Kannur to host national kathakali fest

KANNUR: The second edition of the national Kathakali festival, organised under the aegis of Kathakali School Cheruthuruthi, will be held at Mridangasaileshwari temple, at Muzhakkunnu near Iritty in the district on October 21 and 22. The festival will be a tribute to Kottayam Thampuran, who refined Kathakali, and also wrote four major krithis, said the organisers.
“Though Kottayam Thampuran, who was from Kannur, is known to have authored some major works in kathakali and also refined it by introducing what is called the ‘northern style’ (Vadakkan Chitta), the art form is yet to gain popularity in the northern part of Kerala, and this edition of the festival aims to bring a change to it,” said Kalamandalam Gopalakrishnan, director, Kathakali School.
Apart from the performance of the compositions authored by Thampuran, there will be demonstration of a few compositions as well. Also, a few lectures pertaining to kathakali in north Kerala and the theatre language of the compositions of Thampuran would be organised to help provide insights into the performance of Kathakali, said organising committee chairman Ajit Parambath.
Also, 40 selected students from the schools in Kannur district would be given an opportunity to take part in the festival as delegates, and this is expected to provide them more knowledge about Kathakali, they said.
“We have less of Kathakali performance here and this should change for which we have to organise more such programmes and this is a humble step in that direction,” said organising committee convener and theatre artiste Kalamandalam Mahendran. It is sad that even the ‘vadakkan chitta’ of Kathakali is not prevalent in the region and it is time to provide a new lease of life to Kathakali here, he said adding that the festival aims to regain the glorious past of Kathakali in the northern part of Kerala.
As part of the two-day festival, a photo exhibition of Kathakali costumes will also be organised. Eminent personalities including Mattannur Sankarankutty, Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair among others will also participate in the two-day programme.