Sparks of defiance

By: Ganesh NeelakandanBy training his daughter to become the first woman in Ayyappan Theeyattu, master practioner Thiyyadi Raman Nambiar quietly defied tradition to secure the art’s future

As she gave dakshina (offering) and touched the feet of her father and guru Thiyyadi Raman Nambiar, Aryadevi T R was not seeking just a ceremonial blessing to learn everything he had mastered over six decades, but some true courage to go ahead. She believed she needed that as well to become the first woman to step into Ayyappan Theeyattu, which has been a male bastion for centuries.

The 39-year-old performed koothu on Sankaramohanam, the last of the 12 phases of Amrutha Madhanam tale, which narrates the life of Lord Ayyappa, on a school premises in Tripunithura, dedicating it to master practitioner Nambiar on his 70th birthday on July 26.

Ayyappan Theeyattu is an offering made to Lord Ayyappa through kalam (drawing on floor), thottam (singing), koothu and a dance by a komaram (oracle). Ayyappa is portrayed in the kalam as sitting on horseback, with wife Prabha and son Sathyaka, unlike the usual Sabarimala depiction.

“Having seen the Theeyattu from close proximity right from childhood, I knew the intricacies, both as a ritual and as an art form but performing it was different altogether,” Aryadevi said.

Her Kathakali knowledge --- she is a graduate from RLV College of Music and Fine Arts in Tripunithura -- came in handy while performing koothu. The training she had received in drawing has been helpful while putting finishing touches to kalams.

In hindsight, Nambiar equipped his daughter with the skills to take up Ayyappan Theeyattu, performed traditionally by men from eight families belonging to the Thiyyadi community based in central Kerala, thinking that a day would arrive when she could be fielded, breaking barriers.

“It was rather easy to teach Arya the finer points of Ayyappan Theeyattu. Convincing some of the members of my family and community was the most arduous task. They all feared the deity’s curse. One warned Arya of mental illness,” said Nambiar.

“I understand their concern, and I was not being arrogant. For me, every single person counts in taking Ayyappan Theeyattu forward,” Nambiar said. His son Vasudevan T R, who too had learned Kathakali from RLV College, regularly joins him for the Theeyattu. He has high hopes about his nephews T K Sreevalsan and T V Vishnu Narayanan, while another Gulf-based nephew, Malamakkavu Vasudevan is brushing up his knowledge at Nambiar’s quiet home in Tripunithura. Nambiar also taught a woman and a boy --- Niranjana Varma and Rakesh Kurup --- from outside his community which was unimaginable at one time.

“We took the ritual outside the premises of temples and illams in the 1990s, knowing fully well that, as with many other traditional art forms, Ayyappan Theeyattu too must exist here as an art form but without losing its ritualistic values. Outside venues offer it a chance for grandeur. For example, a small temple cannot afford the ritual of breaking 12,000 coconuts considering the money involved,” said Nambiar.

But for a true lover or student of traditional arts, the verticals of dance, music and percussion run deep in Ayyappan Theeyattu. “Come and join us,” says Nambiar, who is fully into the art form after retiring as deputy manager at BPCL and has authored two books.


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