Keli’s 30th anniversary celebrations: Phase 3
Poetry Performance Festival 2022-23
(on Thullal - an 18th century satire art performance)
On 31, Dec 2022 & 01, Jan 2023
Presented by
Dear Art Lover,
Keli is now entering the 30th year of its journey exploring the rich and diverse forms of India’s artistic traditions. In its three-decade journey, Keli has presented many unique and lesser-known performing art forms for contemporary urban audiences without diluting the core essence of the form. The annual Keli festivals, structured thematically every year, are well known to artists and art lovers of the city and have earned the organization a significant place in the cultural life of Mumbai. Over the past 3 decades, Keli has curated 40 festivals, reaching over 1,25,000 audience members and working with more than 1,500 artists. Keli is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a yearlong program of events across the country between 15th Oct 2022 to 15th Oct 2023 at various venues across Mumbai and to audiences across the country.
This year, Keli’s theme will explore the different ways, modes, and levels at which art intersects with different domains of knowledge: history, anthropology, sociology, and politics. In the history of any art form, one can see transformations happening at the level of concepts, practices, exchanges, influences, and also materialities, sites, and interfaces with the audience. Keli@30 will explore the various intersections and confluences that enliven art making, performance, and appreciation, contributing to the rich cultural fabric that makes up India.
Breaking away from the conventional formats of academic presentations or performance modes, the idea is to engage with different themes, forms, and practices by mixing divergent discourses, mediums and methods of engagement. The year-long festival will center on the body, music and sound, gender, sites and spaces, time, and public aspects of art.
The focus of Keli this year will be on how art transgresses boundaries and creates synergies by opening itself up to the world, time, and other influences. Weaving together dialogues, conversations, presentations, videos, and live performances, each element is conceived as an aesthetic and learning experience for the audience.
The event is being supported by Kshirsagar Apte Foundation & LICHFL.
Keli is now entering the 30th year of its journey exploring the rich and diverse forms of India’s artistic traditions. In its three-decade journey, Keli has presented many unique and lesser-known performing art forms for contemporary urban audiences without diluting the core essence of the form. The annual Keli festivals, structured thematically every year, are well known to artists and art lovers of the city and have earned the organization a significant place in the cultural life of Mumbai. Over the past 3 decades, Keli has curated 40 festivals, reaching over 1,25,000 audience members and working with more than 1,500 artists. Keli is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a yearlong program of events across the country between 15th Oct 2022 to 15th Oct 2023 at various venues across Mumbai and to audiences across the country.
This year, Keli’s theme will explore the different ways, modes, and levels at which art intersects with different domains of knowledge: history, anthropology, sociology, and politics. In the history of any art form, one can see transformations happening at the level of concepts, practices, exchanges, influences, and also materialities, sites, and interfaces with the audience. Keli@30 will explore the various intersections and confluences that enliven art making, performance, and appreciation, contributing to the rich cultural fabric that makes up India.
Breaking away from the conventional formats of academic presentations or performance modes, the idea is to engage with different themes, forms, and practices by mixing divergent discourses, mediums and methods of engagement. The year-long festival will center on the body, music and sound, gender, sites and spaces, time, and public aspects of art.
The focus of Keli this year will be on how art transgresses boundaries and creates synergies by opening itself up to the world, time, and other influences. Weaving together dialogues, conversations, presentations, videos, and live performances, each element is conceived as an aesthetic and learning experience for the audience.
The event is being supported by Kshirsagar Apte Foundation & LICHFL.
Keli Poetry Performance Festival 2022-23
(Satire in traditional performance)
Thullal
This festival will be the curated performances of Thullal . Thullal is a Poetry performance tradition . It is satirical and intended for social criticism . It was introduced in the eighteenth century by the poet Kunchan Nambiar. Legend says that Nambiar, the poet, fell asleep while playing the mizhavu drum for a Chakyar Koothu performance, inviting ridicule from the chakyar. In response, Nambiar developed the art form Thullal, which raised prevalent socio political questions and made a satire of human pedigrees and prejudices both in form and content. Satirically the costume that he chose for this art form was designed using undergarments of the Brahmins hanging there at the premises. The chakyar complained about Nambiar's production of Thullal to the king of Chembakassery. The king banned performances of Ottamthullal, Seethankan thullal and Parayan thullal from the Ambalapuzha temple complex. It was only for the time being , later it became the most celebrated art form of the popular culture of the common man and turned as a tool in many historical situations including the freedom struggle. It still continues its journey addressing the most contemporary audience.
