On a particularly muggy afternoon in June, six women, aged between 50 and 60, embark on a trip down memory lane. The memories meander through the time — some from when they were schoolgirls, then college girls, and now, grown women, with life happening along the way. The ambience in the cool, dimly lit dining room of Deepthi Palace in Tripunithura livens up with the laughter of the women, all members of the Tripunithura Vanitha Kathakali Sangham. Formed in May-June 1975, this year marks the 50th anniversary of Kerala’s first women’s only Kathakali troupe.  

The first and senior most member of the troupe, Radhika Varma, recalls how her father, KTR Varma, a Kathakali aficionado, mooted the idea, which was supported by Radhika’s guru, Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair. Although women were performing Kathakali then, it was not mainstream yet. 

“Our families were Kathakali aficionados, and we performed with their encouragement. All credit goes to Krishnan ashan for his support, that meant a lot to a young girl like me,” says Radhika, who was in her early teens at the time.   

The condition set was that everyone involved would be women. Except the make-up and costume which were done by men, it was a women-run show. The manager of the troupe was Sathi Varma. Her daughter, Suma Varma, continues to be an active member of the troupe.

Although the group comprised many women from Tripunithura, it also had members from other places such as North Paravur, Irinjalakuda, Poonjar, and Pattambi. Jayasree Raveendran who used to travel from Pattambi to Ernakulam for the performances says, “It was not easy. But I did it, because I wanted to be a part of this and I loved what we were doing. We were assigned roles based on our potential. Sathi ammayi had a say in it,” adds Jayasree, who essayed male characters. 

After the troupe’s first performance of Kalyanasaugandhikam at Tripunithura, in 1975, by Radhika Varma, Sreemathi Antarjanam, Radhika Ajayan, Shailaja Varma, Vrinda Varma and Meera Narayanan, there was no looking back. They were invited across the country and have more than 2,000 shows. The troupe was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2017. 

Trained by stalwarts

Although the women were part of one troupe, they did not train under one guru. Their teachers include Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, RLV Damodara Pisharody, FACT Padmanabhan, Cherthala Thankappa Panikkar and Kalamandalam Keshavan Poduval.

Not all the initial members of the troupe are still part of it, while some left (due to personal reasons) for good, a few others returned. While initially the troupe had 20-odd members, today it has more than twice the number and many young dancers. “There are so many girls learning Kathakali, I was joking the other day that it will become like Kuchipudi!” says Suma, laughing. 

One gets a strong sense of the camaraderie as one listens to their conversation about Kathakali, the nuances of aniyara — chutti (make up) and costumes, the progress and changes they experience on stage and in the green room. Those of us used to watching women devote themselves to the performing arts today, may not comprehend the significance of what these women achieved all those years ago.  

For some perspective, it was as late as 2021-22 when Kerala Kalamandalam accepted the first batch of women pupils while RLV College of Music and Fine Arts took in their first women students (for Kathakali) in 2017. Kerala Kalamandalam did, however, invite the troupe to perform some time in the late 1990s. It was another two decades before women were admitted as students. 

Women had, however, been learning Kathakali for decades before under the tutelage of gurus outside the hallowed walls of these organisations. In the 1970s when the troupe started performing, there were a handful of women practitioners like Chavara Parukutty Amma and Kottarakkara Ganga.  

Though, at the time, they were not old enough to grasp the enormity of what they were doing, today, in retrospect, they understand what it means — that they opened the door for women to take up Kathakali not just as young women but later in life too. 

“See, at that time we did not think we were making a difference or anything. We just enjoyed what we were doing,” says Tara Varma. She shares, rather gleefully, how she performed on stage while four months pregnant. “Imagine that? There I was in full Kathakali gear, on stage!” 

“You are amused now! Nelliyode ashan [Nelliyode Vasudevan Namboodiri] was so shocked and worried!” says Radhika. “Yes, I remember and he took such good care of me like only a mother would,” Tara replies.   

Nuggets of memory

These little nuggets of memories keep popping in, “During Nalan’s soliloquy [Nalacharitham Randam Divasam], Damayanthi lies down, resting her head on his lap. This one time I fell asleep, because there was nothing much to do. I was literally poked awake by Kumari Ammayi (Kumari Varma, one of the singers),” Suma reminisces.

Another time when they performed the same play at Vellinezhi, Palakkad, Radhika Varma ensured that Suma did not sleep. “Radhika chechi started pinching me, and I murmured that I was awake. The audience there sits literally two feet away from the ‘stage’ . They could hear me murmuring in protest and they started saying ‘Damayanthi is making noises’!” 

Because they were in school and college, Kathakali could not be an excuse to lag in studies. “That was not an option. Kathakali or not, sleep deprived or not, we got home very early in the morning… there could be no excuse to miss college or school,” adds Suma.     

Stories about their experiences pepper the conversations. It is fascinating listening in on them talk about their take on manodharma while portraying characters, the differences between the styles of Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair and Kalamandalam Gopi.   

A safe space for women

Renjini Suresh, who joined the troupe in 1989, performs with the troupe and independently also; she talks about the change in attitudes towards women artists both in the green room and outside. She is the daughter of Kathakali artist Kalamandalam Karunakaran, and runs her own Kathakali school. She dismisses suggestions that Kathakali is not for women, “I disagree with that opinion, it is extremely limiting… there is no role that is physically impossible for a woman to essay. And it is a safe space for women.”

The next generation is taking its place as artists, Geeta Varma and Renjini’s daughters — Archa Gouri Varma and Kamya — are following in their footsteps and making a name for themselves in the troupes.   

What the Kathakali Sangham did for the women was not just limited to the stage, it shaped the women they are today. It gave them exposure to new places and experiences, and to an extent, financial independence.  

When they started it was not a political statement, it still is not but they were able to make space for women aspiring to be Kathakali artists. Today they understand that they made space for the women who followed, they may have fewer stages today because there are more women on the Kathakali stage, but they celebrate the fact.