they were happy. I am happy too if they are happy. (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 2, 2020) 3.2. Balancing Traditional and Modern Thus, as fulfilling it is for the believers who sponsor, and attend the ritualistic performance, the master puppeteer said that a normal job like what he used to do before is not at all satisfying as this one is for an artist like him who carries out his duties and also gets to help people. It has generationally become their family s duty as scholars to perform the goddess, pray for the whole village s good luck and also to help the people 103
when they need advice. The puppeteers needs, motivations and beliefs are also important to evaluate to understand how the art form continues its balanced existence in today s scenario. The Tholpavakoothu performers, with their revered status as knowledgeable scholars Pulavars generally lived disciplined lives. They had to be modestly dressed, had to follow several rules of the temple, and were expected to be immensely knowledgeable. This still applies to a certain degree to the puppeteers of today. For instance, the puppeteers to date follow the ritualistic pre-requisites before beginning the ritualistic performances in the temples like observing a noyembu or fast. The puppeteers of today are also trained in the traditional narratives of Kamba Ramayana. Although, puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar says the amount of knowledge that the current puppeteers have has reduced in comparison to their ancestors. He put it simply by saying that his father late puppeteer KK Pulavar told him that he himself only had 40% of the knowledge which his ancestors had, which reduced to a 20% in the case of puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar and according to him only seems to be reducing. He suggests that the puppeteers now do not have the patience to learn everything. Young puppeteers Rajeev and Rahul Pulavar (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 1, 2020) say that this is happening also because that kind of traditional knowledge is not what is needed in today s society anymore. It is suggested that the level of traditional training has degraded, or is reduced, but the new puppeteers 104
learn many modern skills that are of use to them in the current scenario. The new generation puppeteers are among the first ones in the troupe to have pursued higher education. They learn languages like Hindi for viewers of other Indian states, and English for urban populations of India and for the various international audiences. They learn modern ways of script writing and incorporating modern music into the puppet play. An important skill they have had to learn is to shrink the 100+ hours of performative oral narration and puppet play performed in the temple to shorter 1-hour versions for modern audiences outside the temples or even 3-minute versions for online video portals like Youtube. They learn technological skills such as how to use computers, usage of internet, operating projectors, video-making skills, and learn to use social media. They also offer the art form in different ways to the public, by learning how to conduct puppetry workshops for children and adults, by making sales of art pieces inspired by the traditional Tholpavakoothu puppets and by offering the art form to tourists through inhouse performances, homestays and offering cultural experiences of the puppeteers everyday life and artistry. The puppeteers now also have to learn to take care of funding, government documentation and the various government applications. Thus, the puppeteers are trained to be artists but in the modern scenario, also learn to be entrepreneurs and learn the skill of administering the logistics of the continuity of a now government recognized art form (R. Pulavar, personal communication, November 20, 105
2020). The multi-faceted skill sets of the Tholpavakoothu artists looks different in different phases of time. Puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar suggests that the establishment and representation of the traditions of Tholpavakoothu is very important to them even though there is so little audience in the temple. The Koonathara artists unanimously believe that it is because of the temple cultural traditions of the art form that the art form is established as an art form. The identity of the art form as a ritual traditional art form is important to its growth. Thus, it is important for them to keep performing at the 85 temples that they currently perform at. In addition to this, they want to reclaim the rest 10 to 15 temples that are mentioned in the older calendars of their ancestors but were lost out on with time due to economic difficulties. Puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar reassured that the troupe will now only add and not subtract to the number of temples where the rituals will be conducted, even if the number of days allotted for the performance decreases or other struggles appear. The puppeteers think of the innovations of the art form in the modern as a change that had to be made to keep the art form expanding and growing. Puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar admits that if they only do temple performances, there is a lack of audience and if that was the case for 10 more years back in the seventies, nobody would have come to watch it and nobody would be interested in performing it either. That is one of the major 106
reasons why they had to introduce many different stories, styles and artists to the art form. They in no way deny the importance of innovations in the growth of the art form. In the process of expanding the art forms in new avenues to new audiences the artists participated and experimented in many ways. In the way that the traditional rituals of the art form are based on the beliefs, motivations and functions of the local society, the modern innovations are also based on the changing needs, motivations, beliefs and functions of the current social environment. In modern times, the Indian government recognized the potential in puppetry based on its social productivity or use to spread messages to localized communities, by using puppets to explain government policies and development schemes. Multiple languages, illiteracy, comparative lack of electronic technology made it difficult to have only one medium of communication over a large area like India and so localized creative traditions like puppetry that can encourage communication amongst people proves to be efficient. The Koonathara troupe picked up on these discrepancies and came up with ways to reach many audiences through their art. Puppetry has always been a communicative form of mass media that has presented ideas to people of all types all over the world. In the interview, puppeteer Rahul Pulavar states that puppetry is communicative and is an art form that has the potential to deal with large. So, in the modern era they made the decision to identify and make use of the non-ritualistic side of puppetry to expand the art form (R. 107
Pulavar, personal communication, November 20, 2020). 3.3. Tholpavakoothu: New themes, new formats In the year 2012, the troupe created a play based on the story of Jesus Christ for the first time. Recognizing the high population of Christian people in Kerala, the artists created this narrative for the play to connect to that section of the population and even performed these plays in up to 25 churches and now more than 200 stages. Not just this, the troupe has also occasionally appropriated the typically Muslim Arabic stories and has reached many people. The troupe s diversification of the art form across languages, cultures and religions through the traditional Tholpavakoothu representation forged a new multicultural identity for the art form. The puppeteers have opened up the at form to the various offers that they receive from event managers, sponsors, and other artists. They began holding puppetry demonstrations and workshops for students in school. The artists often began to dabble and feature in artistic projects like Shakespearean narratives that have no cultural significance to the artists. The artists were featured on various TV channels to present the traditional art form of Tholpavakoothu. They even experimented by agreeing to feature in music videos for Malayalam movies, for instance the 2002 film Meesa Madhavan was one of the first movies where Tholpavakoothu puppets were 108
