Driven by the Dance Museum

At the outskirts of Vattiyoorkavu in Trivandrum, Guru Gopinath Natanagramam is grooming up dance museum- a vibrant space with rich traditions of dance forms in aesthetic pieces of murals, mannequins, sculptures and wall narratives.

Through the sunny afternoon, the concrete road took me to the Natanagramam where men were still labouring hard on the work front. Small patches of green surrounded the 20 feet huge statue of Bharatamuni looming large under the overcast sky. At the entrance, the nataraja statue fuelled my curiosity with the rarity in its posture. The museum offers the visitors a glance at the various genres of dance forms, its history and evolution. The entire travelogue within the building gives preview of a commanding presence of the past. The Laury Baker fashioned building made visible the brighter skies and the breath of fresh air makes the stroll more pleasurable. It nurtures the mind with a real passion and perspective for art. Guru Gopinath is always remembered for his legendary innovations breaking apart Kathakali from its conventional ties with Hindu mythology and proving that Kathakali can be enacted with the stories from day to day life.  He uprooted Kathakali from the four premises of temples and palaces and made it accessible for the common man. He also gave birth to a new form of a dance ‘Kerala Natanam’ which is a blend of mudras and expressions from Mohiniyaattom, Kathakali and Koodiyattam. Without compromising in its classical background, this new form of ‘simplified’ Kathakali had tremendous reach among the people. Natanagramam is not just confined to a tribute to the creativity of the maestro Guru Gopinath, but offers a celebration of Indian and international dance forms. The glorious years of Guru Gopinath is documented and exposed here in the form of paintings, artefacts and sculptures which helps visitors in the exploration of dance in its wholeness. The centre was established back in 1995 to impart training to young aspirants in various genres such as Kerala Natanam, classical music, musical instruments and so on. Currently, around 250 students are here in Natanagramam.

Scattered Rugsacks and dusty air still occupies the 4d theatre as men were frantically working hard to get the theatre in full swing within a month or two. Along with Mr. Rajan, the manager of Natanagramam, I whiled away all around the space. There are 10 galleries altogether and the briefing hall at the entrance serves as the space where the visitors receive a brief intro about the museum. Radha-krishna statue in marble and the seven forms of shiva thandava carved in stone serves as mesmerizing starters to the huge treat. The wax gallery on the ground floor has many eminent personalities like Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty amma, P.K. Kalan, Manimadhava chakyar, Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair etc in their life-like frames. In the centre of the hall, the wax statue of Guru Gopinath receiving award from Indira Gandhi turn the gallery completely enchanting. The wooden pillars and the dusky lighting in the galleries make the visit an extra-ordinary experience. The rooms are facilitated with kiosk and television for imparting information to the visitors. To the left of the stairs on the ground floor, there is the tulasi thara which adds on to the ethnic hue of the place. The galleries are all ornamented with textual, electronic and graphic content which equip the visitors with a better understanding about the different forms of dance and its aesthetic significance.  The manichitra thazhu, a door along with its frame and an extra-ordinary key, placed in the first floor is an awe-inspiring artefact. 

The key makes the sound of bell as and when it is unlocked. On either sides of the wall are illustrations of the 108 karnas which is both informative and alluring. The gallery on the first floor welcomes its visitors with a huge wooden statue of Leela Krishna. The walls of these galleries have printed canvas and wall decors which have information about the origin of dance in India right from the cult of devadasi in 1920. The Tanjore temple dance forms and Persian dance forms adorn the next gallery. The large wooden sculpture of Shiva and Parvathy gives an extra notch of beauty to the gallery.  Another sculpture made in resemblance to the nati from the escavations from the sindhu, traces back the existence of dance from a very early age, perhaps from the time of evolution of mankind. The next gallery with the tribal dance forms, its origin and evolution is made more captivating with the printed roof of mural art focusing the tribal dance. The pictures on the wall are accompanied with tribal lanterns on the pillars and clay pots on the floor to give a more realistic tone. The next gallery is all about the traditional and temple dances of Kerala. Mannequins of Kathakali, Koodiyaattam, Chakyarkoothu, Mohiniyattam etc along with a Koothambalam embellish the room. The dance forms of Kerala is pictured and portrayed along with statuettes in another gallery which has a sarpakaavu in its entry. Thirayaattom, Poothan thira, Muchilottu bhagavathi theyyam, Padayani, Kala vela, Mudiyettu etc with their original costumes are indeed too imposing with their richness in form and beauty. 

Dance forms like Urikkali and Charadupinnikali which is not very popular these days find its place in the gallery. The Guru Gopinath gallery pays tribute to the maestro with printed canvas illustrations of the memorable moments of his life. Snapshots of the Guru along with his wife Thankamani performing in the Thiruvithankur palace welcome the visitors to the hall. Various crowns, jewellery and trinklets produced and used by Guru Gopinath are exhibited in the room. The Chilanga, Unniyarcha urumi and Kalappa on the shelves showcases the imprints of Guru Gopinath in a bygone era. The bronze statue of Guru Gopinath along with the swing in the middle of the gallery adds to the exquisiteness. These handmade artefacts also include a huge head piece used by Guru which is nearly 25 years old. On the second floor is the international dance gallery. Russian ballet and Cambodian dance with wall descriptions are too good for words. Two stone sculptures of the Greek maenad in the next hall are incredibly classy. On the aisle the pictorial presentations  show instances of programs staged by the present day students of Natanagranmam. Classical and Indian folk art forms like Odyssey, Yakshagana etc adorn the next gallery. The Garbagriha besides the stairs is another factor that captures the visitors with its original appeal.

Seminar halls, Mini theatres, gift shop, Research centre, E-library and Mobile museum are some of the other extra embellishments in the museum. No sooner, the museum will be established as a cultural tourist destination. Life sized statuettes of dance maestros in full costume in the wax gallery is a must watch at Natanagramam. Exbibits on themes like 'history and evolution of dances', 'tribal dance of Kerala', 'folk dances of Kerala', 'classical and temple dances of Kerala', 'dances of India' and 'dances of the world' on various galleries are informative and conspicuous at the same time. Natanagramam focuses on pioneering the training and development of the Kerala Natanam style of dancing along with the promotion of other Indian classical and folk dance forms. Apart from setting up an audio visual library and research centre, the authorities are planning on conducting free training programme for the talented students from the Government Schools in Trivandrum.

As the sun sinks in the western sky, the air was full of chirrups and the nearby tree studded with birds calls it a day. As I walked down the stairs I relinquished myself somewhere amongst the wall paintings and stone sculptures.