Kerala village known for Kathakali renamed after the dance form

PATHANAMTHITTA: Not just stories from Hindu puranas, but also the Bible have been performed for several decades by Kathakali artists from a small village, located on the banks of Pampa river in this southern Kerala district, earning it the right to link the classical dance form with its name.

After an effort spanning over 12 years, Ayroor village in Pathanamthitta will now be seen on the Indian map as ‘Ayirur Kathakali Gramam’ -- an indication of the prominence given to the dance form known for its elaborately colourful make-up and costumes.

Kathakali, which originated in Kerala over 300 years ago, combines devotion, drama, dance, music, costumes and make-up to retell the great stories of the past, mostly from Indian epics, using hand and facial gestures and expressions.

In Ayirur, not only the Hindu epics, but stories from the Bible, like ‘Abraham’s sacrifice’, ‘The Prodigal Son’ and ‘Mary Magdalene’ are also performed and are a hit among the Christian community, Vimal Raj, who hails from the village, said.

Raj, the third generation of a family of Kathakali artists and connoisseurs, is not a performer himself but his love for the dance form prompted him to start a District Kathakali club in 1995 with some of his friends.

It was on the request of this club that the Grama Panchayat passed a resolution in 2010 to change the village’s name to Ayroor Kathakali Gramam, Panchayat president Ambili Prabhakaran Nair said.

However, the entire process took more than 12 years to come to fruition and was very cumbersome, Raj, also the club secretary, said.

“A change in name is not that easy. It is a long drawn out process as you need approvals of the state and Central governments. Involves inspection by Intelligence officials to ascertain whether the renaming would cause any communal problems,” Raj told.

There was never any such concern on our side as no one had objected to the renaming, he said.

Moreover, the Christian community here are the biggest contributors to the running of the club, he added.