featured and since then have been featured occasionally. The representation of Tholpavakoothu as an art form of Kerala was further promoted when a picture of a Tholpavakoothu puppet was made the main logo of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), a film festival held every year in the capital city of Kerala by the Kerala State Chalachitra (Film) Academy under the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. The promotion of the art form resulted in increased state and national recognition of the art form as the traditional shadow puppetry art form of Kerala. In 2013, the artists got to performed for Kerala State Tourism Department s festival. The master puppeteer K.K. Ramachandra Pulavar and his son puppeteer K. Rajeev Pulavar are receivers of many awards and accolades for their innovative work and the preservation of Tholpavakoothu. Master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar received the Sangeet Natak Akademi s National Award from the President of India in 2015 and in 2016 received the Indian National Award for excellent work in the preservation of the traditional art form of Tholpavakoothu. In these years, the troupe worked on maximizing the exposure the art form received by participating in puppetry festivals all over the world like the Dhaatu International Puppetry Festival. In 2018, the troupe represented Tholpavakoothu in a one of a kind mobile theatre where for the first time, shadow, string and glove puppets were all performed together. 109
3.4. Tholpavakoothu on the Internet By the year 2013, the Koonathara troupe had started building their profile and brand image on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. They proceeded to share information, links, videos, pictures and documentations, news articles and achievements about the art form officially on their social media accounts. The troupe also built their own blog website called <tholpavakoothu.in> where they provide information about the art form and the troupe in the form of the performances, researched articles and books, pictures, etc. The blog also carries information about their upcoming performance schedules, the stories they have presented and enlists the puppets that are for sale. The troupe made its own Youtube channel called Tholpavakoothu Kalakendram in the year 2015 where they regularly upload and share videos of the different kinds of performances based on different themes and stories that the troupe experiments with and presents. The puppeteers often took part in online livestreams where they performed and held demonstrations for viewers. The artists of the Koonathara troupe experimented and were able to translate the art form into many mediums without losing the traditional identity of the art form. In fact, many sponsors and event planners expected the artists to represent and showcase the traditional characteristics of the art form in a way that fit the format and purpose of their events and programs. During the course of my field research, on 6th of March, I watched 110
a stage performance outside the temple premises at the Balabadradevi Temple at Shoranur. It was interesting to watch this one as it was a more modern, crystallized, shortened version of the otherwise traditionally 7, 14 or 21-day long show. This performance was just one and a half hour long and had shortened the long narrative story of Ramayana into a one-and-a-half-hour-long show. This temple did not have a koothumadam attached to it, that is it was not one of the temples where the troupe ritually performs Tholpavakoothu. Amidst the poozham (temple festival) season, the temple administrators of the Balabadradevi temple had invited the Koonathara troupe for a special Tholpavakoothu performance. Technically this was still a temple performance, but not one culturally related to the Tholpavakoothu traditions. This was evident in the arrangements made in the temple. After a session of pooja (praying) and distribution of prasadam (religious food offering), the devotees noticed that a tent and stage had been put up near the shrine where banners of a Tholpavakoothu performance were hung, microphone speakers, artificial lights and chairs had been arranged indicating that the event was happening soon. This wasn t a traditional Tholpavakoothu ritualistic setting which further indicated that at this event Tholpavakoothu the shadow puppetry art form was going to be performed and not the rituals. Before the performance, the puppeteers introduced the art form, its history and its changes. 111
This kind of promotion of the art form and introducing it meant that it was being performed to an audience assumed to be not aware of the art form s existence. The artists used and played a fast-paced narration of the Ramayana story, instrumental music and sound-effects pre-recorded by the troupe for the performance. Puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar remarks that performances are using more fast-paced, rapid narratives in modern performances outside its ritualistic contexts in comparison to the slow-paced live verbal narration in koothumadams. The artists used comedy and introduced comic characters like the Vidhushak who narrates the stories with a comedic twist to it. It was observed that during the ritualistic performances that last for hours in the night, the puppets are barely moved or manipulated by the puppeteers except to change the scene or for some ritualistic reasons. In those performances, each scene and the narration of it take time as the puppeteers sing the verse, explain it, debate it and add their own inputs into it. In modern performances where the sound and narrations are pre-recorded and the narration is shorter, the puppet manipulation is fast and crisp and full of movements to keep the screen engaging for the audience. When the Ramayana story is expressed in such an innovative fashion the puppeteers say that the familiarity of the story adds to the appeal as they feel a religious connection as well as derive entertainment from it. This was evident as there were more than 50 members of the local community watching and enjoying the performance. 112
One more stage performance was staged during the tenure of my field research on 10th of March. This Tholpavakoothu performance took place completely outside of the temple premises. This was a 20-minute performance that was performed at an auditorium as part of the Kerala State Food Department s Clean Food Awareness Program. The performance was completely based on the message of relaying the importance of eating clean food, which was a step away from its ritualistic tradition of portraying the Ramayana narrative. Tholpavakoothu is recognized as an important form of traditional folk theatre of India which has historically been a form of information and education in its locality like other puppetry traditions. The Government of India and state governments made efforts to support the preservation and continuation of puppet theatre by following the usage of puppet theatre of communist states to proliferate village development projects through plays (Awasthi, 2001). In fact, Tholpavakoothu has diversified its potential in the modern times and as a form of traditional communication and is approached by Government departments and voluntary organizations for development communication, adult education, awareness programs about health and sanitation, and for election campaigns encouraging rural people to participate in voting processes (Das, 2013, p.9). In this 20-minute performance, the artists set up a play in which the characters were family members in Kerala discussing about the importance of healthy and clean food. The performance was crisp, included quick changes in sceneries 113
