Performance+Aesthetics+and+Performance+text+by+Arnab+Banerji

//**Performance Aesthetic**//
Indian classical and semi-classical performance traditions almost always have a defined aesthetic structure and purpose. Kathakali is no exception. In fact, the aesthetic framework for Kathakali is rather elaborate. As D. Appukuttan Nair discusses in his elaborate discussion in the fascinating volume //Kathakali: The Art of the Non-Worldly,// the discussion concerning the aesthetic of Kathakali should begin with understanding what is meant by art itself and its purpose. He says that the purpose of art maybe //trayisadhana -// that is fulfillment of //dharma//, //artha// and //kama//, in other words, righteous duties, assets and resources and desire. He further suggests that art may lead to the realization that everything in the every world is only a dream, and it may also shatter a man's ego making him realize that either by himself he is a nothing or he is everything.

While inquiring into the nature of art, Nair asks several questions concerning its nature and how it might be perceived. Is art an illusion, covering the ultimate reality and a manifestation of that reality, or is it something superimposed on the real? Is it a superstition, based on the meditation of great seers who had envisioned the ultimate truth? Is it merely a manifestation of abstract concepts or an attempt at transforming the abstract to the concrete? At a more operational level, he questions what art is, whether it is an impression, an expression or merely a sport?

The aim of art is //ananda//, It is important to understand what this term means. It might mean the immediate impulsive, sensuous pleasure experienced by an individual. At the popular level it might signify merriment or gaiety, and at the ultimate level it stands for rapture, unalloyed happiness, supreme satisfaction and ecstatic bliss which is long-lasting. At this level, often the individual and the universal might coalesce.

According to Indian philosophy man's ability to derive //ananda// is dependent on his psychological structure, and not only his physiological built, since that would automatically imply that the pleasures he derives are merely the ones that concern his senses. These may now be applied to the art of Kathakali. Kathakali, being a performing art, the connoisseur, referred to as the //Sahrdayan//, can only experience it through performance. According to Indian philosophy, the world consists of five elements, //akasa// (sky), //vayu// (wind), //agni// (fire), //ap// (water) and //prithvi// (earth). These five elements are also the source of the five senses that we possess. Of these five from the real world, only two are significant with regards to Kathakali, //akasa// and //agni//. //Akasa// denotes pure space or void. It is also the source of //sabda// or sound. The void nature of //akasa// is suggested by the stage which is devoid of all equipment; its sabda is provided by the music and the drums. //Agni// is present in the guise of the flame in the lamp: the lamp is of vital importance in a Kathakali performance. //Rupa//, the visual manifestation of //agni// is present in various forms on stage - the colour and the movement of the performer on stage.

According to Indian philosophy, both man and cosmos are composed of five senses of action, the //Karmendriyas// and five //Jnanendriyas//, the five senses of perception, besides //tattwas//, //panchabhuta//, //manas//, //ahankara//, //buddhi//, //prana// and ultimately, //jivan//. In Kathakali, only three of the five //Karmendriyas// are employed. These are the legs, used for dancing, the hands, used for gestures and the mouth for vocal music. Certain characters we know, also use the mouth to emit yells, roars and cries. The action of the Karmendriyas on the Kathakali stage, are the //vishayas//, or subjects, of the //Jnanendriyas// - the eyes and ears of the connoisseur.

The //ananda// derived by the eyes and ears using the action of the legs, hands and the mouth as its //vishaya//, is referred to as //vishyananda// or //indriyananda//. These are low-level pleasures and temporary, fleeting in nature. They last only as long as the object of pleasure does. A more elevated constituent component of man is the //manas//, or the mind. The action of the Kathakali performer is referred to as //Karayit//, and this is augmented by the imaginative and retentive capacities of his mind. The imagination of the performer brought out through action is referred to as //Karayitri Pratibha//. This is met by the //Bhavayitri pratibha//, the imaginative insight of the connoisseur. The //ananda// thus derived is more enduring and is known as //manasikananda//, mental delight.

