Traditions alive! Twenty eight day long annual Chakyarkooth presentation

Irinjalakkuda Kootalmaanikya Kshethram in Kerala, is one of the rare Temples that is dedicated to Lord Bharatha, the younger brother of Lord Sree Rama. Every year after the ten day annual temple festival in the Malayalam month of Medam (April-May), twenty eight days long Chakyarkoothu is presented during the month Edavam (May-June). Also, following it, there will be a twelve day long Anguliyaankam Koothu during the month Karkkitakam (July-August).

Chakyar-koothu

Chakyar-koothu is a refined monologue in which the episodes from Ramayanam and Mahabharatham, two Epics of the Hindu culture, are narrated by a male performer (called as Chakyar) who belongs to the Chakyar community. After a short prayer, he recites a Shloka in Samskritham (Verses in Sanskrit). Then he starts elaborating it in Malayalam. His narration style that entwines the story with the jokes of social or political relevance makes it highly interesting even to the common men. These jokes are mostly hurled at different persons among the audience. It is a fact that the Chakyars were given a privilege to lampoon upon even the King during the performance.

Ammannur Kuttan Chakyar
[ Photo Credits : Valson B Vennikkal ]

Twenty eight days of Kooth

The annual twenty eight day long Chakyarkooth in Koodalmanikya Ksethram usually starts on the Thiruvonam day (Malayalam star) of the month Edavam. Incidents like a death or birth in the family can cause a slight change in this, because as per the beliefs, the family members must keep themselves away from the temple premises for a certain days in such cases. The entire episodes from the Ramayanam are presented by four years of twenty eight days each. We can see almost a similar system in Trissur Vatakkum-Naatha Ksethram, Lord Shiva temple, where the whole Ramayanam is divided among three years of forty one days each. Also, the performances in both these temples are the prerogative of the renowned Ammannur Chakyar family.

In Irinjalakkuda Koodalmanikya kshethram, the Kooth is not performed on the Amaavaasi (new moon) day, Paurnami ( full-moon) day and Prathipatham (the very next day to both these days), otherwise it is twenty eight days continuously. The same system was followed in Thalipparambu and Peruvanam villages earlier. As the month long Koothu presentation in both these villages are not live since some decades due to certain reasons, we can spot this system of twenty eight days now in Irinjalakkuda village only.

'Koothambalam', where the Koothu is presented

This year, it is 'again' a re-start of the Ramayanam, after the completion of the previous narration cycle of four years. The practice is that, before the narration of the story of Sree Rama, the story of the antihero- Ravana is presented. So, each new cycle will start with 'Rakshasolpathi' in which the story on the birth of 'Raakshasas'- the demons, the ancestors of Ravana are narrated followed by the narration on the birth of Ravana and the way he became the mighty force in the universe. On the first day, 'Brahmolpathi' ( birth of Brahma), 'Thrai-lokya-srushtti' (creation of the three worlds) etc are narrated.

After the completion the of 'Rakshasolpathi', which takes almost twenty eight days, the narration will move on to the episodes related to the Royal Dynasty-SooryaVamsha Kshathriyas- the lineage of Lord Sree Rama. Rest of the second set of episodes will be continued next year from the Thiruvonam day of the month Midhunam.

Being the eldest performer in the Ammannur joint family, Sri. Kuttan Chakyar is the leader of the team. This year, the first performance of the twenty eight days of Koothu was presented by Sri. Rajaneesh Chakyar on June 15th. Former and latter are the nephew and the grand nephew of the Guru Pathmabhushan Sri Ammannur Madhava Chakyar respectively. The Mizhaavu is handled by Sri. Vijayan Nambiar. Smt. Indira Nangiyar and Dr. Aparna Nangiyar, wife and daughter of Sri. Kuttan Chakyar respectively, will support the presentation with thaalam (rhythm) on cymbals on the alternate days.