and quick manipulations of puppets. The puppets were of different ages and so the bodies of the puppets were made accordingly. They wore modern clothing, used modern Malayalam and even used the occasional English words in their vocabulary. But the artists make it a point to retain some traditional touches even in these scripted performances. They do that by still using oil lamps and fire to make the shadow puppets come to life. As the art form expands to other mediums and formats of performances, the artistry of the artists and art form naturally changes. In various perspectives of tradition and modern, the traditional sphere has been seen as orthodox and stringent while the modern spheres have been seen as one that encourages innovation. In this study, through the example of Tholpavakoothu it can be seen that the two spheres are not always polarizing sites of symbol production. The puppeteer Rajeev Pulavar stated in the interview that he feels like he could channel his creativity in terms of narrations much more freely and gets to improvise and share opinions, thoughts and feelings when performing in temples in comparison to sponsored stage performances. Although innovative themes, technology, music and puppets can be used in modern stage performances, sponsor-certified scripts, music and time limitations can leave no space for improvisation. The artist felt freer to perform in the temple with the goddess, a handful of locals and other puppeteers as the audience. This proves that innovations breed in both 114
spheres but are context sensitive in the way that how the artists play with the aesthetic of the art form. The puppeteers are approached to cover all kinds of stories by religious and non-religious organizations. Because the audiences have changed, puppeteer Ramachandra Pulvar remarked that they had to learn the skill of appropriating any kind of narrative into a Tholpavakoothu play. The puppeteers add that in the current times, there are no artistic limits to innovating the art form in the modern times as long as it is outside the temple. He remarks that the artists have to learn to take the initiatives in today s time to step outside the temple and work hard on acquiring new opportunities. 3.5. Compartmentalization with Context-sensitivity The study has been using the concept of compartmentalization to try and explain how the Tholpavakoothu artists have been pragmatically allotting traditions and modern innovations into different spheres so as to function a system where they co-exist in practice. Researcher Milton Singer (1971) suggests that India has always been compartmentalizing contradictory concepts of pleasure, economics and spirituality in society and continues to do so. According to Sam Parker (2013, p. 155), India has successfully compartmentalized the neoliberal free market economic imperialism from the spiritual. Researcher A.K. Ramanujan (1990 cited in Parker, 2013, p.153) further adds 115
to this concept of compartmentalization by saying that the India hasn t been completely successful in containing the process of modernization in one sphere. He instead suggests that the Indian way of thinking, now is to compartmentalize based on a context-sensitive approach. In today s globalizing modernity, it is difficult to keep tradition away from the modern and so he suggests that Indian culture compartmentalizes based on the context. The traditional practice and modern innovation cannot be completely tucked away into separate spheres. In the case of Tholpavakoothu, the artists today are balancing their religious duties, their artistry, the art form s growth and their economic needs based on a culture that compartmentalizes changes in a context-sensitive way. The interaction between traditions and the modern innovations aren t always synergic and have often caused backlash in the history of the art form. 3.6. Gender, Caste and Apprenticeship As mentioned before, traditionally, women had been excluded from participating as puppeteers in Tholpavakoothu. According to researcher Friedrich Seltmann (1986), only the male members of the family were educated in shadow play traditions and women were not even allowed to come in contact with the puppets yet expected to be part of the audience. The performances are social events not separated from the community activity, 116
as they reflect the social relations existing in the society itself. Master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar opined that in the pre-modern era, women did not step outside the house and were not allowed to have professions. Women are still not allowed to be priests in Hindu temples and as the Koothumadam was a holy place, it might have been the same logic applied there that kept women out of the art form. Scholar of Kerala performance traditions Kaladharan Viswanath suggested that the traditional role assigned to women of being domestic workers at home and serving their husbands must have been one of the reasons. The scholar also enlists the possibility of the society s caste dynamics as one of the reasons. Being lower caste women made them more vulnerable to higher caste patrons of the temple. It could also be the case that women were discouraged from being outside their houses at night-time as all Tholpavakoothu performances took place at night. Other reasons were that women s menstruation was considered impure barring their entrance from the theatre. But in today s scenario, as the art form has gone through so many changes, another significant change that took place was that master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar was one of the first to open the art form to women. Motivated by wanting to pass on the art form to next generation, the puppeteer believed that passing it on to all his children including his 2 sons and a daughter was important. The master puppeteer narrated an instance in which a puppeteer he knew had only daughters as children and because they were women, the puppeteer did not pass down the knowledge 117
of the art form. The master puppeteer is generous about change because he believes that passing down the art form is of most importance. Not just that, the puppeteer encouraged his wife and daughter to both be involved in the puppet-making performance. When the troupe is away performing at other locations, the women have also conducted performances at the theatre built at their family home. As Milton Singer (1971, pp.168-172) said, in line with the concept of innovations in ritually neutral areas, we can observe that the current and ongoing innovations continue to benefit more people economically and socially. As the art form opens up to women, the women of the family receive opportunities to express themselves, as well as be productively employed. The puppeteers have even staged plays with women empowerment as the theme. The Kerala government as well has identified the importance of women s representation in traditional puppetry and has funded schemes for women puppeteers to form their own plays. Although, puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar states that such innovations are possible only outside the temple. Other puppeteers have apparently challenged the participation of women in puppetry outside the temple but are strictly against it inside the temple. The artists narrated an instance during our interview in which the troupe were not invited back and lost out on performing in one temple altogether because they offered a female audience member protection from cold and rain by inviting her to sit inside the koothumadam. The puppeteers say that some temples are stricter than the others and they 118
cannot afford to lose performances and so have to follow the rule of not allowing women inside the koothumadam to avoid losses. This is one case where the traditional and the modern ideologies interacted and led to the creation of a practice where the artists have to behave according to context in order to continue performing the art form. In the same way, people of lower caste than the Tholpavakoothu artists could watch the performance but could not enter the koothumadam or learn the traditional knowledge to be a puppeteer himself. But as participation of younger generations in the art form decreased, troupes like Koonathara troupe decided to open up the strict apprenticeship rules of the art form and conduct classes and workshops and pass on the knowledge and skills to people no matter what their caste or class. The inclusion of lower caste individuals in the troupe as performers gives people opportunities for employment and artistic expression which benefits the community. 3.7. Efforts of the Artists Puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar confirms that the art form definitely had to be commercialized for the sake of survival. He said that just the 4 months of traditional performances in temples would reap them very less income. Thus, the Koonathara troupe has tapped into the tourism industry by putting up lots of stage performances in the home 119
