A Report on Field Trip

As part of the B.Ed curriculum, we, the first year students went for a field trip on 16 November, 2017. This optional based field trip was included in the community based practical programme of the first semester syllabus.  The purpose of the trip is usually for observation for education, non-experimental research or to provide students with experiences outside their everyday activities.

The theme of the field trip for English optional students was art. In other words, this one day programme aimed to develop aesthetic sense, imagination and creativity in students and thereby mould them to be an effective teacher in English. It was for this purpose that the students along with the optional teachers attended the field trip to Thiruvananthapuram. The places visited were Kuthira Malika, Chithralayam, Napier Museum and Kovalam Beach.

There were around 100 students from English, Malayalam, Natural Science, Physical Science, Social Science and Mathematics optionals. The number of teachers who accompanied the students was about 10. Everyone assembled in the college by 7 am and after breakfast, the teachers took the correct number of the students present and after that all of us got into the two Volvo buses that were parked near the entrance. The journey began by 8:30 am. There was a silent prayer before the journey and then the students as well as the teachers had a wonderful time in the bus. The first visited place was Kuthira Malika palace, near the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple. By then, it was 10:30 am and the students were asked to stand in queue to enter into the palace.

             

                 

Kuthira Malika

 Kuthira Malika or Puthenmalika Palace is a two-storied palace built by Swathi Thirunal Balarama Varma on the South-Eastern side of Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvanathapuram. The palace is named as Kuthira Malika or Mansion of Horses as it has 122 smiling wooden horses on its exterior walls. It is a fine instance of traditional Kerala architecture and is one of the most significant tourist attractions in Thiruvananthapuram. There were guides to lead the students into the palace and they explained everything about the palace in detail. The students ardently listened to them and noted the important details about the palace.   

                                  

Traditional wooden works on the exterior walls of Kuthira Malika

The interior of Kuthira Malika features European mirrors and chandeliers, weapons, crystal items, Kathakali idols, elephant howdahs and other memorabilia. The palace was constructed with teak, rosewood, granite and marble. Elaborate carvings within the palace include two thrones- one is made entirely from elephant tusks and the other from Bohemian crystal. The palace houses the Maharaja’s music room where visitors have a good view of the temple, which was a source inspiration for the ruler. Other rooms include the other music halls, reading rooms, and a library. Noted for the Kerala architecture, the palace took 5,000 workers over 4 years to complete. Although 80 rooms are there in the palace, only 20 are open for the visitors.

       On the first floor are rooms that once served as the audience chamber, the library and an alcove that Maharaja Swathi Thirunal used for meditating and for conceiving many of his musical compositions. This place offers a direct view of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple gopuram. The small wooden stair there contains carvings of peacock, elephant and parrot. One of the rooms displays an illusion portrait of Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, painted by Svetoslav Roerich. The palace has been visualized in many Malayalam films and is one among the attractive places to visit in Thiruvanathapuram.

       Chithralayam, the art gallery was the next visited place. Sree Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma Chithralayam has been set up at Ranga Vilasam Palace to provide the public with an authentic perspective on the glorious past of Travancore. Conceived by His Highness Sree Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma Maharaja, the museum’s collection includes (besides valuable articles possessed by the Royalty) rare photographs taken by His Highness, himself a connoisseur of photography, and other ace photographers like William D’cruz etc. are set in the royal ambience. This art gallery has precious collections of paintings of the royal family.

                                                   Front view of the Chithralayam

             Lunch was provided for everyone near the museum. After the delicious meal, the students explored the Napier Museum, which is the natural history museum that showcases glimpse of the rich Kerala’s cultural heritage. It was established in 1857 by Maharaja Uthradom Thirunal. The museum has a fairly good collection of exhibition that counts to around 550 numbers. It offers an array of display of artistic, cultural and antique objects comprising of sculptures in bronze and stone, carving of wood and ivory, lamps, textiles, Kathakali models, handicraft items, Koftgari works, traditional musical instruments, a treasure of numismatic collections representing Chera,Chola and Pandya dynasties of Southern India etc. Located right in the heart of the city, this famous Museum, named after Lord Napier, the Governor of Madras from 1886-1872 is also one among the interesting places to visit in Thiruvanathapuram.

Kovalam beach, located about 18 kms south of the city was the last place to visit. It is an internationally renowned beach with three adjacent crescent beaches. It has been a favourite haunt of tourists since the 1930s. The leisure options at this beach are plenty and diverse. Sunbathing, swimming, herbal body toning, massages, special cultural programmes and catamaran cruising are some of them. The beach complex includes a string of budget cottages, Ayurvedic health resorts, convention facilities, shopping zones, swimming pools, Yoga and Ayurvedic massage centres. It was in these three places: Lighthouse beach, Samudra beach and Hawah beach, that students had a wonderful time. They also did some shopping in the nearby shops.

