Now Reading: Kerala’s Raveli pattu tradition struggles to find new performers
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Kerala’s Raveli pattu tradition struggles to find new performers
Raveli pattu, a centuries-old storytelling tradition practised by Kerala’s Veerasaiva community, is nearing extinction as urbanisation and changing livelihoods reduce its performance spaces. P K Narayanan, 72, is among the few remaining…
The Story in Brief
Raveli pattu, a centuries-old storytelling tradition practised by Kerala’s Veerasaiva community, is nearing extinction as urbanisation and changing livelihoods reduce its performance spaces. P K Narayanan, 72, is among the few remaining artists in the Ernakulam region. He learnt the songs orally from his father and now performs mainly on request. None of his three children plans to continue the tradition.
Performed during Karkkadakam and around Sivaratri, the art combines ancient Malayalam prose and poetry with illustrated scrolls. Its story draws from the Periya Puranam and recounts the Shaivite devotee Chiruthondar’s test by Lord Siva. Malayalam professor Sajitha G, who researched the form, says documenting its surviving artists is vital as the tradition has no written script.
The Indian Opinion
It would be easy to package Raveli pattu as a quaint relic and blame young people for its decline. The account points to a more practical problem: artists once received rice, coconuts and small cash offerings, while their community’s livelihood and performance setting changed. Documentation matters, but recordings alone cannot sustain a living art. The real test is whether schools, cultural groups or local households create regular paid performances before the last oral practitioners can no longer sing.
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
