A humble attempt to keep a legacy alive

Schoolchildren get training in Chavittunatakam

A group of 12 young schoolchildren are reliving the life of Charles the Great or Charlemagne, who founded the Holy Roman Empire.

In their own way, they are living a part of distant history at a home at Thoppumpady where they are being trained in Chavittunatakam by Britto Vincent, an enthusiast, who wants the art form to survive the test of time.

Like the heroes of history, art forms have disappeared in the past. But Mr. Vincent is determined to keep the legacy alive. Chavittunatakam is an art form that flourished among the coastal community in Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts where characters from the past came alive with great thumbing of feet and in colourful attire to the accompaniment of Malayalam songs with a tinge of Tamil, in which some of the original compositions were made.

I.T. Joseph, stage actor and a great enthusiast of Chavittunatakam, said the training programme was a great step towards preserving a tradition that tends to fade away in the face of new forms of entertainment. The children are being trained at his Thoppumpady home.

The training programme was launched on April 10, and the children have already understood the basic steps and songs. “It is easy to teach children because they learn the songs quickly and understand the rhythm,” said Mr. Joseph.

Mr. Vincent said he was providing training free of cost, and if any group wanted to be trained, he would be available. “It is my intention to create eight to 10 groups of Chavittunatakam artistes in and around Kochi to preserve the art form for the future,” he said.

He added that the story of Charles the Great was the first of the Chavittunatakam stories and quite easy to learn for beginners. He also expressed confidence that the first batch of children being trained now would be able to put up their first show by the end of June.