Koothumadam at Aryankavu - Kavalapara and More puppets

Its a Poi Kuthira - Dummy Horse - Decorated - a common ingredient of the festivals in this region

Sita Sitting in Royal pose

Gopuram - Tower. Integral part of Lanka - Ravana's Kingdom

Puppet representing the Sea - with its living creatures

Ravana Sitting with Gopuram(tower) in front

A Typical festival occasion - See the decorated Dummy Horses

Screen Rolled down

Screen Setting being done

Ganapathy

It was the festival season at Aryankavu Temple located at Kavalapara Shoranur, which is the one of the most famous events in the district of Palakkad. This is where Tholpavakoothu is performed for 21nights from the birth of Rama to the Pattabhishekam (the crowning ceremony). It was a nostalgic visit to the temple and the Koothumadam - the permanent theatre which has been here for hundreds of years. I also joined and recited a few verses. On the final 2days there will be Kuthira Kali (Dummy Horse play). It is the  main attraction of the culmination of the festival.

The Koothumadam (Theatre) at Aryankavu

Inside Lighted and the Shadow Characters visible

Puppet of a Rakhasa taken from inside the house

Kumbhakarna  - one of the large size puppets

The leaves represent forest

Sitting Posture of Sita. Unpainted

Its drama time. Story is Lanka Dhanam by Hanuman.

I am adding a few more photographs of puppets from our collection.

The Shadow Photographs

Today I am uploading some puppets which are presented in their shadow form. This is how it looks in the play.

The Good Times

Tholpavakoothu - is facing a very challenging time now as the number of takers are very few. Even the upcoming generation of the existing artists (performers) are not fully into the study of this art form.

It is basically because the learning of Tholpavakoothu requires the training of a life time. You need to learn by heart thousands of verses from the Kamba Ramayana, and need to have a deep knowledge in Tamil language. The new comers will only be able to scratch the outer layer of some areas.

The golden period of Tholpavakoothu ended with the life of Respected Sri K. L. Krishnan Kutty Pulavar. He was a National Award winner. A real scholar who inherited the skills from his father Late Sri. Lakshmana Pulavar who was the most renowned scholar at his time.

I remember my younger days when I was around 10years of age go to the Aryankavu temple every night with my big Grandfather (who is none other than Sri K. L. Krishnan Kutty Pulavar) and spend the whole night in the Koothu Madam. It normally lasts for 21 nights. My interest will be to get a chance to play the Puppets. My uncles will also be there who learn the art from the Guru.

It is with the efforts of Mr. Venu G (Natana Kairali) and Sri Krishnan Kutty Pulavar, this artform has crossed the seas and found venues in more than a dozen stages across the world.

A Rakshasa (of Ravan Family)

Enjoy the minute details

The outline represents Chariot - you can see the wheels

Puppet is painted with natural color made from tree bark

I am adding some more photos from my own house made by my father  Mr. K. Ramaswamy.

The real beauty of the puppet is enjoyed when the clear shadow is projected  on the screen.

The Venue - Koothumadam

The nights become alive with the shadow characters, music and drama in the Koothumadam. Koothumadam is the permanent theater where this are form is performed. Koothumadams are found in Kali (Bhadra Kali) temples in and around Palakkad district of Kerala.

There are more than 50 theaters in Kerala adjoining the temples where this art form is performed for a minimum of 7nights to a maximum of 41 to 60 nights. The show starts around 10pm and lasts till 5am in the morning.

The Koothumadam at the Aryankavu Bhagavathi temple at Koonathara region in Palakkad is very famous for its existance. Here the show lasts for 21 nights in adjacent to the Pooram festival which falls normally on 4th or 5th of April every year.

The play is organized in such a way that the story of Rama from his birth to the Pattabhishekam (the crowning ceremony) is performed with the Rama Ravana yudha which is the important part of the play.

There is a belief that Goddess Kali could not see Rama Ravana War since she was engaged in war with Darika. That is why the story of Rama Ravana yudha is presented to the Goddess in the form of Tholpavakoothu.

Puppets - Making

Generally puppets are made of leather - deer skin in the past. Now a days, cattle skins are used. Leather gives durability and the required properties for the puppet.

Intricate designs are chiseled on the leather by using special tools by talented craftsmen. A sketch of the puppet is drawn by hand or by sketching older models of the puppets and the sketched paper is pasted on the leather. Then holes are created using special chisel tools.

Sri Rama Sitting Posture

Fine details of the puppet - Painted with vivid colours

Different types of puppets

There are very few craftsmen in Kerala who are skillful in this Handicraft. Mr. K Ramaswamy of Pudussery, Palakkd Dist. of Kerala is a renowned craftsman in this field.

The actors of the first theaters of the world

Hanuman Standing

Hanuman Close up

Rama Standing

Rama Close up

Lakshmana Standing

The movie theaters project the images from a small film on a big screen where the colorful image is displayed on the screen. This all started from the ancient man's imagination of projecting the image on the screen with a perforated opaque object and a source of light from the behind.

Its is really interesting to find that the very first form of cinema is still presented in the form of shadow puppets in many parts of the world as a traditional art form. 

In India particularly, there are many forms of Shadow Puppets plays. The one which is practiced particularly in Kerala is known as Tholpavakoothu. Thol - means leather, Pava - means puppet and Koothu - means play.

At present Tholpavakoothu is performed as an offering to the Goddess Kali (Bhagavathi) in the temples in and around Palakkad district especially Valluvanad. There are more than 50 koothu madams (Permanent Theaters ) which are the venues where this artform is performed in coincidence with the yearly festival of the temples.

The story presented is Ramayana - the Tamil version Kamba Ramayana. The original verses have been converted into a conversational form and is called as Adalpattu. Not much is known about the origin of this classic traditional piece of  performing art. But the language used in this art points its origin towards somewhere in the Tamil Nadu. When we investigate into the origins of this artform in Kerala, it seems logical to take the leads to the history of the Kavalappara kingdom. The ruler of this land had links with Tamil Nadu and is believed to have brought some of the scholars and warriors from Tamil Nadu.