stage theatre they have built. To build connections with the tourists, the troupe has had to make use of English subtitles or English language narrations for the puppet plays. They also offer entertaining the guests by letting them observe the everyday lives of the puppeteers in their home. The puppeteers have also invested in puppet-making and sales for tourists and other interested buyers. In areas where tourism is developing, producers impulsively commercialize their crafts, art, creations for sale directly. Tourists expect to experience all the authentic culture in a short amount of time which naturally produces standardized versions of the performances for the tourists to easily consume. Puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar reiterates that the solutions other state traditions of puppetry came up with was to give up on temple performances and divert all their attention towards performing on stages. But the artists of the Koonathara troupe truly believe that Tholpavakoothu is a special art form and that it needs to be represented and shared in its authentic form as well as should change as every art form needs to grow with the changing society to be continued. Puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar narrated that he and traditional puppetry in general began receiving national and international recognition, but he realizes that these awards need to help with the actual promotion of the art form. He says that for his troupe, the land, the locale is very important but due to modern trends like migration, people have abandoned the art form. He said many people in Kerala do not understand the importance of puppetry and dismiss it as child s play. Although his 120
efforts with the growth of puppetry with other puppeteers have resulted in a traditional puppeteer of the nokku vidya pava kali to win a Padma Shri Award from the Government of India. The puppeteers say that the representation of the art form is very important. According to them modern associations of puppets are made with children or it is given a low status among arts. But they say, shadow puppet theatre is a complex amalgamation of artistic skills and visual, oral, acoustic elements having the ability to relay messages through stories in many languages. They stress on the traditional ritualistic core of the art form as well as the potential of the art form to be flexible, innovate and expand infinitely and reach diverse audiences. In the neoliberal economic mythology, the position, meaning and function of the arts are often questioned. According to Morcom (2015, p.299) the social if not the economic productivity of the arts has to be justified in the capitalizing world. She links capitalism with productivity while pointing out that in the capitalist world it is important for an activity or object to be useful or productive, an idea which she picks up from E.P. Thompson who explains that in every capitalist society, everything must be consumed, marketed and used. The artists recognize this in today s context and so are trying to promote Tholpavakoothu to flourish on to contemporary spaces by incorporating more and more diverse and modern themes. They recognize the ability of portals like the internet to enable the performing arts to spread beyond a local audience 121
to varied larger audiences to promote the art form, to spread social messages, to build their identity as a traditional and modern art form. They constantly work on new themes for social media but also give as much importance to their traditional ritualistic duties as Pulavars. The master puppeteer says that the troupe wants to keep traditional and contemporary practices both (R. Pulavar, personal communication, March 2, 2020). Thus, the main strategy of the Koonathara troupe is a context-sensitive compartmentalization of traditional religious duties and modern innovations. The artists wish to economically sustain off the art form and the motivation to artistically share their art and knowledge to the world. The puppeteers stress on wanting to keep performing in the ritualistic performances for the goddess but want to transform the ritualistic art form into a specific style of modern puppetry. The puppeteers want to be the artist-scholars of Tholpavakoothu, the traditional ritualistic shadow puppet tradition that has historically been inside the temple and want to be new-age artists of Tholpavakoothu, innovative puppeteers outside the temple. 3.8. TPK in the time of COVID-19 Natural disasters and crises can catch human lives by surprise with or without preparation and can cause serious damage to the fabric of the society. The economy, culture, and the everyday lives of people are affected due to this. The state of Kerala where 122
Tholpavakoothu is based, faced two outbreaks of intense rain and floods twice in a row in two years. The 2018 and 2019 floods of Kerala devastated the state affecting thousands of people leaving them homeless, lost or dead. The floods also affected and caused damage cultural heritage in terms of artifacts like manuscripts, craft forms, etc. across Kerala. The Shoranur area where the Koonathara troupe resides and performs was also affected by the floods as basic amenities like transport came to a standstill. One of the significant effects of the floods were that it heavily affected the state government funds due to which the state support for traditional art forms like Tholpavakoothu was reduced. The COVID-19 global pandemic of the SARC-CoV-2 virus entered India and was reported first in the state of Kerala on 30 th January 2020. The fear of the increasing cases globally and domestically began to affect people s everyday lives. To deal with the increasing cases, India was put under a nation-wide lockdown on 24 th March 2020 which meant that all establishments except basic necessities like groceries and medicines and emergency public services would be closed. The global pandemic affected and put a standstill on the economy, education, commercial establishments like malls and restaurants, entertainment, religious institutions, public transport and public events and gatherings. The pandemic induced one of the biggest migrant exoduses in Indian history, caused employment for millions of workers, triggered a food crisis, and created lots of misinformation among the people. The Kerala state Government announced immediate 123
relief in the form of a 20,000 crore (US$2.8 billion) package for the state to tackle the issues caused by the pandemic. The sponsorships and employment of the performing artists were greatly affected as the arts were given very less priority by the State and other sponsors during the pandemic induced struggles. According to puppeteer Rahul Pulavar, the troupe did not receive any help from the State and financial aids to the arts had reduced amidst the pandemic (R. Pulavar, personal communication, November 20, 2020) The state made it compulsory to follow physical social distancing and closure of many public spaces as basic protocol to flatten the curve of the virus. This has strongly impacted the traditional art forms all over India. As mentioned before, as per the Hindu calendar, the first few months of the year, that is January to May is an extremely important period for Tholpavakoothu. The major temple festivals take place in this period of time and the performances during this holy time are extremely important for the Tholpavakoothu artists, ritually and economically. My field research that was conducted in March of 2020 was before the national lockdown was announced but still suffered as some events, performances and projects that were supposed to be observed for the study were cancelled by the event managers themselves due to the COVID-19 scare. To get an in-depth insight into the Koonathara troupe s experience during the COVID-19 times, the young generation puppeteer and researcher Rahul Pulavar obliged my request for a virtual phone interview. When asked about how 124