Still higher constituents for both man and the cosmos than the mind are //ahankara// and //buddhi//. At this level, the performer becomes conscious of his own prowess. This instills in him the strength to perform with confidence. This confidence finds its match in the ego of the appreciative //Sahrdayan//, which lifts the connoisseur's self-confidence to the level of the performer. The mind however is seen as inconstant, and therefore mental bliss is perceived as not steady, but the ego can interfere and give more stabilty to the //ananda//. In such instances ego shapes itself as the union of self-confidence and discrimination. The resulting //ananda// is called //ahambodhananda//. This is a stabilized, self-conscious, discriminating type of appreciation leading to a long-standing rapture. While //indriyananda// is externally oriented, //manasikananda// and //ahambodhananda// are directed inwards. It is what makes these forms of aesthetic experience timeless. Another constituent is //prana//, or the life-breath which the performer infuses in his performance, enlivening it. Endowed with //prana//, the performer himself becomes the embodiment of //jivatma//, life itself, drawing inspiration from the lamp itself, the flame of which denotes Brahman - the ultimate reality.

For the connoisseur, it is this which marks the period of ultimate transcendence. He experiences bliss which is non-dual, where there is no distinction between beauty and ugliness. The dualistic realm of art is not pleasing to the philosopher-appreciator. The supreme //sahrdayan// seeks the non-dualistic variety of art, where the artist, the art and the connoisseur become one.

For most Indian art-forms to be correctly appreciated and received it is essential to have the right kind of audience or the connoisseur. The connoisseur has to train himself as hard as the performer, to become the correct receiver of the art form. For example, when I see the enactment of sorrow on stage, I am not supposed to feel sorrow but appreciate the brilliance of the artist who is enacting this emotion. This reaction may vary, and some audience members may even weep to see such an enactment. The cultural experience narrated here is part of a cultural paradigm which is perfectly understood, According to such a paradigm, ones sensibilities begin at the grossest physical/emotional, external level. It is only through a period of prolonged training and discipline that they become more internalized, subtle and refined to that of appreciation and/or action.

It is thought that when the performer uses his innate skills sharpened by practice to portray an action, the connoisseur is involved in the super-conscious work of receiving and appreciating the fine nuances of the performance. Under such circumstances he should be considered to be superior to the performer himself. It is the innate poetic sensibility of the connoisseur that allows him to fully appreciate the finest of gestures being presented on stage. Aesthetic experience is however never inborn, it needs to be enculturated and/or learned.

Although almost all discussions concerning Indian aesthetic begins with the //rasas// and the //bhavas//, I choose to end my discussion with them. This is a deliberate attempt to highlight the more fundamental philosophy that forms the basis of the aesthetic of a performance. As we know, all gestures made on the Kathakali stage are accompanied by a //bhava//, the ultimate climax being the //rasa//. //Rasa//, as A.C. Pandeya explains it is, the aesthetic outcome of moods in a relishably enjoyable form.

Bharata's //Natyasastra// lists eight //rasas//, however, in his commentary on the //Natyasastra//, Abhinavagupta, the great Sanskrit scholar suggests that there are nine //rasas//, a view that is generally accepted. The ninth //rasa// is described as //Santa// (tranquil), and supposedly has very little space in any lively acting or dance. Although Kathakali has come up with an appropriate place for it. According to Pandeya, "//Santa rasa// is exhibited in Kathakali by holding the chin upward, contracting the eye, and rolling the eye-balls evanescently upward. The hands are kept in //Dhyana mudra//. The pose suggests return to inward realization or meditation after a hectic activity or communion with the self. It marks the conclusion of all emotions."

The eight other //rasas// as listed in the //Natyasastra// are:

media type="youtube" key="1uIan6u3UrQ" height="344" width="425"

//Sringara// (erotic) //Hasya// (comic) //Raudra// (anger) //Karuna// (pathetic) //Vibhatsa// (disgust) //Bhayanaka// (terrible) //Veera// (heroic) //Adbhuta// (marvellous)

Of these the //Sringara// is considered as the //adi rasa//, or the primary //rasa//, since it forms the base of all creation.

