Arjuna Nritham

Kerala has a rich tradition of fine arts, ritual arts and martial arts. Many of these are fast fading; some due to the secrecy that was maintained among the performers, in an attempt to retain exclusivity and also generally due to a lack of interest and effort on the part of the newer generations. But the beauty and richness of these art forms cannot eb denied. One such ritual art is the Arjuna Nrityam.

Origin & History:
Arjuna Nrityam translated into Malayalam, would mean “The Dance of Arjuna”. The origins of this dance form is said to be in the Hindu epic, The Mahabharata. The Mahabharata is a tale of the five princely brothers, The Pandavas, and their war against their own cousins, to uphold righteousness. Arjuna, the middle brother, was known to be the most handsome among them all. He is said to have learnt the dance and music from no less than the celestial nymphs (Apsaras) themselves. After the bitter battle at Kurushetra had been fought and won, Arjuna is famed to have performed this dance to please Goddess Kali. The dark Goddess Kali is believed to stand by those who fight for righteousness and provide her devotees success in their endeavors.

Location:
This is a rare art form and is performed in the Bhadrakali/ Bhagavathy Temples of Kerala. These temples and hence the art is common in Aleppey and Kottayam districts and not so much in the other regions of the state.

Costumes:
In Kerala, the dance is performed by men wearing a costume of which the lower garment is made of peacock feathers. Hence this Ritual Art is also known as Mayilpeeli Nrityam or Mayilpeeli Thookkam. In Malayalam, ‘Mayil’ means ‘peacock’ and ‘Peeli’ is ‘feather’. This flashy colored skirt is worn around the waist like the uduthukettu of Kathakali. The dancers paint their faces with green vegetable dyes in a traditional fashion as part of the costume and also adorn headgears.

Dance Style:
Arjuna Nrityam is performed by men, either solo or in pairs. It is generally an all night recital. The ambience is created by holding the performance in the light of the traditional oil lamps the Nilavilakku. The songs to which these artists perform are called Kavithangal and deal with Hindu mythological themes such as the Puranas. The dance is a rigorously rhythm based one and hence each Kavitham is composed to a particular rhythm. The artist explains the nuances of the performances before each song begins. The subtleties of the rhythm, the gestures and the movements are explicated so that the audience has a clear understanding of the show. The movements and dance style resembles the Kalarippayattu techniques.

Accompanying Instruments:
Since Arjuna Nrityam is a rhythm based dance form, percussion is used to accompany it. The traditional instruments played along with this dance are chenda, maddalam, talachenda and ilathalam or the cymbal.

Arjuna Nrityam as a dance form is seldom learnt nowadays. The popularity of the art is on the wane and every effort id being made both by the government and the people of Kerala to revive this rich tradition.