Madhu In this all too brief clip Margi Madhu, a prominent young kutiyattam
artist, performs the role of Ravana, the Demon King of Lanka. The
piece features Madhu in rehearsal dress in the Sanskrit play The
Wondrous Crest Jewel, Ascaryacudamani of Saktibhadra. To be more
precise the action takes place at the very beginning of the third
day nirvahana, or story elaboration. Ravana expresses his lust for
Sita, wife of Sri Rama, his sworn enemy. According to a curse, Ravana
cannot take Sita against her will otherwise he will looses his powers
of invincibility. For nearly three and a half hours Madhu explores
the demon’s cravings for this unattainable beauty. The recording
was made in late 2006.
Surpanakha On the final night of a five-night performance of Surpanakha, Act six
of The Wondrous Crest Jewel, Rama, Sita, and Laksmana, are found
on the stage awaiting the arrival of Surpanakha, demon sister of
Ravana. Lakshmana has bloodily disfigured the demoness. She makes
a slow but spectacular entrance through the audience in this temple
performance. Kalamandalam Rama Cakyar, my teacher, plays Surpanakha.
A complete nineteen-hour recording of the performance was made in
2006.
Bali Temple Festival The recording begins just outside a Balinese temple in the early morning
hours just before the ritual climax of an annual festival. Devotees
of this particular temple gather to witness a performance of a highly
sacred event in which five ritual activities are to take place simultaneously.
Dr. Neoman Sedana kindly accompanied me to the extraordinary event
during the summer of 1997.
Balinese Shadow Puppets and Holy Water It is early morning in a small family compound in north Bali. A puppeteer
prepares to make holy water using his puppets to complete the ritual
process. Householders use the holy water for purification ceremonies
associated with a tooth filing and a name changing ceremony. This
recording was made in 1997.
Ankiya Nat This short illustration of Ankiya Nat was recorded in
an ashram in the state of Assam in 1969. Amateurs who participate out
of intense religious devotion to Lord Krishna normally perform the music
and acting in the short one-act plays.
Bhagavata Mela This brief excerpt from an all night performance of Bhagavata Mela
was recorded in the village of Melatur in the state of Tamil Nadu,
south India in 1969. Amateurs normally perform Bhagavata Mela as
an annual ritual offering to Lord Krishna. It borrows heavily on
the south Indian classical music and dance traditions of the region.
Bhavai Bhavai is a genre of folk performance unique in the
villages of Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan in west India. Performers
travel from village to village performing short plays satirizing familiar
rural personalities. Unique six-foot long copper bugles, known as bhungals,
provide a background rhythm for the dances and songs.
Kuchipudi Kuchipudi is a genre of theatre performance as well
as a popular style of classical Indian dance. It is unique to Andhra
State, south India. This recording was made in 1969 in the village of
Kuchipudi and contains some of the characteristics of south Indian classical
music.
Langa There are three separate illustrations of Langa Gypsy music of the
Rajasthan, a colorful desert region of west India. The recordings
were made in the audience hall of the palace of the Maharaja of Dundlod
in 1998.
Phad Phad is performed by itinerate musician families, a husband and wife,
who travel the desert region of Rajasthan. When commissioned to perform
they hang a large painting on a large wall of a village compound.
The painting illustrates familiar local historic characters. The
woman sings in a high pitch. Her husband responds in song while playing
a simple violin. When he dances ankle bells help to articulate the
rhythms of the songs. The recording was made in 1998.
Swang Swang is a genre of rural performance found in north India, particularly
in Harayana state. Generally there are a number of musicians, singers,
and dancers in a company. This brief illustration was recorded in
the palace grounds of the Maharaja of Dundlod during a rural theatre
festival in 1998.
Yakshagana Yakshagana, song of the heavenly yakshas, is a genre of rural performance
unique to Karnataka state, south India. Raspy-throated actors speak
the dialogue in the local language and highly accomplished musicians
sing the background songs of the plays, many of which concern characters
from the Hindu epic literature, primarily the Mahabharata. The recording
was made in a village in south Kanara in 1970. Dr. Martha Ashton,
the yakshagana expert, introduced me to this genre of performance
during her Ph.D. research.