the Tholpavakoothu practicing troupe has navigated around the global pandemic and its restrictions, the puppeteer remarked that all artists dependent on art forms for their livelihoods became victims of the pandemic. A great issue faced by them was that they lost out on the months of March, April and May which is usually peak time for them to perform in the temple poozham (festivals). The artists usually focus of temple sponsored performances in the first half of the year, and as that was disrupted by the pandemic, they lost out on much performances and income they earn form it. Puppeteer Rahul Pulavar said that this directly affected their living conditions as it did with other artists. He added that as this was the only skill the artists have been practicing and mastering for years, it becomes difficult for them to participate in other jobs. In a regular year of performances, the latter half of the year is usually reserved by the artists to focus on stage performances outside the temple, sponsored by various sources. COVID-19 immensely affected this as well. I bore witness to some events that got cancelled due to the pandemic scare and the puppeteer said that everything began to get cancelled one by one after this due to the state and national lockdown rules. The World Puppetry Day celebrated on March 21 st is an important event in the world of puppetry that coincided with the lockdown due to which this year there was no other option than to celebrate online. With the global pandemic, everything from school to work to meetings to events had to adapt in different ways. Performing art events and 125
festivals all over the world had to find new ways to adapt to the changing social environment created by the global pandemic. Artists began to hold performances by practicing social distancing or presented their performances through the videotelephony system of Zoom Video Communications. They also used other social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram and video broadcast platforms like Youtube to release their content, connect with audiences and continue growing their art forms. Many industries even outside of the arts had to adapt to the changing social environments. 3.9. Tholpavakoothu s adaptive strategies The Tholapavakoothu artists of the Koonathara troupe were prompt in creating processed works even after the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions were announced. The troupe shot and released a 3-minute COVID-19 Awareness Campaign video for World Puppetry Day. The puppeteers original project for the World Puppetry Day was to perform and demonstrate the art form in the schools in their district which got cancelled as all public places were closed. The puppeteers described feeling a social responsibility and wanted to spread messages of the importance of following rules like social distancing, staying home and wearing masks put forth by health departments to stay safe in a simple way through puppetry. They made this video available on social media platforms like Youtube, 126
Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for everyone to watch and easily share. This video was also covered by the Indian Express Newspaper and shared over social media platforms by UNIMA, the France-based international puppetry association. This play was directed by master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar who has been credited for promptly picking up topics relevant in the current times and using it for the art form. The puppeteers believe that this move of the artists to incorporate modern social themes and evolving with social relevance is what will keep the art form afloat even in the future. The troupe also created a 3-minute video called Modikuuthu in which COVID awareness, safety measures, lockdown measures as declared by the prime minister of India Narendra Modi were displayed. The Koonathara troupe also conducted online paid performances over the Zoom App in English and Malayalam languages for many people to tune in and watch. The puppeteers began to take requests for special private ritualistic performances for interested viewers. On July 4 th 2020, the troupe performed a shortened version of Ramayana in English. They conducted the worship of God Ganesha, followed by a regular appropriated performance of Ramayana and finished the session by explaining the preparation, manipulation processes of the puppets. The puppeteer Rajeev Pulavar explained how they make the puppets and encouraged the viewers to make their own puppets and act out stories. They perform in their own shadow theatre at home and so 127
they still perform the rituals. Audience interaction completely changes when art forms are not performed in front of the people but online. Through the Zoom Application, people typed and sent their comments and questions in the chat box. The puppeteer Rahul Pulavar compares this inability to look at the audience to the koothumadam through which the artists cannot see the audience members as well. Amidst the national lockdown, the troupe made it a point to share their traditional ritualistic work with the audiences as well. Reading the Ramayana text during the Karkidakam maasam (month), also called the Ramayana month is a Hindu ritual followed by the elder members of a family at home and by priests at temples. The troupe livestreamed master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar s reading of the Ramayana text for the whole month at 7pm every day on the Facebook website from 16 th of July to 15 th of August 2020. The woman puppeteer Rajitha Pulavar also held a Facebook livestream sharing her experiences with the art form and offered a unique perspective being one of the few woman puppeteers. In September, the troupe also experimented by agreeing to being shot for a music video called the Lets Meet Again project which displays a hope for life to resume normalcy once the COVID-19 crisis passed. In November, the group continued with online performances. Government support came in for the art form during the lockdown period when the Koonathara troupe held a one-hour long livestream on November 20 th at 5pm via the 128
social networking site of Facebook as part of a Facebook live series called Antarang streamed on the official Facebook page of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama) which is an Autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India. The session was conducted by master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar who narrated and used visual aids in the online presentations. He started the session by proudly introducing the heritage and diversity of Indian culture and expressing gratitude for being a part of India s magnanimous culture. He was quick to point out the prominence of puppetry in Indian culture as an idea with high artistic aesthetic potential. He introduced the various types of traditional and new forms of puppetry and introduced Tholpavakoothu, the traditional puppetry of Kerala as the first art form of the world and as the foundation of modern cinema and animation. He suggested that the creation of first Indian made film Raja Harishchandra (1913) by Dadasaheb Phalke was inspired by the shadow puppets in Maharashtra. He delineated the historical, religious, mythological and ritualistic aspects of the art form. He also spoke of the current conditions of the art form and the future prospects. The online presentation of the art form through new media like social networking sites and global video portals like Youtube diversifies and expands the audience by manifolds. In Saptarshi Kolay s (2015, pp.311-312) study on the preservation of traditional Indian art through virtual new media, there is work done on 129
how traditional art forms can translate into new media. The study quotes Yehuda Kalay s (2008) study to suggest the features of new media that makes sharing traditional art forms easy. Digital storage of data is more cost-effective making digital documentation of art forms easier. There are many ways in which representation of the art form can be done through virtual new media which leads to easier dissemination of knowledge and awareness to the generation among audiences. Although there are criticisms that suggest that new media can lead to dilution of the representation of traditional culture. Kolay (2015, pp. 314-316) uses the parameters described in the book Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, volume 34 (Kolay and Roy, 2015) that indicates the possible potential a traditional art form might have that helps its adaptation into the virtual new media. Applying these parameters, it can be observed that Tholpavakoothu s visual aesthetic has the potentiality to depict modern, contemporary themes without losing its traditional aesthetic. The characters are recognizable as they are all distinct and memorable as each puppet has a specific shape, voice and movement ability in the way the puppet is made which can leave impressions on the viewer s minds. The same character can have puppets in different positions like sitting, standing, fighting, etc. which makes the visual representation varied and vivid. Thus, the art form displayed its potential to artistically be expressed in many ways through the use of new media even during the COVID-19 crisis. 130
