Music Treat at Kochi Muzhiris Biennale Open

 Music Performances at Kochi Muziris Biennale Open

The Kochi Muziris Biennale (KMB) Open events are open to public voting for the Best of KMB Open 2012 trophy. The last two events at KMB are as follows:


Date: March 9, 2013 at Aspinwall House, Fort Kochi at 7:00 pm

• Mizhavu concert by V.K.K. Hariharan
• Mizhavu is a copper drum that is played as an accompaniment in Koodiyattam dance

Date: March 13, 2013 at Aspinwall House, Fort Kochi at a time to be announced

• Melam by PeruvanamKuttan Marar & Group
• Melam means multitude of musical instruments played in harmony 
• Peruvanam Kuttan Marar is a leading exponent of the chenda or drum. He hails from a family of chenda (drum) artistes – his grandfather and father were also leading percussionists
  

Rare Sattriya dance of North East at Kochi Muziris Biennale Open

Kochi Muziris Biennale Open

The Kochi Muziris Biennale (KMB) Open events are open to public voting for the Best of KMB Open 2012 trophy. Once of the last events at KMB is an exquisite dance form from the North East:

Date: March 4, 2013 at Durbar Hall Ground at 6:30 pm

• Sattriya Dance by Sattriya Group, Guwahati, Assam in collaboration with Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi   
• “Sattra” is Sanskrit for sacrificial session and Sattriya was originally performed by a monastic order who combined vocals, dance, music and theatre. The performance text are the creations of saint poets like Srimata Sankardeva and Mahadeva based on traditional works like Natyashastra and Sangita Ratnakara. As it was passed from generation to generation it moved beyond the monastic order to communities and groups. The Sattriya dance is based on the more graceful and delicate movements or lasya rather than the vigorous tandava style although the latter is also present in some dance numbers. It incorporates yoga shastra as well as tribal dances in its form.
   
  

Last Month of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2012

Once upon a time, an ancient city of Muziris flourished. As excavations reveal its history, the Kochi Muziris Biennale 2012 seeks to make it the centre of an exploration on art, culture, the role of the artist in society. Open to artistes from all over the world, the Beinnale is divided into the curated exhibitions and events which are open to all that are a mix of art, theatre, talks et al.

Curated Exhibition

The curated exhibitions encompass 23 countries and 94 artists. 40 artists from India display their works. The Durbar Hall has been renovated to become a world class exhibition space besides which there are 59 more spaces spread across 14 sites in Kochi.

The exhibition covers all forms of contemporary art such as sculpture, installation, painting, film, performance and new media

Venues:

The venue is the precinct of Fort Kochi. Think of it as a Fort Kochi heritage walk that covers:

• ·       Durbar Hall near Ernakulam South Railway Station
• ·       Aspinwall House, Fort Kochi
• ·       David Hall, north side of Parade Ground, Fort Kochi
• ·       Parade Ground, Fort Kochi
• ·       Pepper House, Fort Kochi
• ·       Mattanchery Bazaar Road, Fort Kochi

Must See - Stalwarts of Classical Arts Perform at Onam 2012

 

Kerala Tourism presents

Classical Performances by stalwarts in the fields of Koodiyattam, Kathakali and Chakyarkoothu as part of Onam 2012

Venue - Theerathapadamandapam, Thiruvanthapuram

              Near Padmateertha Pond, East Fort

Date               Time                Theme

29/8/2012      4.30 pm           Koodiyattom (Subhadradhananjayam)

Subhadradhanajayam is the most important dance in the Koodiyattom repertoire. It depicts the marriage of Lord Krishna's sister Subhadra with Arjun, the Pandav Prince. It is this drama's second act that gave the platform for the creation of Nangiar Koothu, performed exclusively by women

Performed by Maagi Raman Chakyar, Maargi Usha, Maargi Narayan Chakyaar,

Kalamandalam Unnikrishanan, Maargi Ramanunni Nambyar, Maargi

Mohanan, Maargi Sindhu, Maargi Ravikumar

                   

