The coastal region from Ezhupunna to Fort Kochi through Kattiparambu, Kandakkadavu, Kannamaly, and Cheriyakadvu is waking up to the songs of artistes rehearsing to stage Chavittunatakam post COVID-19.
Chavittunatakam is an art form that has been close to the hearts of the coastal people and involves staging of a musical drama with stamping of feet and exotic costumes. The art form used to be a mix of old Tamil songs and Portuguese drama but has been transformed over the decades by local artistes. The art form is seeing a great revival under the aegis of Kripasanam in Alappuzha, which is carrying out research on the art and popularising it.
Britto Xavier, a veteran of almost four decades in Chavittunatakam, said on Wednesday that rehearsals for a performance for Emmanuel were progressing near Saudi on Beach Road, close to Fort Kochi. The play was initially scheduled for April 2020. However, the staging was put off due to the COVID-19 lockdown. It was then rescheduled for April 2021. The schedule was again cancelled because of the pandemic. It was now expected that the play could be staged on December 18 this year. The venue of the play would be the Cheriyakadavu church, he said.
Stage artistes have said they suffered immensely because of the lockdown and subsequent financial crisis. The new season has brought some hope of revival of the activities, which will be a means of sustenance for the artistes.
Josey Kandakkadavu, another Chavittunatakam artiste, said that rehearsal was on for two plays, St. Alex and Manthrikumaran, which will be staged on January 23 and March 18 respectively. He said that the expenses for the rehearsals were quite considerable and the artistes were optimising the opportunities to go through the drama and dances as well as the songs.
St. Alex is a devotional drama that focusses on a life that resembles Lord Buddha’s, who gives up the worldly life for the pursuit of spirituality and truth.
There are around 200 artistes involved in the preparations in about a dozen training centres (kalari) at Ezhupunna, Beach Road, near Fort Kochi, Cheriyakdavu, and Kannamaly. The teams are also rehearsing for plays such as Dheerayodhavinte Anthya Yathra, among others, he said.
