Kothavil Raman Kutty, the lone craftsman to make headgear, costumes, and ornaments for art forms such as Kathakali, Chakyarkoothu, Koodiyattam, Nangiarkoothu, Krishnanattam, and Ottan Thullal, died on Saturday morning of heart ailments. He was 70.
Raman Kutty hailed from the artists’ village of Vellinezhy, near Cherpulassery here. He founded the Krishnan Asari Crafts Centre, Kerala’s only manufacturing centre for ‘koppu,’ the accessories and headgear for the traditional performing art forms. A card-carrying communist and an active worker of the CPI(M) till the last, Raman Kutty was engaged in ‘koppu’ making till two weeks ago when he was hospitalised.
The crafts centre supplied Kathakali headgears to eminent performers, research centres, and cultural institutions. His only helpers were his sons Unnikrishnan and Govindankutty, both of whom readily admit that they have a long way to go before they achieve their father’s expertise.
In an interaction with The Hindu in May this year, Raman Kutty had said, “Many carpenters were involved in the profession earlier. For two decades, only my sons are helping me. It is more than a job for us; it is a mission.”
Hard work, low pay
Raman Kutty learned carpentry from his father Krishnan Asari, who started making Kathakali headgears six decades ago at the behest of artiste Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Poduval.
It takes about 30 days to make a headgear by chiselling the wood of Kumizh, a rare tree. Though a headgear is priced at ₹30,000, the profit is low because of the scarcity of raw material and the effort involved.
For Raman Kutty, koppu meant all the decorations used by the performer. “The wood is light and therefore easy for the performer. However, it must be durable and possess medicinal qualities,” Raman Kutty had said in the interaction.
Kalamandalam stint
He was deputed to teach koppu making at the Kerala Kalamandalam almost three decades ago. But the institution did not offer the course in the following years.
That led to his setting up a ‘koppu kendram’ near his home.