Kalladikode Karineeli is Palakkad’s own goddess who evokes both devotion and fear in the people here. Legends surrounding her are spread across the district, though her permanent abode is deep inside the Siruvani forests in Muthikulam village.

Her myth has been subject of many tales and hearsays but probably for the first time in art history, the stories surrounding her are now turning the subject for a theatre experiment initiated by a set of artistes from Palakkad.

Scripted and directed by award-winning playwright Ravi Thycaud, the dance drama lasting for about two-and-a-half hours also contains chilling details of the life and times of Thevanasan, a celebrated sorcerer who invoked the ferocious deity.

“Going by the legends, the district had a number of black magicians who considered her as their preferred deity. However, the drama attempts to give a contemporary twist to the legend in a way freeing the myths from obscurantism and exploring the rich cultural traditions of Palakkad,’’ said Mr Thycaud.

In addition, the drama also tries to resurge Karineeliyattom, a traditional ritual dance that was performed across the district till a few decades ago to appease Karineeli and to exorcise evil spirits. Households in Palakkad would hold the ritual dance lasting for the whole night. The upcoming play hopes to bring in elements of Karineeliyattom by using the expertise of surviving exponent Kalamandalam Chandran to give background music to the dance drama.

The theatre interpretation also attempts to tell the history of Paraya community members, the traditional invokers of Karineeli. “It took a lot of research for scripting. The traditional worshippers of Karineeli continues to remain a neglected lot and their history remains unrecorded,” he said.

Drama activist K.A. Nandajan is controlling the light and sound of the dance drama. About 40 artists are appearing on the stage in the dance drama, which would be staged for the public on the occasion of Onam festival.

It was only two months ago, Mr. Thycaud and his team staged a drama on Pulikadu Ratnavelu Chettiar, the first assistant collector of Indian origin for Palakkad region, who committed suicide in protest against racial discrimination shown by his British bosses under the Madras Presidency.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Special Correspondent / Palakkad – June 12th, 2018