//Bhavas// help //rasas// in completing the sense of an action. They are the accessories available to a performer which enable him to convey the correct rasa to an appreciative and receptive audience.

//Bhavas// may be classified in to three categories:

//Sattvika// (feelings associated with the physical life of a person like perspiration) //Manasik// (feelings associated with the some action of the mind like madness) //Saririka// (feelings associated with the body in action)

Owing to the physical manifestations of the actions in //Sattvika bhava//, it is related to the //Saririka//. Actions are performed by the limbs but they convey an emotion which is //Sattvika//. For example, the cause of 'motionlessness' is the 'immobility' of the limbs. The 'motionlessness' is the //Sattvika bhava// produced due to the //Saririka bhava// of 'immobility' of the limbs.

A.C. Pandeya in his discussion on //bhavas// mentions that the brain commands the performance of an action. The questions related to the kind of action and the determinant behind it are also related to the brain; hence //Manasika bhava//. The //Isthai bhava// (principal emotion) and //Vyabhichari Bhava// (the accessory mood of the principal emotion) together produce the //Manasika bhava//. The cause of the principal emotion is termed as //Vibhava// and the action performed as a result of the principal emotion is known as //Anubhava//.

Thus, it is the principal emotion that suggests a particular //rasa//. //Isthai bhava// is the beginning, the first stage to achieve aesthetics. //Rasa//, is the final state of the aesthetics achieved. According to the //Natyasastra//, each //isthai bhava// has a corresponding //rasa//.

Aesthetics form the backbone to the performance and is referred to as //Sattvikabhinaya//, or the exposition of the correct emotions. Without the evocation of the correct emotions the performance would essentially lose its meaning and would be lifeless. Also noteworthy is the deep philosophy that underlies the performance aesthetic and the connection that it has with human nature and the cosmos as well. Indian philosophy stresses on the internal, thus the heightened emotions are only aptly felt when they are internalized.

However, as Appukkuttan Nair points out the Kathakali actor employs //Sattvikabhinaya//, in a slightly different way than the way the //Natyasastra// suggests. As he points out the Kathakali actor does not make any effort to internalize emotions. Instead he uses a technique identified as //pakarnattom// (multiple transformational acting). He suggests that since the Kathakali actor has to portray different charcters he cannot rely on one single //I////sthayi bhava//. He argues further that since the Kathakali actor portrays a larger-than-life non-realistic costume it is not possible for him to convey the //I////sthayi bhavas// discussed above. However, he also points out that //sattvikabhinaya// does not totally lose its place in Kathakali. In the absence of such natural worldly expressions, //sattva// in Kathakali is represented by //prana//, the life-breath, which gives life to //abhinaya//. It is this //abhinaya// that might be referred to as //sattvikabhinaya// in Kathakali, utilizing the life-breath. It is called as //rasa vayu// in Kathakali parlance (Nair).

//**Performance Text**//
Kathakali performance texts are known as //Attakathas//. This section will try and look at the structure of the play texts as they are employed in practical performance. The performance system of Kathakali is organized around the production of what Zarrilli talks about as 'score' for what he refers to as the 'aesthetic engagement' of the audience. A performance score consists of the various units that constitute the performance along with the conventions and the techniques that constitute the performance. A performance consists not merely of the dramatic texts but also choreography and composed music. Kathakali play texts are definitely centrally important but as Zarrilli observes is not of sole importance to the development of the performance score and structure. Kathakali play texts are individually regarded as brilliant pieces of literary works noted for their poetic quality, beauty and language and they are often read and appreciated in their entirety. However, when Kathakali plays are put on stage, the text is only the starting point from where the performance begins to take shape. Therefore, a Kathakali drama should essentially be considered as a 'base text,' which has been modified, added and subtracted to from the time of its first production. Elaboration is a central and important aesthetic principle and therefore every aspect of Kathakali performance incorporates elaboration. It is often surprising to note that the plays do not proceed as they have been written down. For example, often plays do not begin at the beginning and go on through to the end. Like in //Kalyanasaugandhika//, the action as we see it on stage begins in Scene 9 of the play, and ends with the conclusion of Scene 10. This might seem strange to an uninitiated audience whose main reference for the play is derived from a textual reading of the text. However, the local audience would have gathered to witness knowing fully well the particular scene that they were to witness. The story is well-known, so what really matters is the quality of the execution. For example, Scene 9 when performed doesn't end the way it does in the script. Instead, the action goes on for an extended period of time, during which the actor performs the star turn of the show, the enactment of the scene where an elephant is attacked by a snake and then a lion. These interpolations known as //ilakiyattam// have become so much a part of the traditional performance technique, that there would be some in the audience, who would have come to merely watch this scene. Also, these interpolations have now become as much a part of the text that they are considered as much an essential feature of the performance as the written text.

