An art form inspired by Kerala’s classical dance theatre Kathakali, Pavakathakali is a glove-puppet play that originated in a remote village in Palakkad in the 18th century. Using a pair of gloves, a performer manipulates his puppets with the thumb, forefinger and middle finger to tell stories, mostly from mythology. Practised only by male performers, it is one of the finest puppetry arts in the world, along with Marionette puppetry of the Peking Opera and Bunraku of the Japanese Kabuki dance.
Pavakathakali was brought back to life in the ’80s by Guru Gopal Venu (79), a much revered performer and researcher of traditional art forms, offering classes at his Natankairali school in Thrissur district of Kerala to give it a fresh lease of life. At the Jodhpur RIFF international roots music festival in Rajasthan, Natankairali showcased its new Pavakathakali productions, giving a glimpse into the contemporary relevance of the art form. Venu talks about the history, craft and art of Pavakathakali and the crying need to keep it alive for future generations. Excerpts:
What is the origin of Pavakathakali?
Nearly every living performing art in the world has a puppetry version. Yakshagana in Karnataka has puppetry, Kabuki dance drama in Japan has got it and even the Peking Opera in China. Kathakali has Pavakathakali. Puppetry imitates human theatre. In the 18th century, puppetry performers from the Andhra region came to Kerala and made Palakkad their home. Inspired by Kathakali, they created an art form called Pavakathakali using glove puppets to tell stories from mythology. The same musical instruments in Kathakali are also part of Pavakathakali. The art became popular, but in the first decades of the 20th century, it disappeared.
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How did the art make a comeback?
The revival of Pavakathakali happened because of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, a freedom fighter and disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. She brought several traditional art forms back to life when she was the chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. During a visit to Kerala in the ’70s, she was fascinated by two glove puppets she saw at a museum in Thrissur. The puppets were remnants of the Pavakathakali tradition. One of the puppets was from the character of Bhima from The Mahabharata. I was a performer of Koodiyattam then. Both of us launched a thorough research into the art form, visiting many museums. We also went to the Paruthipully village in Palakkad district to meet Chamu Pandaram, the last performer of Pavakathakali. He had kept a few puppets, which though were not beautiful, offered us a few songs without stories. But we understood the possibilities of revival in them.
How difficult was the journey of revival?
We got funds from the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi for the revival of Pavakathakali, but nobody knew how to make the puppets. The Akademi ended the support after six months. A few years later, Chattopadhyay came to Kerala again. She was insistent I should have another go at the revival. Soon my brother Ravi Gopalan Nair, a Kathakali artist, and I started a survey and collected some puppets. Chattopadhyay saw them and said we should start a training programme headed by me. I was teaching drama at the School of Drama in Kozhikode then. We launched a 20-month Pavakathakali training programme at the Vigyan Kala Devi Kathakali School in Chengannur in Southern Kerala. The Kathakali students there were supposed to learn Pavakathakali too. Again, 20 months passed without any training. Then one day Chattopadhyay called and invited us to a performance of Pavakathakali in Delhi. She said she had only two weeks left as chairperson of the Sangeet Natak Akademi and wanted to have a Pavakathakali performance before her term expired. We somehow gathered ten puppets and worked day and night. I directed a Pavakathakali play, Kalyana Sougandhikam, the story of Bhima setting out to a forest to find a rare flower for Draupadi. In 1982, it was performed at the India International Centre in Delhi. The play lasted 30 minutes. It was a huge hit. Chattopadhyay, who was 79 then, distributed the play’s pamphlets standing at the entrance. A year later we visited Poland to participate in an international puppetry festival. There were many more tours. Unfortunately, after a few years everybody forgot about Pavakathakali and the art form met its demise once again.
When did you pursue the revival again?
It started only two years back. We took a new batch of eight students at the Natankairali, a centre for traditional art forms founded by me in 1975. It is a second birth for Pavakathakali. We have several productions today — Kalyana Sougandhikam, Dakshayagam, Daksha and Shiva, Bali Vadham and Duryodhana Vadham. Three months ago, we staged our first performances in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
How relevant is Pavakathakali today for new audiences?
Any art will die if it loses its artistic relevance. The puppets do some things human beings can’t. The new generation appreciates the art form.
What is the craft related to creating a Pavakathakali puppet?
The puppet is made from wood. We don’t use artificial materials like fibre. Each puppet is two feet to two-and-half feet tall. The hands and heads of Kathakali characters are carved from wood. The costumes are made just like for the Kathakali characters. The puppet-making requires a great understanding of the performance.
What is the future of Pavakathakali?
Today there is no support from the state or central government for keeping the art form alive. There was support from the Kendriya Sangeet Natak Akademi for some years, but it stopped. At Natankairali, we find our own funds to maintain the Pavakathakali productions. My daughter, Kapila Venu, a Koodiyattam exponent, donates money from her tours to sustain Pavakathakali productions.
Author Faizal Khan is a freelancer.