The lost art of musical STORY-TELLING

Aarvalan
While it is true that to be in sync with a Carnatic music performance you need to have a reasonable knowledge of the basics, Kathakalaksepa would leave you at considerable ease. Kathakalaksepa is storytelling mixed with music: An art form that could engage most people through the power of performance.
Kathakalaksepa represented a time bygone when people were relaxed and interested in long musical evenings.Split the word Kathakalaksepa to `katha' and `kalaksepa' and it would convey what it really connotes.If you want to spend time (kalaksepa) then come and listen to stories (katha). But Kathakalaksepa has undergone various changes, becoming shorter, and lost its audience and flavour in the process.
"Kathakalaksepa is a form of storyexposition, incorporated with music, upakathas (sub-stories) and humour by a main performer, who is assisted by other musicians and instrumentalists. It caters to a wide audience of classes and masses and provides philosophical ideas, classical music, scholarly narration, linguistic excellence, stories, moral instructions, dramatization, dance and devotional elements," says Premeela Gurumurthy, a retired head of the department of Indian music, University of Madras, who has made a deep study of this art form.
The origin of the Kathakalaksepa can be traced to Thanjavur Krishna Bhagavathar (1847-1903) who could be called the father of Harikatha (another name for Kathakalaksepa). The all-inclusive art's golden period was during his time. Contrary to the present preva lent performance of Kathakalaksepa as a musical concert, traditionally the act would last nearly five hours and the main performer would be standing all through the performance.
The main performer used to wear ankle-bells and would dance, if the situation so warranted, as a means to enhance the feeling (`bhava'). Among the stalwarts who were inspired by Krishna Bhagavathar were Soolamangalam Soundarraja Bhagavathar right down to Embar Srirangachariar and Embar Vijayaragavachariar. Many women performers like C Saraswathi Bai who was succeeded by C Banni Bai also made a mark.

The strain of Maratha kirtans in Kathakalaksepa is attributed to the cross-cultural exchanges when the Marathas reigned Thanjavur. The Marathas rulers were not only great patrons of art but scholars and musicians too. The Maratha flavour brought short and lively metrical forms to Kathakalaksepa and never made the story boring. Thus it became a hit with the audience too. "Since there were no songs in Tamil for performers of Harikatha and Sivakatha" and whatever was composed was not adequate to "develop a story", Maratha songs were a welcome addition, notes Tamil savant U V Swaminatha Iyer.
The shortened version of Kathakalaksepa, called Sangeetha Upanyasam, which had more music and less story became a crowd-puller later.Characterised by an `intellectual quest' and with `devotional seriousness' at its core, T S Balakrishna Sastri was the most famous performer of the form.
The short kalaksepa is on the same lines as its Tamil counterpart, the "Ilakkiya Sorpozhivu" (literary discourse) or the "Isai Sorpozivu" (musical discourse). Thirumuruga Kripananda Variar and Pulavar Keeran were the chief exponents of the latter.
Today what is being presented is not real Kathakalaksepa. It is being understood and looked at more as a discourse than anything else. The monotone of the speaker was not what was practiced in the art form's halcyon days, when the story-teller virtually enacted the story . He used voice modulations in a subtle manner that at once conveyed the right emotion and thus moved the audience and had them with him. His face carried the expressions faithfully and was thus at its communicative best.There is also the felt absence of the musical element in the Kathakalaksepa of today. Some like Kalyanapuram Aravamudachariar, however, duly incorporate the songs, slokas or viruthams (Tamil poetry). The bottom line always seems to be the lack of funds for such ventures.
Sometime back, deliberations were held in Chennai where reasons, both qualitative and quantitative, for the decline of the Kathakalaksepa (or Harikatha) were ascertained. The suggestions to revive the art form included increasing sabha patronage and identifying and encouraging talented youngsters. While these can help, the kalaksepa of today needs to embrace modern subjects relevant to society -pollution, environmental degradation, information overload and urban lifestyle.
(The author is a music and art critic) Email your feedback with full name and address to southpole.toi@timesgroup.com