However, before we begin to analyze the different parts of a performance text in Kathakali, it would be interesting to note that the texts are often shortened these days for performance. As Zarrilii observes, although there are still all-night performances of single Kathakali plays, it is more typical to watch performances of single scenes from three different plays. The chosen scenes are obviously the ones that interest the connoisseurs. There are also often shortened presentations of single plays, which allow the patrons to go back earlier and prepare for work the following day.

Therefore, we understand that a typical Kathakali performance score is not merely composed of the sub-units of dramatic composition but also compositional elements of performances like elaborations and set choreography which elaborate a specific section of the dramatic action. The Kathakali plays interweave two major types of poetic composition:

media type="youtube" key="CD045SMAHck" height="344" width="425"

a. //Slokas//: These are the narrative sections of the text, set in third-person, sung by the onstage vocalists. Most of the //slokas// are sung when the actors are not present on stage. These are used to set the mood and the context for the scene that is to follow. All sections of a Kathakali play are set in specific and appropriate musical modes (//ragas//). However, these are not set in a particular rhythm (//tala//) pattern like the dialogues. This allows the vocalists a lot of freedom to elaborate and experiment with their vocal interpretation of the poetry within the limits of what is appropriate to the context and the musical mode being used. A typical example of the //sloka// would be the beginning of the scene IV in the Fourth day of the //Nalacaritam//, the onstage vocalists describe the specific setting of the action and also elaborate from time to time on some of the words with long syllables. Although, actors are absent during the majority of the //slokas//, when they are present, they usually enact the essence of the narration.

media type="youtube" key="Zxr5iAXzZkI" height="344" width="425"

b. //Padams//: The //padams// are performed by the actor-dancers and constitute the spoken words or dialogues of the play. They occupy the maximum portion of a performance. The entire performance ensemble is involved during the performance of a //padam//. The actors use hand-gestures to enact the words, the vocalists sing the dialogues, the musicians set and provide the rhythmic pattern for the performance of the //padam//. //Padams// in turn have three parts:

//Pallavi//: The refrain //Anupallavi//: The sub-refrain //Charanam//: Literally 'a foot' The //anupallavi// may not be included in a //padam//, but it usually has several //charanams//. It is usually in the performance of the //padam//, that we encounter the typical double-acting of Kathakali. Actor-dancers enact each line of a //padam// at least twice while the vocalists sing it repeatedly.

As already discussed the performance text for Kathakali would also include bits about choreography. The two basic constituents of this component in Kathakali are discussed below:

a. //Kalasams//: These are the linking dance pieces that connect one section of the performance to the other. They also accentuate the mood of a scene.

b. Set pieces of choreography incorporated into the text, as an interpolation and/or interpretation. These are in the nature of digressions, in the sense that they take time out of the actual narrative structure of the play, to elaborate on a particular mood. There could be other pieces of set choreographs which allow the narrative to proceed forward.

An example of the latter would be the scene where Kirmira prepares for battle in //Kirmira Vadham//. This dance is typically performed by actors with the Kati make-up and show the elaborate preparations that one must undergo before setting out for a battle (Zarrilli).

