RAMACHANDRA PULAVAR
K.K.Ramachandra pulavar was born on 25-05-1960 to late Guru Shri: K.L.Krishnan kutty pulavar and Gomathy ammal. He was born into a traditional family with a rich historical background, he was studied Tholpavakoothu by his great guru/father from the age of six. He soon achieves all the aspects of Tholpavakoothu within the period of childhood. While he was going with his father he follows the tradional style pf puppet performance even now also. He follow the 8th generation from the followers of guru were endowed the talented skills in this artform Chinathambi pulavar, Ela pulavar, Appanna pulavar, Lakshmana pulavar, Krishnan kutty pulavar. Guru Krishnan kutty pulavar took this artform from the temple primes to outside. It can easily grow up in kerala and all around the world of puppetry. Ramachandra pulavar are also engaged in this artform with hi new contributions and his own great effort to promote this artform in kerala ,ever year from the month of December to June he was performed in 40 temples in 7,14,21,41,71 days and also he performed 500 staged every years out the temple primes in kerala –India ,and abroad.
Further Training, Achievements & Recognitions
o Trained 10 persons on behalf of Delhi handicrafts in 1995 in leather puppet craft
o Trained 40 school-teachers in CCRT New Delhi for about 10years regularly
o Conduct demonstration in many schools in kerala
o Participated every year pragathi maiden national handicraft museum, New Delhi from 1980 to 1995
o Certificate from Kamala Devi Chattopadaya (founder of handicraft)
o Certificate from Sangeet Natak academy New –Delhi
o Certificate from National folklore Support centre –Chennai
o Certificate from Kerala lalitha kala academy
o Certificate from Madras craft foundation
o Certificate from foreign countries
o Certificate from Indira Gandhi Rashteriya Manava sangralaya Bhopal
o Participated in the international film festivals in kerala
o Balakandam & Aryuanakandam in English translation
o Publishes a book “shadow puppet in kerala” by NFSC -2008
o “Tholpavakoothu”published by kerala Basha institute
o Creating a new storied about Social awareness, panchathantra stories, Mahatma Gandhi,
Camps
Conduct a exhibitions in lalitha kala academy “Koothumadam” exhibitions of puppets in 2010
Participate Dravidian exhibitions in kerala lalitha kala academy 2005
Nataya Darsana puppet theatre workshop in Kozhikode 2006
Exhibitions of puppets in Bhopal
Akhyan puppet exhibition in IGNCA 2010
Achievements
Life time achievement and Excellence award from madras craft foundation “Dashina chithra Virdhu”
Junior & senior fellowship holder from ministry of culture Govt of India
Scholarship from department from culture
Awards from foreign countries for performance
* Kerala Folklore academy Award
Samhitha temple Puraskar
Ambhedkar Puraskar
Performances
*Annual performances in about 45 temples during the temple festivals seasons from December to June
*A temple performance will stretch over 7, 14,21,41,71 days according to the temple tradition
*Various stage performance during a year (500 stages)
Puppet making
*Making and coloring of about 300 puppets per year
Countries visited
Russia, swiden, Ireland, Germany, Greece, Singapore, japan, holand, Poland Israel, Thailand
Kerala has made a notable contribution towards
maintaining and enriching the cultural heritage of India. It has evolved through the
centuries a rich and diversified culture which has nourished and become an integral
part of culture of India
as a whole.
Most of the Indian art
forms their birth and growth to religion. They are therefore intimately
connected with modes of worship. In ancient Kerala the religious practices of
the people and their moral mode code were based upon derived from Dravidian
culture. But gradually new religious practices and ideals entered Kerala from
the North. The result was a blending of the Dravidian culture of the south and
the Aryan culture of the north which, it is believed, took place about three or
four centuries before Christ as a result of this impact of Aryan religion and
culture on the indigenous Dravidian culture of Kerala, Hinduism assumed a new
form in Kerala. The influence of this blending of the two cultures, Aryan and Dravidian
can be seeing in religious life of people but also in the arts.
