{"title":"The Challenges Ahead","authors":"R. Bharucha","doi":"10.1093/OSO/9780197552506.003.0016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OSO/9780197552506.003.0016","url":null,"abstract":"The concluding chapter focuses on the challenges that lie ahead in researching the multiple dynamics and contexts of performance in the Ramayana tradition. It highlights the need to prioritize the vocal and acoustic dimensions of Ramayana performance which tend to be undermined by the priority given to the visual aspects of movement, gesture, and spectacle. At an interpretive level, the essay calls attention to the ways in which specific codes and conventions of a particular performance tradition can be altered through individual performative choices. Calling attention to the challenge of translating the nuances of context-specific performance categories from different Indian languages, the chapter also highlights the need to research Ramayana performances as a means of livelihood for subaltern performers. The essay concludes by reflecting on the challenges posed by the political culture of the Hindu Right, which tends to oppose a pluralist affirmation of diverse renderings of the Ramayana narrative.","PeriodicalId":346774,"journal":{"name":"Performing the Ramayana Tradition","volume":"120 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131041060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D. Shulman, Margi Madhu Chakyar, G. Indu, R. Bharucha
{"title":"Reflections on Ramayana in Kutiyattam","authors":"D. Shulman, Margi Madhu Chakyar, G. Indu, R. Bharucha","doi":"10.1093/OSO/9780197552506.003.0011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OSO/9780197552506.003.0011","url":null,"abstract":"Set in Nepathya, a Kutiyattam performance training center in the village of Moozhikkulam, Kerala, this two-part interview focuses on conversations with Sanskrit scholar and Kutiyattam expert David Shulman, followed by another interaction with two of the leading Kutiyattam performers in India today, Madhu Margi Chakyar and Dr. Indu G. While the exchange with Shulman focuses primarily on the philosophical and literary resonances of Kutiyattam via Shaktibhadra’s play Āścaryacūḍāmaṇi, the conversation with Madhu Margi Chakyar and Indu. G. elaborates on the actual training process and rigor that go into performing Kutiyattam. Avoiding the binary of scholarship and practice, this two-part interview demonstrates how the knowledge surrounding Kutiyattam cannot be separated from what Shulman highlights as “extreme individualization” and the complexities of “temporality” in performing Kutiyattam. Conversely, Madhu Margi Chakyar and Indu G. reflect on how they position themselves as performers in relation to matters concerning textuality and the interpretation of āṭṭaprakārams (acting manuals), which constitute a form of knowledge in its own right.","PeriodicalId":346774,"journal":{"name":"Performing the Ramayana Tradition","volume":"76 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128222069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}