The third most important component of composition would be the textual interpolations known as //ilakiyattams//. These are elaborate dance pieces and are of several types. A type would be the set form of soliloquy (//tante tattam//) performed by specific character types right after their entrances. Yet another type of //tante tattam// would be a character assessing the basic questions facing him in a situation. Like the question asked by Hanuman in scene 10 of //Kalyanasaugandhika//. A second general type of mono-acting would just be descriptive set-pieces like the elaborate cooking scene in //Nalacaritam// Day Four. And a third type belonging to this category would be the histrionic displays of inner emotional turmoil as displayed by Nala in his decision to leave his wife Damayanti at the wild mercy of the forest. These interpolations are like solo pieces in a musical composition, where the individual performer and his skills assume more importance and occupy a more central role than the entirety of the performance. The audience's attention is entirely focused on the individual performer for the duration of his solo act. There can be other forms of //ilakiyattams//, which involve more than one performer and elaborate on the humor of a particular situation, yet other types are used to bridge the gap caused in the narrative due to major cuts in the scenes.

The ilakiyattams all have some common features, they are all 'spoken' by the dancer-actor with the help of gesture language, unaccompanied by the vocalists. They have been deliberately interpolated in the text because it was thought of as an important accessory to help in the elaboration of a significant section of the play. The lines he speaks may be based on a previously existing text, or may have been composed by a patron/connoisseur, a senior actor or they might have been improvised at the moment. The texts which form a part of the ilakiyattam are never sung by the vocalists.

The complex structure and extraordinary length of a Kathakali performance may be explained in terms of the scope for elaboration that the text allows. As the narrative proceeds through one section to the other, each section of the performance allows the performers the scope for elaboration. These might be performed by the vocalist, elaborating on a particularly poetic passage from the play, or by the group of performers elaborating while enacting a dialogue, or by the individual performer during an //ilakiyattam//. Together, they constitute the performance text/score for a performance. Far removed and modified from the original play-text of an author and associated with a specific style of acting.

A typical performance has the following structure (Nair and Paniker):

//Sandhya keli//: at sunset a percussion ensemble announces the forthcoming performance. //Arangu keli//: the percussion ensemble announces the commencement of the performance. //Todayam//: the invocatory dance is performed behind the curtain in various rhythms and tempos, by incompletely dressed dancers. //Vandana sloka//: an invocation in vocal melodic rendering. //Purappad//: involves the formal, stylistically rendered, symbolic presentation of the hero and heroine through dance in four stages. //Melappadam//: a rhythmic ensemble displaying the dexterity of the percussionists accompanied by the //manjutara// dance sequence from the 11th section of the poet Jayadeva's //Gitagovindam//.

The performance itself consists of a descriptive, symbolic, and stylized gestural rendering of the //attakatha// text, punctuated by //kalasams// (dances). It is divided into scenes with //slokas// (stanzas) which serve as the introduction, and //padams// (quatrains) which serve as the dialogue. Then there is the narration of the story. //Dandakas// and //choornikas// act as the narrative linking scenes. The finale, called //dhanasi//, is marked by a short benedictory verse accompanied by the performance of certain dance steps.

**Bibliography**
Gopalakrishnan, Sudha 2001. //Unnayi Varier's Nalacaritam: With Performance Manual Based on Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair's Stage Version//. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. Jones, Clifford R. and Betty True Jones 1970. //Kathakali: An Introduction to the dance-drama of Kerala.// San Francisco and New York: American Society for Eastern Arts. Lal, Ananda (ed.) 2004. //The Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre//. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Nair, D. Appukuttan and K. Ayyappa Paniker 1993. //Kathakali: The Art of the Non-worldly//. Bombay: Marg Publications. Pandeya, A.C. 1999. //The Art of Kathakali.// New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Richmond, Farley, Darius L. Swann and Phillip B. Zarrilli 1990. //Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance//. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Zarrilli, Phillip B. 2000. //Kathakali: where Gods and demons come to play//. London: Routledge.

Kalamandalam Shilaja, Navarasa, nine moods, facial expressions, classical dance, Kathakali. []. Accessed on Sep. 25, 2009 Lines from Dakshayaagam Kathakali. []. Accessed on Sep. 25, 2009 Kathakali, music, Kathakalipadam, Kottakkal Madhu, Vengeri Narayanan, Margi Krishnadas, Yami Yami. []. Accessed on Sep. 25, 2009