                      7.00 pm           Kathakali (Subhadraharanam)

It derives from the same legendary story of Arjun and Subhadra. Arjun learns about Subhadra's love for him and elopes with her dressed as a mendicant. Lord Krishna's brother Balaram is furious as he intended their sister to marry Kaurav Prince Duryodhan. Krishna convinces Balaram that it was not Arjun who eloped but Subhadra who eloped with Arjun! As he'd asked Arjun to let Subhadra have the reins of her chariot as they left. Balaram is however convinced only when Krishna takes him to show the place where Arjun defeated a warrior Viphudi in battle. Of course, Krishna does not let on that he himself had asked Viphudi to attack Arjun for the sole purpose of showcasing Arjun's valour!

Performed by Ettumanoor Kannan, Kalamandalam Pradeep, Kalamandalam Arun Warrier,

Margi Shfilal, Kalamandalam Rajendran, Kalanilayam Nandhakumar,

Kalamandalam Narayanan, Kalamandalam Sreekanth Varaanassi,

Kalamandalam Harikumar, R.L.V Somadas, Margi Somadas

Date              Time             Theme

30/8/2012      4.30 pm        Chakyaarkoothu

It is a monologue narrative from Hindu epics Ramayan and Mahabharata and sometimes makes a dig at contemporary events

Presented by Maargi Sajeev Narayan Chakyar And party    

                      6.00 pm        Kathakali (Balivadhom)

It is derived from the epic Ramayana. Rama and Lakshman are told by Sugreev that if they help him defeat his brother Bali he and his army of monkeys will help him fight Ravana who has abducted Rama's wife Sita. Sugreeva points out that Bali, too, kidnapped his wife. Rama agrees and tells Sugreev to call Bali to battle. During the battle Rama shoots an arrow from his hiding place killing Bali. Bali is distraught at what he sees as duplicity but then Rama reveals himself as the avatar of Lord Vishnu and Bali dies peacefully

Performed by Padmabhooshan Madavoor Vasudevan Nair, Kalamandalam

Ramachandran Unnithan, Attingal Peethambaran, Kalamandalam

Balakrishnan, Kalalmandalam Vijayakumar, Maargi Sukumaran,

Kalalmandalam Shanmukhan, Kalalmandalam Kasinathan, R L V Pramod,

Kottakkal Narayan, Vengari Narayanan, Kottakkal Santhosh, Kalalmandalam

Krishana Das, Maargi Venugopal, Kala Nilayam Manoj, Kalamandalam

Vineeth, R L V Somadas, Maargi Sreekumar

Date              Time                Theme

31/8/2012      4.00 pm           Aksharaslokom

Presented by Aksharasloka Samithi, Thiruvananthapuram)

   

                      6.00 pm           Kathakali (Nalacharitham – Moonnam Divasom)

It depicts the legendary love story of King Nala and Queen Damayanthi who face many trials and obstacles before they can live happily ever after

Presented by Kottaykkal Chandrasekharan, Kalamandalam Ratheesan, Kalamandalam

Manoj, Kottaykkal Ravikumar,Maargi Raveendran, Kalamandalam

Arunkumar, Kalamandalam Mukundan, Maargi Vijayakumar, Pathiyoor

Sankaran Potti, Kalamandalam Harish Namboothiri, Kalamandalam Krishna

Kumar, Kuroor Vasudevan Namboothiri, Kalanilayam Krishna Kumar, Maargi

Raveendran, Kalanilayam Rakesh, R L V Somadas Maargi Ravindran

Reaching Thiruvanthapuram

Sopanasangeetham - Divine Song

   What is Sopanasangeetham?

Sopana is traditionally the steps to the temple’s sacred shrine and sangeetham means music. 

