During Onam, the nights in erstwhile Desinganad came alive with songs and stories. Ram and Seetha, Raavan and Hanuman filled people’s hearts and imaginations with their life’s triumphs and travails.
Desinganad is present day Kollam-Pathanamthitta region and the artists who brought the Ramayana to life are no longer active. But the characters are back, telling the same stories in a present-day setting. Seethakali, which has been extinct for over 35 years now, is being revived and re-rendered by Shajimon, a filmmaker, playwright and singer.
His documentary, Seethakali—Desinganadinte Dalit Ramayanam, written, directed and scripted by him, is the official selection in the focus section (non-competition category) in the 12th International Documentary Festival of Kerala. The 40-minute film traces the evolution, popularity and cultural relevance of the art form.
The voice of the subaltern
Performed by subaltern communities, it was extremely popular among the people, but as times, society and priorities changed, it had no more performers. “Slowly, people forgot about an art form, which showed the Ramayana in an interesting light—from the perspective of Seetha,” he says.
Shajimon sings a song from one of the chapters, his clear voice rising above the other muffled noises of the phone. The song is hundreds of years old and has been passed on through people’s memories. “The Seethakali does not have a written text. It was passed down generations through these songs, which have been culled from the ‘Adhyatmaramayana’ and the ‘Kambaramayana’.” Shajimon has been researching Seethakali since 2017. “Performed mainly by people from the Veda and Pulaya communities in the days starting from Atham till the 28th Onam, Seethakali narrates the story from Seetha’s journey to the woods with Ram till her ascent to the heavens. As evening fell, the artistes would travel from house to house, where they performed it.”
He spent time with the surviving members of the communities which performed Seethakali, writing down the songs. “The art form was part of their life. Since they worked in the fields, the songs have a flavour of folk harvest songs and the dance movements has only one defining step, which is repetitive.” Shajimon learnt and mastered the art that had already begun to fade from people’s memories. “I wanted to retain its authenticity and re-enact it as it was.”
Shajimon first presented it on stage in 2017 at the Panchayat open air auditorium at Perinad. It was received warmly and his Perinad Seethakali Sangham is now affiliated to the Kerala Folklore Akademi. “One of the biggest challenges in front of me was that I wanted to present it without diluting its essence. I also wanted people to accept it the way they did in the past.”
Apart from the paraffin lamp that has made way for electric bulbs, few modernities have crept into the art form. The props are still made with bamboo and palm leaves. “Earlier, the actors were more spontaneous. They made use of whatever they had around them. The actor playing Hanuman, for instance, might even climb the tree in the compound.”
The documentary features over 60 folk artistes, including a 108-year-old former Seethakali performer. It was filmed in different parts of Kerala and will be screened at the International Documentary Festival that will start in Thiruvananthapuram on June 21.