There are three types of Thullal, Ottan Thullal, Sheethankan Thulla,l and Parayan Thullal. The folksy performance, often laced with humor intended at criticism of society, explores many layers of social history. The temple proclamation act was passed in Kerala in 1936,. It was about 200 years before that Kunjan Nambiar, the founder of this art form fought for the dalit’s entry in the temples through this art form, Thullal. Through the Parayan Thullal the performer himself transforms as parayan the dalit and challenges the upper cast for the debate and expresses his pride that you can never defeat me and stop my progress breaking the walls of casteism.
In this festival, Keli will be presenting two performances of Thullal - Ottan and Sheethankan, the two different styles of this arts tradition.
We have great pleasure in inviting you to participate in the third phase of Keli’s yearlong celebration of the 30th year of its artistic journey.
Ramachandran. K
Artistic Director & Project- Co-ordinator
Day 1
Inagural Programe
Saturday 31st December 2023,
at Terna Auditorium, Nerul, Navi Mumbai, Mumbai at 6.30 pm
Dedication: Dedicating the festival towards the memory of Vidushi Annapoorna Devi
Vidushi Annapoorna Devi (1927–2018)
The year-long activities celebrating Keli's 30th anniversary will be dedicated to the memory of Vidushi Annapoorna Devi, the legendary Hindustani musician. The monastic pursuit of music of Maa Annapoornna inspires an ever-relevant debate about the society having talented female performers facing the challenge and conflict of gender and social politics. The artistic loss due to such conflict is to be discussed and resolved by the people working towards an ideal progressive society.Felicitation: The Silver conch of appreciation will be presented to Kalamandalam Sharmila
Guest of Honour: Dr. Radhika Veena Sadhika - Vichitra Veena exponent, Swati Apte-Director, Kshir Sagar Foundation, Mahesh-Joint General Manager, LIC HFL, Thomas Mathew - Art enthusiast
Keli Dialogue with Performers Kalamandalam Nayanan and Preeja with Ramachandran
Performance: Ottan Thullal
by Kalamandalam Sharmila and Group
Story: Kiratham
(The austere penance of Arjuna)
Summary:
The story is from the epic Mahabharath. During the exile of Pandavas, Arjuna enters a severe penance to the divine arrow Pashupatha from Lord Shiva. . Indra sends celestial women to Arjuna to stop his penance. They fail as Arjuna was so deep in his penance. Shiva, who was pleased with Arjuna's penance comes in disguise as a hunter and his wife Parvathy as a tribal woman. Meanwhile, Duryodhana sends Mookasura to kill Arjuna. Mookasura in disguise as a wild boar disturbs Arjuna. Shiva and Arjuna shoot arrows at Mookasura at the same time. Mookasura falls. Arjuna and Shiva argue for the pig and fight each other. Arjuna collapses on the ground exhausted. Arjuna makes an idol of Shiva with clay and his tears and worships it. Arjuna gets surprised as he sees the worshipped flowers and leaves on the woodman’s head. Arjuna recognizes the woodman as lord Shiva and apologizes.. Lord Shiva, pleased with Arjuna's unblemished devotion, blesses Arjuna with boons and divine arrow pashupata.Kalamandalam Sharmila will be presenting Ottan Thullal on day 1. The female performers are rare in this art form Thullal. She is one of the best performers of the present in Thullal.