Sopanasangeetham was thus born in the temples as an offshoot of Indian classical music to evoke Ashtapadis (8 line hymns) of 12th century bhakti poet Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda that celebrate Lord Krishna and Radha’s love

Sung near the steps to the inner sanctum, in keeping with the idea of pure simple devotion to the deity, Sopanasangeetham is shorn of traditional classical music traditions of microtones and flourishes. It follows the time honour code of ragas that unfold as per the phases of a day and often accompany the Kalam - the pictorial evocation of the deity usually Goddess Kali. 

So eventually, it moved out of the temples to homes and courtyards and eventually became the music for kathakali, krishnattam and ashtapadiyattam dance forms

Learning Centre

  

    Sopanam Kalavedi & Research Centre at Kudamaloor

Kudamaloor - Heritage by the River

Stroll along the banks of the Konakiri canal in Kudamaloor which is part of a northern tributary of the river Meenachil and breathe in a whiff of history from the temples, churches and the traditional Nalukettus dating aeons ago that dot the landscape

Once upon a time, this village of Kudamaloor tucked away in Kottayam district was the command centre of the Chembakasserri kings

Near the Eraveeswaram Mahadeva temple stands the Valiyamodam Nalukettu, the traditional wooden structure where the erstwhile royal family still stays

Near the temple can also be seen the ramparts of the old fort pockmarked by canon holes

The chundam valloms that now take part in boatraces once upon a long time ago weighed anchor as a naval fleet at nearby Kottakadavu 

The Chembakasseri kings were secular in outlook so temples and churches received equal patronage. Among the ten temples are:

·      Kudamaloor Devi Temple famed for its murals

·      Vasudevapuram Temple played host only to the women folk of Kudamaloor Chempakasseri Madom. Murals paint its walls

Among the churches of Kudamaloor are:

·      St.Mary’s Forane church dates back 800 years to the time of St. Thomas, the Apostle. It is considered to be one of the seven churches that he established

It is in St.Mary’s Forane church that Saint Alphonsa, a native of Kudamaloor was baptized

Kudamaloor being an important outpost of a royal kingdom also became a cultural hubbub, a tradition that continues till date

The temples like the Karukulangara Sri Bhadrakali temple are renowned for their standout performances of folk forms:

·      Tiyattu – or Teyyatu The word is believed to be a variation on the word Daivamattu which means dancing to please the deity.  It’s a dance traditionally performed for the Goddess Bhadrakali and Lord Ayyappan and commonly to ward off epidemics

·      Bhadrakali Tiyattu 

It begins at noon with the worship of the deity Bhadrakali to the sound of music. In the evening, Bhadrakali’s image is created with black, yellow, white, green and red powders in the traditional Kalamezhuthu form of art. At night the Tiyattuni and his followers sing praises to the deity. One of the performers then assumes the form of Bhadrakali killing the demon Danka. He prays to Lord Siva and then waves the torch, a symbol of the Lord Destroyer around the assembled gathering. This significant ritual ending the dance performance is to ward off the evil eye

Other forms like Garudam Parava (Garuda is the mount of Lord Vishnu) are also performed at Kudamaloor’s temples

Kudamaloor is home to a panoply of artistes from varied art forms:

·      Kudamaloor Karunakaran Nair, Kathakali artiste hails from here

·      KunchanNambiar spent his boyhood here and rose to become the inventor of Thullal and a favourite of the Chembakasseri king. But this did not mean he spared the king in his satire. In the same breath where he praised the Raja he poked fun at his increasing bald pate!

·      KudamaloorJanardanan self-taught artiste of the flute continues to entrance with his exquisite mastery of the bamboo instrument

Other artistes to be found in Kudamaloor:

·      Folk form Kerrida artistes 

·      Kalaripayyatu performers – the traditional martial art form that is scientific in applying principles of mind-body co-ordination and medicinal practices

In keeping with its acclaimed cultural activity, Kudamaloor hosts centres of learning for Kathakali as well as other arts:

·      Devivilasam Kathakali yogam 

·      Sopanam Kalavedi & Research Centre 

Reaching Kudamaloor 

Take the train to Kottayam and drive down approximately 5.4 km

Drive down from Kochi airport. It takes approx 2 hours and then some