Through a virtual interview with the puppeteer Rahul Pulavar, this study was able to delve deeply into the Koonathara troupe s experience with the COVID-19 crisis as a traditional shadow puppetry artist group. The puppeteer suggested that as everything was closed down, they had a lot of time to study the traditional texts, narrations, meanings and philosophy and hone their knowledge. He said that usually because of year-round performances they did not get the chance to invest time in the studies that they are required to do for the traditional art form. The troupe also finished a project of teaching younger generation puppets of boys and men from ages 12-28, 700 traditional songs and meanings that usually makes up 7 days of temple ritualistic performances. The puppeteer said that due to schools and work schedules, these puppeteers hadn t been able to give in so much time in studying, narrating and writing these songs. Although these are some positives, the puppeteer discussed the struggles that the traditional artists had to go through. The puppeteers faced economic challenges as their usual performances got cancelled. Their fees for a 1-hour performance at a temple had been 15,000-20,000 INR whereas for online performances, they don t receive more than 3000 INR. During the COVID-19 crisis, the market value of art reduced and in addition to that the cancellation in bulks of projects affected the living conditions of the artists. But the artists say that they follow the policy of doing whatever was offered to them even though the pay was less, because as artists it is important for them to keep practicing, 131
performing and sharing their art or they fall out of practice. The artists identify that audiences derive entertainment and peace of mind from their performances which is reciprocated as the artists say sharing, performing and audience interaction gives them joy. The puppeteer Rahul Pulavar admits to having anxieties but hopes for normalcy in the temple festival season of the year 2021, as their livelihoods depend on it and cannot afford to lose out on many more performances. In master puppeteer Ramachandra Pulavar s opinion, an artist is accomplished when they gather four basic aspects of knowledge; visual knowledge (kandu aravu), knowledge by sharing (koduthu aruvu), knowledge gathered by listening (kettu aravu) and knowledge gathered through experiences (kondu aravu). The master puppeteer says that sharing knowledge has been the major driving force during corona times, through as many channels as possible and that as long as they can share, they can continue performing. 132
Problematizing the Dichotomy of Traditional and Modern: Tholpavakoothu, a developing art form Until this point, the study has delineated the adaptive strategies that the Tholpavakoothu artists have had to operationalize in order to keep up with the changes in the social environment around it. By describing the art form s growth using temporal distinctions, the study has charted the history, progressions and changes the art form has gone through in depth, majorly from the artists point of view. In its long life, the art form has faced many challenges and social factors threatening the continuance and further existence of the art form with the COVID-19 crisis just being one the most recent troubles that the artists have had to face. The social and economic productivity of this art form has been discussed in the literature about the art form and it has been established that Tholpavakoothu traditionally fulfilled various social functions and still continues to do so. According to the artists of the Koonathara troupe various artists of other troupes were against the various innovations introduced to the art form by them and at the same time many artists decided to pursue other employment opportunities because they could not economically sustain off just the traditional performances. They believe that only clinging onto the traditional practices and not expanding would have led to the demise of the practice of the art form. At the same time, they believe that the traditional ritualistic 133
side of the art form is the backbone of the art form and losing out on traditions would dilute what makes Tholpavakoothu special. Thus, the Koonathara troupe of artists strategy has been to compartmentalize the traditional and the innovations based on context and balance both in order to continue performing. This study will look if the perceived changes of the art form from traditional to modern to a balanced approach is transitional, or if the process has been more complicated. This chapter problematizes the dichotomous way of looking at an art form s growth through the varying definitions of tradition and modern. In turn, this chapter also will evaluate the position of Tholpavakoothu in today s post-modern society and unpack the heavily loaded question of whether it can be said that Tholpavakoothu, the traditional art form is dying? 4.1. Problematizing the dichotomy of Traditional and Modern The terms tradition or traditional means the handing down or passing on of culture to upcoming generations. It is assumed that the traditional is static, is devoid of deliberate change and innovation and gives importance to the past and the continuity of past practices of culture. But what is often overshadowed in the discourse of traditional societies and practices is that traditions itself have undergone changes and in many cases are products of changes themselves. In the case of Tholpavakoothu, the Koonathara 134
troupe s steps towards taking the art form outside the temple and deviating from exclusive Ramayana narration received a lot of backlash from traditionalist artists. Firstly, it is important to consider that Tholpavakoothu had developed from the shadow puppet practices of originally itinerant Tamil artists who eventually settled in modern day Kerala. This means that the performers were not always historically connected to temples. Secondly, as noted before, the Kamba Ramayana text was introduced and integrated into the shadow puppet traditions at a later point of time and was preceded by puppeteers performing popular Tamil folk stories like Nallathangal and Harishchandra nadagam. The introduction of the Kamba Ramayana text to the art form is often credited to the puppeteer Chinnathami Pulavar. His aim was to bring the Tamil version of the originally Sanskritic text of Valmiki Ramayana to lower caste individuals like his community who were barred from entering temples and listening to readings of the epic and was exclusively for the higher caste Brahmins (priests) only. This process of adoption of Sanskritic Brahmanical cultural rituals and practices by the lower caste non-brahmins was termed as Sanskritization by Indian sociologist M.N. Srinivas (1956). This suggests that the traditional practices of temple performances and Kamba Ramayana that form important part of the ritualistic side of Tholpavakoothu are also a result of different influences and hasn t been part of Tholpavakoothu traditions since always. The traditional isn t just a homogenous, linear section of the past but is the result of several 135
social processes itself. According to researcher Roxana Waterson, tradition is a dynamic and historical process just like any other social processes and is continuously reorganized and recreated in the present even if it is represented as fixed and unchangeable (Waterson, 1990). In the case of Tholpavakoothu, the artists, the audience as well as the sponsors reproduce the traditional symbols pertaining to the art form in their own specific ways. The artists pray, hold the ritualistic performances and use traditional skills and knowledge passed on to them in the temple performances, but also in the modern stage performances. The traditional knowledge of puppet-making is applied into puppet-making and sales which is a modern source of livelihood for the puppeteers. The puppeteers use all the traditional tools and knowledge to present modern tales and social themes. Similarly, the audiences and sponsors even in current times pray, sponsor performances and seek advice from artists which are dependent on the traditional beliefs attached to the conduction of the ritualistic performances. In the same way, modernity and the modern society is complex and cannot be defined in a unilinear way. Modernity is considered as the opposite or the absence of tradition, as a form that hegemonizes spheres of human life and dislodges the traditional. The modern implied a certain universality of ideas based on the European absolutism and enlightenment era, which does not hold true today. Modernization has affected Indian culture in many forms like industrialization, capitalism, etc. but it does not mean that the 136
