Costumes, his ‘monopoly’
By Asha P Nair
28th February 2011 11:58 PM
Raman Kutty with the ‘koppu’ items at the Koodiyattam festival| Express Photo.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Koodiyattam owes a lot to this lean, short man. If not for him, the art would have been stripped of its ensemble long back. For, this 62 year-old is the only remaining veteran in the field of costume-making for Koodiyattam.
Raman Kutty, who belongs to Kothavil House in Palakkad, has been engaged in making the ‘koppu’ for Koodiyattam for the last 22 years. At the Koodiyattam Mahotsavam hosted by Sangeet Natak Akademi and Koodiyattam Kendra at Vyloppilli Samskrithi Bhavan, that concluded in the city on Sunday, Raman Kutty was a soft presence. He held a small exhibition and demonstration of Koodiyattam costume-making process, which held many in awe of his contribution to the art. For a long time, Raman Kutty had accompanied and helped his father Kothavil Krishnan Nair with the ‘koppu’-making, all the while engaged in carpentry work too. But after the demise of his father, he realised that it was upon him to keep alive an art and tradition.
The making of ‘koppu’ involves total dedication and a strict adherence to age-old techniques, he says. The making of the costumes, which include ‘kundalam’, ‘chevippovu’, ‘tholvala’, ‘kadakam’, ‘kaivala’, ‘pozhumbu’, ‘kadisoothram’ and ‘channapuram’ for male dancers and ‘mudi’, ‘udyanam’, ‘kaivala’, ‘tholvala’ and ‘kundalam’ for female dancers, often take a month and more to be completed. They are made using the wood of ‘kumil’ tree.
"The measures, designs and nuances of the ‘koppu’ have been put in records for generations to follow. It is with our family and we follow it with dedication. It is not something that can be changed with changing times because without ‘koppu’, there is no Koodtiyattam," says Raman Kutty. In fact, it is the same with other art forms too like Kathakali, Chakiarkoothu, Krishnanattam and Ottam Thullal, he adds. And Raman Kutty makes ‘koppu’ for all these art forms.
After the death of his father, Raman Kutty had taught ‘koppu’-making for two years at Kerala Kalamandalam. But shortly thereafter, the course was stopped there, which then made Raman Kutty’s house the only place where one can learn it now. Raman Kutty’s two sons and two of his students are presently being trained in ‘koppu’-making under a scholarship granted by the Sangeet Natak Akademi. It is an effort from the side of the Akademi to keep the art form alive.
So, when there is an arts festival or youth festival, Raman Kutty is much sought after. ‘’We are now busy round the year. There is so much of work that is beyond our capacity. But we take it as there is nobody else,’’ he puts it humbly. Raman Kutty’s two daughters are married and settled and his sons, who accompanied him to the city, are happy that they have chosen a different path.
asha.nair@expressbuzz.com
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