Dr. Aparna Nangiyar (left) | Sri. Vijayan Nambiar (right)
[ Photo Credits : Valson B Vennikkal ]

Such vivacious customs are really wonderful! Let us pray that it continues to be breezy....

Ammannur Rajaneesh Chakyar

Written by
Nambiar Sooryavamsha Kshathriya

Comments

'Bherkar Bherkar Jogmaya' - a dance production on Charani genre of literature

C haran is a community based in Gujarat and Rajasthan known for their literary skills and verbal (speech and singing) abilities. Charani Sahitya, Literature and poems are an integral part of the identity of the Charans and whole genre of literature is known as Charani literature. 'Bherkar Bherkar Jogmaya', a new production by 'Kalashree' Smt. Ayswaria Wariar, is a unique amalgamation of Charani Sahitya through Dance, Music and Visual Media. Smt. Ayswaria Wariar, a Mohiniyattam Exponent, hails from a family of artistes. She was initiated into the art of classical dance at the tender age of five by her mother Smt. Sreebala Menon. Subsequently, she was trained in the two styles of Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam under eminent Gurus Shri Udyogamandal Vikraman, Smt. Kalamandalam Sarasvati, Smt. Sucheta Bhide Chapkar and Padmabhushan Shri Kavalam Narayana Panikar. "The Charans are well known for their bravery, literature, sharp mind and the worship of Motherlan...

Prayers through Music, Dr. Bombay Jayashri

S adguru Sainath attained Samadhi on Vijaya Dashami day exactly 100 years ago . In relation to this on 18th Oct. 2018, Vidushi Dr. Bombay will offer the prayers through Music. In August 1918, Shirdi Sai Baba told some of his devotees that he would soon be "leaving his mortal body" . Towards the end of September, he stopped eating. As his condition deteriorated, he asked his disciples to recite holy texts to him and continued to meet visitors. On 15th October 1918, he breathed his last. This year on 18th October 2018, the thithi of Dasami comes after mid day as per Hindu lunar astronomy. Hence Sai Temple all over observe 18th October as Samadhi Centenary.

G.N.B, an unparalleled Genius Musician

C an a musician have a great flow to his music and yet be analytical? Can a musician sing based on Lakshya without compromise to Lakshana? Can a musician have discipline in his Kirthana singing despite having extraordinary Manodharma...? There was one musician who was a testimony to all the above. He had many firsts to his name ! It was he, who introduced the concept of “Porutham” singing. When he sang Palintsu Kamakshi, he sang Kalpana Swaram for “Kanthamagu” . It was not the hackneyed MRSRM finish. He used to finish with phrases such as SNPNM, RMPNS and PNSRM and start Kanthamagu from the adjoining note. This was a huge innovation. Of course genius musicians such as Lalgudi Sir, Balamurali Sir and Seshagopalan Sir have taken a leaf out of his books and added Kanakkus to Poruthams and further embellished. He introduced concept of Sruthi Bedham. He used to just show a glimpse of the child Raga and not dwell too much into it. When he elaborated Thodi, he would sh...

Fourth WOCUE RasaNavam is announced

T his time, while considering the fourth WOCUE rasanavam – something special captures, we wondered if any one could have taken their eyes away from the beauty of the brush strokes by the sun on this little green globe, amazingly captured by Sri Kundan De with his lense. Arupa Lahiri , the renowned dancer, underlines her name (literally means without form, which really is the ultimate form of beauty) with her presence- that is perfectly in tune with the nature! Her expression creates life over the broken wood on the right. The colors in the frame, let it be the nature or the costume, seems interwoven, even the contrast ones. Simply, ‘a poetry in the lights’ would be an apt usage, especially as Arupa Lahiri herself is a literature lover and a writer. Photo by : Sri. Kundan De ( Photo shoot ) About the Artist : ARUPA LAHIRI Arupa Lahiri, one of the noted young Bharatnatyam dancers of the country, started learning dance at the age of four. Later she did her h...