influence of them wipes away the culture developed in India itself. Classical theories of modernization assume a globalizing culture wherein the modern Western world is seen as the pinnacle of development and that other societies have to develop in order to emulate the modern Western society. Researcher S.N. Eisenstadt (2000, p.24) instead put forth the notion of multiple modernities that refutes the ideas of a homogenous, hegemonic Western modernity and highlights that modernities are structurally different based on varied social locations and cultures. In the case of Tholpavakoothu, according to puppeteer Rajeev Pulavar the process of modernization began in the 18 th century itself as the King of the Kavalappara kingdom funded and supported innovations for the art form hinting a local culture of innovations and patronage. In the case of modern innovations as well, the artists, the patrons and the audiences renew their interactions with the art form by participating in innovative practices. We also see that even as many innovations were introduced to the art form after the artists decided to step out of the temple, many factors of the art form like usage of oil lamps, traditional-style puppets, and limited participation of women as performers. At the same time, the puppeteers of the koonathara troupe freely innovate as need be and identify the importance of innovating along with retaining traditions. The interactions between the traditional and the modern are inevitable. It is important to look at both as complex processes. The usage of polarizing language like 137
traditional and modern to grasp the essence of art forms in India that are changing with time can paint a stagnant picture of the identity of the art form in relation with the society it is situated in. The society as a whole- its structures, social mores, hierarchies, all echo in the art form as the art form is not separate from the society and is a representative part and expression of it. According to researcher Cohen (2016, p.14) there will always be important guardians who hold access to traditional, ancient knowledge and it will be continually passed on forward on one way or another. He says that equally important are the experts who will find a balance between old ideas and new ideas, will reformulate practices and rearticulate them in the present-day context in innovative public spheres. Indian scholar Mukund Lath (Khurana, 2020) saw tradition and modernity as in a continuum rather than as binaries. Tradition is looked at as static and their continuance is credited to this perceived static state, but their existence continues to be important due to the fact that it is always changing. Singer (1971, p.161) generally suggests that a general modernization theory would do a better job at studying culture than relying on supposedly polar classical theories of traditional and modern societies. According to researcher Celine Germond-Duret (2016 p.1540) there shouldn t be a traditional-modern dichotomy as both concepts are not fixed and have characteristics that are free-flowing. The researcher suggests that both old and new can co-exist side by side. In the case of India, modernization has come to mean a change of society transitioning from non- 138
economic to economic. It is important to understand that although Western economic culture entered India and influenced the culture, India s pre-existent economic systems also still stay and don t get completely dislodged or replaced by Western capitalism. Researcher Yang (Yang, 2000 cited in Morcom, 2015, p. 289) puts forth the idea of a hybridity formed in global capitalism, where ritualistic practices reemerged after China transitioned into a market economy. He suggested that the globalizing capitalism influences the pre-existing indigenous economies and may renew and create hybrid forms of economies but cannot completely dislodge pre-existing systems. Researcher Joseph Gusfield (1967, pp. 352-358) listed the fallacious elements about assuming a polarized traditional-modern model in viewing Indian culture and summarizes the points made thus far. He suggests that it cannot be assumed that traditional societies have been static and haven t gone through changes to form into its current state as we know it. In a polarized model of tradition and modern, the traditional Indian culture is often assumed as a consistent body of spiritual norms and values which is not the case, as diversity has always existed in India. The generalizations about the non-economic culture of Hindu traditions are criticized as the polarized model considers the structure of traditional Indian culture as homogenous. Due to this, this model assumes that new modern innovations simply replace the old traditions and that the social change from traditional to modern occurs through simple transition. This model assumes that the modernization process is 139
hegemonic in the way that it weakens traditions and displaces it for change to occur. 4.2. Tholpavakoothu, a developing art form In my opinion, the growth of Tholpavakoothu has not been purely dependent on a transition from traditional to modern. In fact, the art form has been historically using strategies like bringing innovations to the performances to continue the practice of the art form according to the changing social environments. The changes in the art form have not been linear in the way that the modernization of the art form weakened the traditions, or the tradition curbed from innovating the art form. By compartmentalizing, I do not mean that the artists pack away the traditions into one sphere and the innovations into another for them to never interact with one another again. According to Singer (1971, p.178), in India, cultural continuity with the past leads to a sort of traditionalization of apparently modern innovations and that modernizing influences are absorbed into the traditional life without losing any Indianness. On the other hand, this kind of dichotomous understanding of traditional or modern, Indian or Western can be criticized by considering the multiplicity of the complex, hierarchal traditions of India. The artists of the Koonathara troupe instead compartmentalize their practices with a contextsensitivity unique to their way of thinking and the culture of the audiences and sponsors that they deal with. They manage their ritualistic practices and understand the importance 140
of maintaining and passing down the customs they need to perform as Pulavars. They also now pass down the knowledge to lower caste men, non-family members and women as participants in the art form decreased over time even though they were not originally allowed to perform. At the same time, they look for opportunities to expand the art form s scope by performing on diverse stages, innovate artistically in any way possible and create a version of the art form that has transitioned into its own style of puppetry. They also want to be economically dependent on the art form. But they keep it a point to represent the traditional aesthetic of the art form even in performances with modern themes. Thus, the traditional elements do not become obsolete but continue to evolve organically alongside the newly emerging innovations (Parker, 2013, p.151). This study has evaluated the various ways the Koonathara troupe has performed the art form with the changing society and brought necessary changes. Indian news houses like The Hindu had used language like "Shadow of death over Tholpavakoothu" (June 23, 2003), "Shadow leather puppet play facing near death" (May 12, 2010), "Fading away into the shadows" (June 14, 2012), to portray a sort of perception that the art form is dying. Yampolsky (2001) suggested that no one essentially can preserve or sustain an art form except the performers and their audience. And that the only thing the outsiders can do is to attempt to understand the reasons behind the way the art form grows or declines. In today s scenario, even amidst the COVID-19 crisis, the puppeteers of the 141