Krishnan kutty pulavar memorial Tholpavakoothu
& puppet centre is formed after the death of great guru shri: K.L.Krishnan
kutty pulavar before its death it is known has Tholpavakoothu & puppet
centre. During the period of guru Krishna kutty pulavar troupe is well known in
the field of puppetry in kerala, now also keeping the traditional style of
narrations keeping in the field of puppetry, during the 1979 troupe is visited
aboard India
with this performance
Tolpava Koothu is the unique shadow puppet theatre form of Kerala.
It is an ancient peculiar ritualistic art form dedicated to Bhagavati, worshiped by the people as the Mother Goddess.
As a ritualistic art form, Tolpava Koothu is performed in more than 100 temples all over Palakkad, Trichur and Mallapuram district during the months of January to May at the especially constructed theatre called Koothu Madam. Depending on the temple tradition, the performance lasts 7, 14, 21, 41, 71 or 91 days.
The performance starts at about 10 p.m. and goes on till day-break. It will be enjoyed by the general public as a popular entertainment while it will be received as a religious offering by the devotees.
The puppet plays are based on selected verses from the famous Tamil Epic 'Kamba Ramayana'. The language used is a dialect of Tamil with an admixture of Sanskrit and Malayalam words.
While formerly the puppets were made out of deer skin, the use of buffalo and ox skin is now commonly used. The puppets are held by a thin stick in one hand while the limbs are manipulated by a thinner stick held in another hand of the puppeteer.
About 160 puppets are used for the complete version of the "Kamba Ramayana", representing 71 characters in four main categories (sitting, standing, walking, fighting) besides puppets to depict nature, battle scenes and ceremonial parades.
The screen is illuminated by 21 lighted lamps, made out of coconuts cut in half, filled with coconut oil, provided with cotton wicks and placed equidistant from eachother on the Vilakku-madam (wooden beam) behind the curtain.
Ezhupara, a cylindrical drum made out of jack-fruit wood and covered with calf-skin on both ends and Ilathalam (cymbals) are the main accompaniments. Shankha (conch), Chenda and Maddalam (drums), Chengila (gong) and Kurum-kuzhal (a short pipe) are further instruments to be used on special occasions.
Before the performance, an oil lamp (Thuku-vilakku) is hung in front of the screen and is lighted from the temple lamp placed in front of the deity. The Thuku-vilakku is also the source of the lightening for the performance. The idea is, that the light for the performance comes from the temple and is therefore propitious.
A piece of black cotton, stitched along with a piece of white cotton, is used as the screen, the upper white portion representing the sky and the black bottom portion representing the earth.
The troupe is made by at least eight artists. All the puppeteers have to be experienced in all branches of knowledge, as the presentation of the story will be full with references to present events and wisdom.
The troupe at Koonathara, founded generations back and revived by the renowned and award winning Tolpava Koothu artist late Guru Krishnankutty Pulavar[1], is now the only surviving family in Kerala to preserve the art form and train new artists in the traditional repertoire as well as in new productions. The training includes the making of the puppets also.
While during the season the artists are fully engaged to present the art form in its ritualistic context, the Koonathara troupe has started to explore the aesthetics of the art form outside its ritualistic context by introducing new plays and new characters based on contemporary issues and performed outside the Koothu Madam.
The leader of the present troupe is K.K. Ramachandra Pulavar, eldest son of the late Guru Krishnan Kutty Pulavar, assisted by his brothers K. Viswanatha Pulavar and Lakshmana Pulavar.
Koonathara is a village in Palghat district in the middle-east Kerala and close to the world famous ‘Kerala Kalamandalam. Deemed University for Art and Culture “ in Cheruthuruthy.
Located about 105 km from the Cochin International Airport it can be reached by bus or car from the railway junction Shoranur (7 km)
KrishnankuttyPulavar Memorial TolpavaKoothu&PuppetCentre
Director, K. K. Ramachandra Pulavar
P.O. Koonathara, Shoranur-679523, Palakkad District,
Kerala / India
Phone: 0466-222 7226, Mobile: 984 653 4998, 953 963
6134 ,WEB:
puppetry.kerala-india.org, tholpavakoothu.org EMAIL:puppetry@mykerala.net, tholpavakoothu@gmail.com
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