Kathakali: A study of the aesthetic processes of popular spectators and elitist appreciators engaging with performances in Kerala

Abstract

This thesis looks at the diverse aesthetic approaches of onlookers to Kathakali, a traditional dance-drama extant in Kerala, India. Its particular contribution is based on fieldwork undertaken in the period 1991-93, especially in the districts of Trichur and Palghat, and distinguishes a continuum of two over-lapping broad groups: popular spectators and elitist appreciators who provide different, contesting voices in the interviews. The aesthetic processes of individuals within these groups of onlookers and the ways in which they may gradually change form the primary focus of this work. Respondents to interviews provide diverse descriptions of their interactions with performances according to their perceived membership to groups of popular spectators or elitist appreciators. They also identify dimensions of performance that may contribute to the development of their own performance competence and their subsequent transition from one group of onlookers to another. The influences that shape the diverse approaches of these groups and have been examined here include traditional Hindu aesthetics, religion, politics, caste structures and the changing shape of patronage, which is itself also a reflection of historical factors of governance. Kathakali is first presented as vignettes of performance that reflect different locations, venues, patronage and program choices. It is then situated in relation to extant, contiguous performance genres that have contributed to its development and/or often share its billing in traditional settings. The politics and aesthetics of the worlds of Kathakali are looked at not only in terms of their traditional, folkloric and classical development but also in contrast to more contemporary, secular and controversial dynamics that are impacting upon Kathakali today.