The God' Own Country - Kerala is home to a variety of art forms, dances and music, quite native to this place
The
various dance forms of Kerala, mostly with a Hindu mythological theme drawn from the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata,
have been around for centuries and during festival times, they are being
staged and watched by the people. Kerala has temples of great
antiquity and some of them are more than 1000 years old and they
provide space for staging such art forms. Among them 14 prominent temples have an ample
floor space for the performers as well as for the audience with a roof
over it on the temple premises. These exciting temple dance theaters /
halls close to the divinity are unique to Kerala ' culture and are an
integral part of the community that lives close to the temple. They
enhance and retain the cultural matrix of this state. Such temple
theaters called Koothambalams are hollowed spaces for performing art
forms and they bear testimony to the artistic excellence of Kerala's temple
architecture and design that offer a nice ambiance and space for the
preservation and growth of Kerala's native art forms that are older
than the Koothambalam itself. Koodiyatam, Kathakali. Mohiniyottam are some of the classical art forms staged in the temple theater. Kodiyatam is one of the world's oldest theater forms recognized by UNESCO as among the "oral and intangible heritage of humanity''. It is precursor to many of Kerala's performing arts. Koothambalam
or Kuttampalam implies simply a temple theater (Natyagraha) - closed hall with a raised platform for staging
Koothu, Nangiar koothu and Koodiyattam. In Malayalam Kooth (Tamil word Koothu) means play or dance and Ambalam means temple. Since divinity is attached to such a temple theater, it is pertinent that the specific guide
lines given in the ancient Treatise of Nātyasāstra of Bharata Muni
must be followed to the letter and spirit. In the Koothambalam no other
part is as sacred and divine as the center stage is. Hence
Natyamandapam is often equated with Srikovil or Garbagraha or sanctum. During performance, the hall and the stage are beautifully decorated providing a sanctified atmosphere.
The stage
within the hall is considered to be as sacred as the temple sanctum
which lies within the cloister of the Temple; more precisely within the pancaprakaras of the temple. The plan,
elevation, shape and structure of Koothambalam follow certain architectural norms typical to the
tradition of Kerala and the vastu rules as specified in
thantra samuccayam and silparatnam, the authentic texts on temple vastu. As per Shastra, it is located between the prakaras of bahyahara and maryada. Invariably many of the Koothabalams have 100-odd `karanas' (dance postures) engraved on the Koothambalam pillars.
In Natya Sasatra, among 37 chapters one chapter is devoted to temple theater - Natyagraha. It mentions three types of playhouse devised by the wise Viśvakarmā [the heavenly architect] in the treatise on his art (śāstra). They are oblong (vikṛṣṭa) square (caturaśra) and triangular (tryasra). We seldom see any existing triangular structure. The
concept of Koothambalam has been around for a long time - for centuries,
but only in the 16th century it had begun to gain popularity for a few
good reasons and indirectly it created an awareness among the
like-minded people to preserve the state's native art forms and dances, besides, the people get to know our ancient Hinduism - related legends and their moral implication on our society. Availability of money among rulers across Kerala because of improved
trade connections with overseas countries, better knowledge of carpentry
by the local carpenters -Thachans as a result of inter action with carpenters from other countries or places. The temple priests Namboodri
Brahmins, who were patronized by the rich rulers had good scriptural
knowledge of Natya Sastra. With invaluable support from the rich rulers,
they encouraged the construction of Koothambalam within the temple
precincts close to the shrine to stage dances on festive days. Amazing
skill and workmanship of local carpenters came quite handy and they
could build an artistic, awe-inspiring temple theater as specified by
the Namboodris. The
carpenters are so skilled that they came up with a selective and
specific wood design and incorporated it in the ceiling right above the stage for acoustics. Any whisper
will be heard across the hall.
 |
| Kerala Kalamandalam, Thrissur, Flicker |
Kothambalam
also provides a link between artists and the audience who can
appreciate the nuances of the age-old art and dance forms that need to
be preserved for the posterity. This, consequently helps the Kerala's
ancient traditional dances thrive, besides it encourages the skilled
masters who could keep the koothu alive by imparting training to people
interested in these ancient dance forms. Needless to say Koothambalams
represent a unique element in the cultural and temple heritage of Kerala
and its uninterrupted legacy is passing down from generations to
generations. They preserve, showcase and transmit the state's classical
tradition. In some places the students, under the guidance of a teacher,
practise the traditional dance, including Mohiniyottam in the temple
theater itself.
These
art forms evolved through Gurukula, an ancient system of education and
training that existed centuries ago. Kathakali and Kodiyattam artistes
learn the old classical forms the hard way by sharing the ecstasy and
rigors of the `gurukula' tradition of art education. A visit to such a
training center like Kalamandalam is an esoteric journey deep into age
old artistic heritage of Kerala.
That
Natyasastra is also notable for its aesthetic elements is true. These
performing art forms not only involve physical movements - foot, hand,
face, etc., but also an understanding of spiritual well being and mental
agility - the ability to mentally transform oneself into that
character portrayed by the artist. It requires lots of practice - Sadhana
and patience. Spiritually, it will transport the performer into the
audience and make them spell-binding. The performer, through his skill
and histrionic will make the audience stop other thoughts going on in
their mind and experience his character in a parallel reality. The
reality is this temple theater is a confluence of divine thoughts where
the performers and audience experience ecstasy in the realm of
godliness. This is the divine space where the God and Goddess dance in
tune, hence the debut performers first try their skill before a select
audience and dedicate it to the almighty.
http://mb.ntdin.tv/en/article/english/centuries-old-dance-theatres-kerala-temples-remind-us-ancient-traditions-dance-theatre
http://www.archiestudio.in/de-mystifying_m_arch/ritualistic_articulation
 preserves and showcases ancient performing arts){kind=link}