Kakkarissi Natakam

Understand

Where Kakkarissi Natakam comes from

Kakkarissi Natakam is a folk art form of dance-drama that originated in southern Kerala (and Tamil Nadu) and is especially associated with Kerala. The form was originally performed only in front of minor Hindu deities, with audiences mainly drawn from the lower socio-economic classes and various lower castes; performances were long, often lasting through much of the night. The art became widely recognised through the work of the practitioner Sreedharan Asan (born c. 1923), whose troupe Natana Kairali performed at the vetta and vilakku festival of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Travancore, at the World Malayalam Conference and for both Indira and Rajiv Gandhi. The form has an important place in Indian film history: P. K. Rosy, the first actress in a Malayalam film, was an accomplished Kakkarissi Natakam performer in the 1920s before her role in J. C. Daniel's 1928 Vigathakumaran.

How it's practiced

Kakkarissi Natakam is performed by a troupe of actors in heavy face-paint (mukamezhuthu) representing the principal characters — Shiva as the male beggar Sundara Kakkan, Parvati as Kakkathi, and supporting roles of Vedan, Thampuraan and others. The play is built around Shiva and Parvati descending to earth in the guise of the nomadic Kakkalan/Kakkathi tribe of fortune-tellers, and uses the comic-satirical situation to comment on caste and social hierarchy. The language is a blend of Tamil and Malayalam; the performance combines music, dance, mime and dialogue, with the actors' steps and movements often humorous and exaggerated. Music is provided by mridangam, harmonium, ganchira, chenda and kaimani.