Residents of Ernakulam received a rare opportunity to witness 'Krishnanattam', a dance drama which is considered auspicious among other classical temple arts of Kerala. The artists of troupe under the Guruvayoor Devaswom Board performed 'Krishnanattam' in the newly constructed Koothambalam at Ernakulam Siva temple as part of the on-going annual festival.
Usually performed only inside Guruvayoor Sreekrishna Temple as a votive offering and rarely in other Krishna temple premises only on special occasions by request, it was indeed a golden opportunity for the city dwellers to watch and understand this unique art form.
The audience were spell bound by the magic created by the artists on stage. Almost justifying the myth related to the art form that Krishna himself comes to enjoy 'Krishnanattam' performance the performers successfully created a divine atmosphere.
Literally translated as the Dance of Krishna, 'Krishnanattam' is performed based on 'Krishnageeti', a text of slokas and padams in Sanskrit, composed by Manavedan, the Zamorin King of Kozhikode, in 1654. King Manavedan wrote 'Krishnageethi' inspired by the renowned poet Jayadevan's 'Gitagovindam'.
'Krishnanattam' combines artistic elements of 'Ashtapadiyattam', a dance form which too evolved in Kerala based on 'Gitagovindam'. However, 'Ashtapadiyattam' ceased to exist almost a century ago.
In Krishnanattam the story of Krishna right from his birth to his ascent to heaven is presented in eight parts. In the olden days, it was performed in eight days. There is no dialogue. The plays are Avataram, Kaliyamardanam, Rasakrida, Kamsavadham, Swayamvaram, Banayuddham, Vividavadham and Swargarohanam. The actors render in accordance with the songs from background. There is no practice of dancing in accordance to the meaning of the songs but the dancers perform according to the tune. Women characters too are performed by male artists. Chengila, maddalam and Elathalam are the accompanying musical instruments. The makeup and costumes are colourful vibrant and unique. Use of masks and props makes this dance drama much lively.
When conducted as an offering each story has a purpose to serve. There will be only one performance on a day. 'Avatharam' for the birth of a child , 'Kaliyamardhanam' to remove the effect of poison, 'Rasakreeda' for the wellbeing of unmarried girls and to end disputes between couples, 'Kamsavaddham' to remove enemies , 'Swayamvaram' for a happy matrimony, 'Bana yuddham' for the fulfillment of vows, 'Vividha vadham' to eliminate poverty and increase yield from farms and Swargarohanam for salvation of a departed soul. Devotees who book 'Swargaarohanam' krishnanattam are supposed to book 'Avatharam' also.
'Banayudham' was the story chosen for performance at Ernakulam Siva temple.The performers were from Gurvayoor Dewaswom who remain the only promoters and performers of the art form in the state.
'Krishnanattam' shares much in common to the popular art form of 'Kathakali' and 'Ramanattam' , the predecessor of 'Kathakali'. However , partially due to the auspicious tag attached to the art form and partially due to the lack of promoters like Kerala Kalamandalam as in the case of 'Kathakali' , this art form has not yet claimed a place in the cultural map of the world.