The confluence of Chhau

And now, into its 19th year, the organisation is bringing an interesting line up of artistes from across the country that specialize in the traditional art form of Chhau, one of the country’s fast-disappearing performance arts.
Ramachandran says, “In our annual festival, we promote vanishing traditions. We bring the special women’s theatre tradition from Kerala, plus the rhythm tradition from the South, an ensemble theatre that sees more than 300 drummers beat their drums for more than six hours at a stretch. Some of these traditions are more than 1200 years old.”
At the upcoming carnival at the Prithvi Theatre, Keli will be bringing together the Chhau dance form from three states — West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar — all of them eclectic and mesmerizing in their own ways. The festival director admits that though several other cultural organsiations often showcase Chhau in their respective states, it is rare that all the three genres of Chhau will now make an appearance under one roof.
The audience response to Chhau in cosmopolitian cities is remarkable, compared to smaller towns and cities.
Ramachandran explains the situation in Mumbai, “In Mumbai, there is at least one person among the entire population who represents each taluka in India. While we are basically from Kerala, at our festivals 60% of the audience is non-Malayali.” And Keli boasts of a long list of celebrities from the music fraternity to attend each of their festivals. In fact, he tells DNA that Ustad Zakir Hussain makes sure he catches the gala and often is spotted dancing to their tunes in the front row of the audience. The noted international percussionist Mike Hart was also among the audience last year.
This year’s festival opens at the YB Chavan Centre on January 28 and continues at the Prithvi Theatre till the 30th.