Kalam/Kalamezhuttu

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literally ‘to write and sing the kalam’; performed by Kuruppu with some variations, depending on the area (southern or central Kerala), this ritual is primarily aimed at propitiating the Goddess and Ayyappan but it is also meant for lesser deities like Yakshi, Gandharvan and Sarpayakshi.

Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, " Paying homage to god Vettakkorumakan" — part 4

Accompanied by the powerful sounds of drums (chenda) and oboes (kuzhal), the oracle, adorned with a red cloth around the loins, emerges from the inner sanctum, wielding a straight sword symbolising the divinity.

Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Painting Vettakkorumakan, the hunter-god" — part 3

Like a jeweller, the painter creates fleeting ornaments that will adorn the sturdy neck, arms, wrists, and ankles of the sylvan deity. Another painter meticulously paints the peacock feather ocelli on either side of the deity, creating the illusion of a majestic mane.

Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, “Visiting the Kalamandalam School” — part 2

K.P Ravishankar, is waiting to explain the day's schedule, which includes a visit to the Kalamandalam, an institution founded in 1930 by the poet Vallathol Narayana Menon. Over the years, the school has become one of the main centres for the study of classical Indian arts.

Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "On my way to the village of Paruthipulli" — part 1

Kodaikanal is also home to one of India's most important rose collections. Its recently deceased founder, M.S. Viraraghavan, was an internationally renowned rose breeder. Girija, his wife left everything behind to settle with her husband in this town with its ideal climate for roses.

Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Ayyappan, the hunter and the householder"— part 2

Ayyappan Tiyattu ritual is performed in the regions of northern and central Kerala. The paintings of the Nambiar community exhibit a perfect mastery of line. The three-dimensional effects add a sculptural dimension to the paintings and a liveness to the image of Ayyappan and the other characters.

Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Ayyappan, the Lord of Sabarimala"— part 1

The 41-day mandalakalam period, which starts in Vrikshikam (November-December) and culminates by December-end, embodies a time of intense religious fervour and austerities, particularly in temples of Ayyappan and the Goddess. This ritual period benefits the kalam painters.

Kalam/Kalamezhuttu

Kerala Kalam, "Colours and emotions" — part 4

Panchavarnam, five colours for the kalam paintings are more than just an aesthetic choice; they convey concepts as well as feelings. The five powders are chosen according to the attributes of each god or goddess. The iconography refers to myths and legends.

Kalam/Kalamezhuttu

Kerala Kalam,"Measuring and sketching the body"— part 3

Kalam paintings are not born of the priest's or ritual painter's own imagination; they are drawn according to precise rules, which include specifications about shapes and colours. A kalam begins, in most cases, by tracing an east-west vertical line called brahmasutra.

Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Hand drawing techniques"— part 2

In Kalamezhuttu images, the hands constitute drawing and colouring tools. The simplest gesture involves holding the powder between thumb and index and allowing it to drop smoothly onto the floor to complete dots or lines of varying thickness.

Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Draw and sing the paintings" — part 1

Almost invisibles, the floor paintings called kalam do not expose themselves to the morning walker's gaze. They are drawn in privacy and focus the attention of the family within the home and of devotees in the temple premises.

Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, Pulluvanpattu "To protect mother and child"— part 1

Although Western medicine has long been part of the Kerala landscape, there are still communities of ritual painters whose hereditary task equates them to medicine-men. Pulluvanpattum was once an exorcism and its ceremonial paintings were designed for an essentially therapeutic purpose.

Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Painting the Serpent Gods"— part 3

In Sarppam thullal rituals, images of the Snake-Gods vary depending on whether they appear in a one, five or seven-day ceremony. Beyond a one-day rite, the kalam are invariably white in the morning, yellow at noon, and of five colours for the evening one.

Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Pulluvan honouring the serpent-gods"— part 2

In the backyard of the house, which served as a school, an immense floor painting of a snake coiled around a tree was rising from the ground under the skilful gestures of several crouching men.

Kalam/Kerala

Kerala Kalam, "Pulluvan and snake worship"— part 1

In India, snakes are highly revered and enjoy a prolific profile in Hindu, Buddhist, or Jain legends. Guardians of underground treasures, water spirits, and rainmakers, they are raised to the status of deities.