Projects

Kutiyattam: Sanskrit Theater of India was developed out of frustration. Initially I wanted to publish the Hastalakshana Dipika, a Sanskrit text that is used by actors in Kerala’s many genres of performance such as, kutiyattam, kathakali, krishnanattam, tullal, mohiniyattam, and so forth. But publishers here and in India were reluctant to publish the hundreds of photographs that would be necessary to illustrate the work. Multimedia technology seemed ideally suited for the task. Begun with the typing of the devanagari text in 1992, it was not until the spring of 2002 that the work has finally been released.

The CD-ROM contains hundreds of photographs, video and audio clips, many articles by me, some new and some reprinted from other works, as well as works by Mr. L.S. Rajagopalan, primarily on music. It contains the entire Hastalakshana Dipika in devanagari and English translation, some of which can be heard recited by Pandit Narayana Pisharoti, among the foremost authorities on the subject.

It serves as a general introduction to kutiyattam, which was honored in 2001 by UNESCO as one of 19 genres of performance described as “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.” See www.unesco.org/bpi/intangible_heritage/index.htm. Just click on the India button.

The work contains chapters on acting, focusing on eyes and face, body, gesture, and voice. It has a substantial section on theatre architecture and performance conventions. It also contains an overview of many other genres of performance in India, as well. Sections also focus on audience, costume and makeup, music, and play texts.

Information about the CD-ROM is available at the University of Michigan website: http://www.press.umich.edu:80/titleDetailDesc.do?id=6558 . It is also available at http://www.insight-media.com/IMGroupDispl.asp. Do a catalog search for the title from there.