Day 2
Sheethankan Thullal
In Association with: ATMABy Kalamandalam Preeja and Group
Story:Kalyana sougandhikamSunday, 1st January, 2023,
at Kashinath Ganekar Auditorium, Thane, at 7.30 pm to 9.00 pm
Keli Dialogue with Kalamandalam Sharmila and Keli Ramachandran
Summary:
Bhima was traveling through the forest with his wife Panchali. Panchali sees a fragrant flower, called Kalyana sougandhikam, blown by the wind. She expresses her desire to have more flowers like this. Bhima goes in search of it. Hanuman, his elder half brother, sees chivalric Bhima coming to Gandhamadana mountain breaking huge trees with his club and scaring wild animals. He decides to diminish his brother's ego. Hanuman pretends like a weak old monkey and lays down blocking Bhima’s way. Bhima gets angry and argues with Hanuman without knowing that it is his brother, as they haven’t met ever before. Hanuman tells Bhima to put aside his tail and pass away. Bhima tries for that but fails as it was too heavy. His club also gets damaged. Bhima realises that it is his elder brother mighty Hanuman. Hanuman exhibits his elaborate, mighty, universal form. Bhima falls at the feet of Hanuman. Hanuman embraces him and guide him the way to get the fragrant flowers. Bhima obtains it and present them to Panchali.Felicitating Artist
Kalamandalam Sharmila
Kalamandalam Sharmila is an Ottan Thullal performer and performing arts art enthusiast. She is the founder of Upasana Center for Thullal Studies. Sharmila has een a strong female presence in organizing, presenting, performing and exploring the roots and depths of the art form of Thullal for the past 22 years. She has also performed in over 1000 stages inside and outside India. Besides the conventional performances, She has solely written, choreographed, and performed many Thullal plays. She has been a recipient of various awards and recognition like the Central Government Scholarship for Young Talented Artists, Swami Vivekananda Yuva Prathibha Puraskaaram 2020 by the State Government of Kerala and many more. She has also presented many papers for national seminars.Other participating artists :
Vocal: Kalamandalam Nayanan, Mridangam: Kalamandalam Rajeev Sona, Idakka: Kalamaandalam ArundasTHE YEARLONG PROGRAMME AT A GLANCE between 15th Oct 2022 and 15th Oct 2023
(Exact dates and venues will be announce later)
In MUMBAI
ARTISTS BODY IN TRADITIONAL PERFORMANCE
Sat 15th Oct 2022: Kathakali at Terna Auditorium , Nerul, Navi Mumbai
Sun 16th Oct 2022: Koodiyattam at BARC, DAE Convention centre , Anushakhthi Nagar.
POETRY PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL
Sat 31st Dec 2022: Ottan Thullal at Terna Auditorium , Nerul, Navi Mumbai
Sun 1st Jan 2023: Seethankan Thullal at Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar Hall, Thane
SEMINAR ON ART & FOLK LORE
January 2023 2 day Seminar
TIBETAN FESTIVAL OF ART IN EXILE
Tibetan Dance and Music: Two day Festival in Mar 2023
CONTEMPORARY RURAL THEATRE FESTIVAL
3 Day Festival in April
Kalamkariyute Katha: A story of woman who makes pots,
Mannathi Theyyam: A myth of the woman who washes clothes,
Museum of Silence :Idols in the Museum of Silence tell stories of oppression, conflicts, terror, gender and many more.
Concluding performance : HINDUSTANI MUSIC FESTIVAL
3 day festival in Oct 2023
This will be a regular festival in Keli’s calendar and will be celebrated in every alternate years
Ustad Zakir Hussain (Solo Tabla)
Aswini Bhide Deshpande (Hindustani Music concert)
Pelva Naik (Drupad)
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL ON ARTS IN KERALA
3 Ethnographic film festivals in Payyannur, Kalady and Kottayam in Kerala
LEC-DEM and Film Screenings all over India
Our Sincere Thanks to:
Prithvi Theatre, Kerala House, NBKS, Pushparaj Koshti, Sanjna Kapoor, Anand Neelakandan, Swati Apte, N. Mahesh, Thomas Mathew, Adv. Pankaj Vijayan, Ashok Mahendra , Dhrv Seth, Sachin Menon, AK S, Sashikumar Nair, Adv.Manmathakumar, Jayadevan Pillai, V. Shashikumar, Sreekumar Kaimal, DSK Associates, Adv. Sreejith, Indu Sagar, N Sreejith, Jerry Sebastian, Sibi Sathyan, Jayaprakash PD, S.Kumar, M.G. Arun, P.R. Sanjay, Sarvamangala, Ajayan Peruvanam, KSC Abu Dhabi, Krishnakumar, Rajeev Menon, Dr.C.S. Venkitesvaran, Riyas Komu, Bose Krishnamachari, Hariharan TN, Valsalan Moorkoth, Nisha Gilbert, Sasi Nair, Bindu Menon, Devina Dutt, Pronoti Dutta, Sharayu Gavi, Mathrubhumi, Malayala Manorama, Manorama News, Mathrubhumi News, Asianet News
Photo courtesy: EO Hoppe, Ayoob Arakkal, PK Sadanandan
Stage & Light Design: Krishnadas Kadvanad & Group
Design & Printing: Rajesh Mumbai (9819697429)
Glimpses from the Festival
© Copyright I Keli 2013 All Rights Reserved | Designed By :