       The return journey began around 6 in the evening. Everyone was filled with much excitement and did not want to go back. Dinner was arranged at Hotel Al Saj, Kazhakootam where everyone relished the tasty food. And finally, around 9:30 the students and the teachers reached the college. From there all of them went back to their homes.

       On the whole, the trip was awesome. All had a fantastic time and it was very much helpful for developing the aesthetic sense, exploration skills, imagination, and co-operation in the students. The teachers were also happy that everyone reached back safely and there were no much troubles during the journey.  To conclude, the trip was very informative, effective and at the same time memorable. So organizing such field trips will be very helpful for the students to learn new through observation, exploration and interaction.

A Report on Kathakali

This report is based on the Kathakali class conducted for the First year B.Ed students as part of the Art and Aesthetic Education. The class was conducted on 24 August, 2017 in the college auditorium. The class was handled by Sri Kalamandalam Rajeev who is a renowned Kathakali artist throughout Kerala. He has practiced Kathakali under various masters and has received several prizes and awards including Guru Gopinath Award, Guru Kunchukurup Award,  A. D. Bolland Medal, Calcutta International Award etc.

Kathakali is an important genre in the Indian classical dance form and is associated with storytelling form of this art. The term ‘Kathakali’ comes from ‘Katha’ which means ‘story’, or a conversation or a traditional tale’ and ‘Kali’ which means ‘performance and art’. It is structured around plays called ‘Attakatha’, written in Sankritized Malayalam. Traditionally, a Kathakali performance is long, starting at dusk and continuing through dawn, with interludes and breaks for the performers and audience. Some plays continued over several nights, starting at dusk every day. Modern performances are shorter. The stage with seating typically in open grounds outside a temple, but in some places, special theatres called ‘Kuttampalam’ built inside the temple compounds have been in use. Of all the Indian classical dance forms, Kathakali has the most elaborate costuming consisting of head dresses, face masks and vividly painted faces. It typically takes several long hours to prepare a Kathakali troupe to get ready for a play. The makeup follows an accepted code that helps the audience easily identify the archetypical characters such as gods, goddesses, evil characters, animals and other characters of a story. Seven basic makeup types are used in Kathakali, namely ‘Pacha’ (green), ‘Pazhupp’ (ripe), ‘Kathi’ (knife), ‘Kari’, ‘Thaadi’, ‘Minukku’ and ‘Teppu’. These vary with the styles and the predominant colours made from rice paste and vegetable colours that are applied on the face. Sri Kalamandalam Rajeev’s expertise is in Pacha characters.

Kathakali is said to be one of the most difficult styles to execute on stage as acting has an important role in it. The actors speak a ‘sign language’, where the word part of the charcter’s dialogue are expressed through “hand signs” (mudras), while emotions and moods are expressed through “facial and eye” movements. Several ancient Sanskrit texts such as “Natya Shastra”and “Hastha Lakshnadeepika” discuss hand gestures or mudras. Kathakali follows the “Hastha Lakshnadeepika” most closely, unlike other classical dances of India. Each actor masters these mudras and expressions for right conveyance of the emotion. The main 24 mudras are :

1. Pathaka                                                       13) Mukuram
2. Mudraakyam                                               14) Bramaram
3. Khadakam                                                   15) Suchikamukham
4. Mushti                                                         16) Pallavam
5. Kartharimukham                                         17) Thripathaka
6. Shukhathundam                                          18) Mrigasheersham
7. Kavithakam                                                 19) Sarpashiras
8. Hamsapaksham                                           20) Vardhamanakam
9. Shikharam                                                    21) Araalam
10. Hamsasyam                                                 22) Oornanabam
11. Anjali                                                          23) Mukulam
12. Ardhachandram                                          24) Khadakamugam

There are nine facial expressions called ‘Navarasas’ and numerous minor mudras in Kathakali. Kalamandalam Rajeev Sir wonderfully explained these mudras in detail.

A Kathakali performance typically starts with artists tuning their instruments and warming up with beats, signaling to the arriving audience that the artists are getting ready and the preparations are on. A series of performances comes in the sequential order. First is the ‘Totayam’ and ‘Purapattu’ performances which are preliminary ‘pure’ dances that emphasize skill and pure motion. The expressive part of the performance, which constitutes the dance-drama, is split into four types: ‘Kalasam’, ‘Iratti’, ‘Tonkaram’ and ‘Nalamiratti’. The play is in the form of verses that are metered and lyrical, sung by vocalists whose voice has been trained to various melodies (raga), music and synchronized with the dance-acting on the stage. Three types of drums used in Kathakali are Maddalam, Chenda and Idakka. Kalamandalam Rajeev Sir concluded his class with a small performance of the Kathakali act which was the highlight of the session.

On the whole, the class was very interesting and it helped the students to understand and enjoy Kathakali as one among the elite Classical art forms of India.