Pollachi Tamil Isai Sangam annual dance fest

A s a part of 33rd annual dance festival by the Pollachi Tamil Isai Sangam, a group of Mohiniyattam dancers from Upaasna akademy of fine arts of Mumbai led by Smt. Sujatha Nair presented a few selected Mohiniyattam items on Sunday 12th August 2018 at the KKG Thirumana mandapa auditorium. Starting with an item in praise of the one tusked Vigneswara they presented a Varnam in ragam Simhendra Madyamam depicting few scenes from Ramayanam like Ahalya moksham, Seeta Swayamvaram and Sabarai Darshanam. While Sujatha Nair did a solo presentation of an ashtapadi from Gitagovindam. The group also presented an item in Ragamaalika, recreating the Vrindavana leelas of Lord Srikrushna. All the items were choreographed by Smt. Jayashree Nair, founder director of Upaasana. Jayashree Nair and her students were felicitated by the Sangam secretary Sri G D Gopalakrishnan.

Cascade of Divine Music - Sri. Sakethraman at Marghazi

I have always nursed a dream of attending a live concert of young and prodigiously talented Saketharaman the Carnatic Vocal * on the horizon. There is something about Saketh that leaves you craving for more and you submit an urgent wish list looking yonder at sky and a prayer in your lips to soon grant you the wish of next concert. He has a knack of disproving that there is satiation as your greed and appetite increases multifold and Eh Dil Mange More. Saketh lit the auditorium with cascaded divine Carnatic music and it was music for the souls as evidenced by earth quake of applause repeatedly at every subtle nuances he scaled effortlessly. The repertoire : Palayasumam – Arabhi Sundaratara deham – Pantuvarali Amba Neelambari – Neelambari VaraNarada – VijayaSri Marakathavalli – Kambhoji Ragam Tanam Pallavi – Varamu & Saveri (dwi-raga) Aadu Chidambaramo – Behag Tirupugazh – Hamir Kalyani Saketh started the concert with a slokam in Arabhi and he j...

Janmashtami - the journey towards Oneness

I t is Janmashtami today. The day on which the Complete Avatar of Lord Narayana was born as Little Krishna as the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudeva. Krishna, if we go through the puranas, is everything. He is a good son, a brother, a friend, a lover, a protector, a destructor, a messenger, a statesman… and what not! Having the constrains of a living being, we try to limit Krishna or can only view Krishna at times as per our perception or state of mind. The fact is that Lord Krishna, the Supreme God, is beyond all space and time. For Radha, Lord Krishna is her lover. She wants to be with him always and never wants to get separated from him. But, we can see sad Radha experiencing the pain of separation a lot. The Mohiniyattam video clip by the renowned dancer Dr. Neena Prasad that is attached here depicts such a situation from Ashtapathi beautifully. Radha cannot suffer the pain of separation. She is imagining that her Lover is spending his time with his some other ...

Where the Artist Disappears, the Art Lives On - Dr. Sunanda Nair

W hat does a five-decade sadhana give to a practitioner? The sadhaka disappears, and the art speaks through the artist. What Dr. Sunanda Nair gave at Rose Theatre Brampton was a riveting 30–40 minutes of performance. The program, held on November 17, was part of the Umang Festival – Light of Hope, organized and curated by Mrudanga by Enakshi Sinha from Canada, supported by the Department of Heritage Canada and the Ontario Arts Council (OCAF). Sunanda Nair brought 'Adharam Madhuram' and 'Kubja' to the stage. When the artist speaks about what she is bringing to the stage, it feels better than an emcee reading it out. It is the emotions of the artist about the item, in their own voice, that come out, thereby giving life to the item even before it starts. Adharam Madhuram began by beautifully expressing Krishna's sweetness, slowly transporting us to the details. When he came to conso...

WOCUE

Search This Blog