Preserving Prabandhakoothu plays
The Hindu
Prabandhakoothu artiste A.V. Narayanan has videographed a 37-hour performance of Dootavakyam, creating invaluable archival footage
The word is as important as the face for a Koodiyattam artiste. As the vidooshaka in a Koodiyattam play or as the narrator of Prabandhakoothu, a sub-genre of Koodiyattam, the artiste has to be a master of narrative skills. The vidooshaka in Prabandhakoothu once even enjoyed the privilege to mock and criticise the king. Is that mighty word losing its edge? Prabandhakoothu is the solo male-only art form that chronicles epic stories, while interspersing them with modern situations and spicing them up with wit and humour. Sanskrit slokas are parsed and their logical meaning explained in Malayalam in great detail, references are made to similar stories or even modern literary texts. For instance, the famous sloka in Ramayana, ‘Raman dasaratham vidhi…’, where Sumitra advices Lakshmana just as he sets out for the forest. Though the sloka has only 12 words, the Prabandhakoothu artiste may take over two hours to explain it, unfurling the different shades of meanings in each word.
A vacuum cleaner haunted by a ghost is the kind of one-liner which can draw in a festival audience looking for a little light-hearted fun to fill the time slots available between the “heavier” films which require much closer attention. A useful ghost, the debut feature of Thai filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke being screened in the world cinema category at the 30th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), even appears so in the initial hour. Until, the film becomes something more, with strong undercurrents of Thailand’s contemporary political history.
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Sustainability is not an add-on, but stamped firmly into the process: every piece is biodegradable, waste-free and unembellished, free from glitter or beads. “Products should be sustainable and biodegradable so that our planet is not harmed,” says Anu Elizabeth Alexander, a student of Sishya, Adyar. At a recent exhibition, the stars she made sold the fastest, followed by the small diamonds. “I would like people to know about the process, how it is created, and that it is sustainable,” says Anu. Infanta Leon from Kotturpuram developed an interest in crochet as a teenager. It was a hobbyhorse that evolved into a steed that would help her embark on a journey of identity-shaping creative engagement. She started making Christmas-themed decor two years ago, spurred by a desire to craft safe, eco-friendly toys for children. “With a toddler at home, and my elder child sensitive to synthetic materials, I wanted to create items that were gentle, durable and tactile,” she explains. Her earliest creations were small amigurumi toys which gradually evolved into ornaments that could adorn Christmas trees with warmth and charm.
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