Koonathara troupe say that the art form is indeed developing and growing as their efforts are ongoing. They say that they have not given up on the practice, be it in the temple or on stage, because the people and the artists not only still need it but also because they still strongly believe in the essence of the art form and what it stands for to just let it die. The artists of the Koonathara troupe believe that the art form is the result of years of flow of emotions, beliefs, art and that the flow is not limited to the boundaries of heredity or old rituals. They believe in the journey of the art form as sailing forward in the present adapting to changes and newness with new aspirations and hopes for the further growth of the art form. They still believe in the potential, power and important function of the art form to guide the people who watch it as they always have (Ramachandra Pulavar, 20 November 2020). 142
Conclusion The practice of Tholpavakoothu has resiliently been continued by the artists by adapting, evolving, and bringing in changes in many ways. This study has delineated most factors to analyze the art form as a whole and not just look at the art form through one of its elements to understand its journey. Changes are part of all cultural objects in our society. In Tholpavakoothu, even a slight change in the speed at which the narration of the art form is done has been a product of many other processes and changes. In the pre-modern era, it can be said that Tholpavakoothu was exclusively ritualistic and communicative in that it was a social center of knowledge and beliefs for the people involved engaging with the practice of the art form. But at the same time, the traditions were also a result of changes and processes. Traditions don t simply imply a homogenous history. The continuation of the practice of the cultural ritualistic traditions does not indicate stagnancy but instead a process because the practice of it still fulfills several social functions, several ideals and needs in the lives of the artists, sponsors and audience members. Usually modernization has been looked at like a hegemonic process and the traditional like a stagnant burden of the past unwillingly carried over. This thesis thus problematizes the traditional-modern dichotomy to understand that the changes, the evolution and the adaptive strategies responsible for the growth of the art form have not 143
followed a linear path of social change. The traditional-modern dichotomy has come to be criticized in the 20 th century and the limitations of it have been pointed out by scholars like Joseph Gusfield, Milton Singer, S.N. Eisenstadt, Celine Germond-Duret as established in this thesis. This study problematized this kind of dichotomy used to analyze and describe traditional art forms like shadow puppet theatre of India and particularly, Tholpavakoothu. Research on Tholpavakoothu evolved from descriptive and comprehensive to more detailed works. In the more recent works of researchers Stuart Blackburn, Salil Singh and Claudia Orenstein, the studies began to understand the importance of focusing on the artists and the society s influence on the art form. But certain discrepancies were present in its previous studies that didn t explain the heterogenous processes that led to the changes in the art form since the beginning of its practice. This study elaborated on all the factors of the art form, artists, and various social factors. This study looked at the history and present state of Tholpavakoothu as dynamic processes that were affected by social factors. In the case of Tholpavakoothu, I have highlighted throughout the research how some known long-running traditions like the usage of the Kamba Ramayana itself was a result of change in the art form s history. It is possible that there were more changes than the ones mentioned in this study but preceding the available documented history of Tholpavakoothu. In the modern era, the innovations in the art form have expanded the 144
horizons for the art form. Modern work on Tholpavakoothu has well-documented these innovations that have put the Tholpavakoothu artists on the path of fulfilling their goal of wanting to transfer Tholpavakoothu outside the temple into a modern puppetry art form and make it an economically lucrative art form. The field research conducted for this thesis led to observations of the intricacies behind the processes of changes in the art form. It was seen that the artists identify the significance of the traditional and ritualistic side of the art form even today, proving that one of their major strategies has been compartmentalization of traditional rituals and contemporary stage performances. In the criticism of the dichotomous way of looking at traditions and modernity, it has also been pointed out that modernity can actually strengthen traditions. In the case of Tholpavakoothu, we see that in two clear cases. Several organizations that sponsor stage performances for Tholpavakoothu insist on the representation of the traditional practices in the performance. The artists also use their traditional skills and techniques as a strength as they integrate the traditional knowledge into modern formats. Secondly, the demarcation of traditional practices as purely ritualistic in today s scenario can be debated. Modern innovations like internet and social media has broadened the horizons for Tholpavakoothu. People from many parts of the world are now interested in sponsoring Tholpavakoothu performances to fulfill their spiritual beliefs that sponsoring a performance will bring them good luck, peace and good health. Thus, spiritual and 145
economic are not two concepts that never cross paths. One of the major points of focus of this study had been to chart the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Tholpavakoothu. Based on the online interview with the Koonathara troupe of artists and observation of their activities during COVID-19 induced lockdown, innovations and contemporary changes in the art form has been documented through this study. In the COVID-19 era, the Koonathara troupe of artists suddenly found themselves not being able to perform in temples or on stages. A major chunk of the year when they can perform was lost due to the nationwide lockdown. The artists had to take up the opportunities they were offered in the way of online performances, workshops, etc. They also took this time to further hone their artistic and narrative skills by focusing on studying and revising the Kamba Ramayana verses. Thus, although the artists only look forward to when they can perform as usual again, it is interesting to see how the artists continue to build their and the art form s presence online in several ways as I mentioned earlier. They not only shared the new projects they have worked on but also shared content about the ritualistic practices that they still carried on during the lockdown. The Koonathara troupe had been active on their online activities even before the COVID- 19 pandemic, but they further nurtured their presence in the online space and accepted offers for new and various kinds of online workshops, events and performances to keep continuing to practice their art form. During the COVID-19 period, the creation of the 146
online presence and identity of the art form in a way that promotes both their ritualistic and non-ritualistic sides shows that even when it seems like they are going through a stagnant phase, the art form is evolving in new ways, in new spaces. Thus, it is safe to make the conclusion that the artists of Tholpavakoothu resiliently managed to reconfigure their approach to the art form based on the changing social environment enabling its near 1000 years of continued practice. The evolution of Tholpavakoothu hasn t been linearly transitional from traditional to modern but has instead been an example of adaptation, compartmentalization, innovation, and effortful continuation. That is why it is indeed a living, breathing art form. 147
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Appendix Consent Form for Interviews of the Koonathara troupe artists for Research on Tholpavakoothu. 155
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