The ancient Aryankavu temple in Shoranur provides a perfect backdrop for Tholpavakoothu, a 2,000-year-old puppet art form practised in Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram districts of Kerala. The temple owned by a family is, perhaps, the only venue where all episodes (Kandams) of the Kamba Ramayana are staged. “We use nearly 200 puppets for the 21-day show, each representing a character in sitting, standing, walking or fighting posture. In other places, we use fewer than 100; you can stage a Koothu with 10 to 15 too,” Viswanatha Pulavar, a Tholpavakoothu maestro, says.
Legend has it that as Bhagavathy, or the Mother Goddess, was fighting the demon Darika, she could not watch the Rama-Ravana war. So the Ramayana is staged for her. In most temples, the idol of the goddess is placed on a pedestal and Tholpavakoothu is staged in front of the deity. The Koothu is performed on a stage called Koothumadam, and many temples have such permanent structures. The 42-foot-long stage has a screen (white cloth) behind which the puppets are held. The shadow play unfolds in the light cast by lamps lit in coconut shells.
“The shlokas are in palm leaves, and we have to learn over 3,000 of them. We have to know the meanings as well,” says Viswanatha Pulavar, son of K.L. Krishnankutty Pulavar, who was instrumental in popularising Tholpavakoothu. When the shlokas are recited, the puppets are moved to the accompaniment of musical instruments such as the chenda, maddalam, ezhupara, ilathalam, conch and cherukuzhal. The performance starts around 8 p.m. and winds up at dawn.
The puppets were made using deer skin in the past, but now goat and buffalo hide is used. The puppets are mounted on bamboo shafts that act as supports for the flat figures and allow the puppeteers to manipulate them.