Krishantha Rathnasiri is the founder of the Kolam art gallery in Elpitiya. Kolam natum was very prevalent in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka.
An art form currently in the brink of extinction, Kolam is a “low-country” custom and a form of ‘Pahatharata narthana’ from the southern coast of Sri Lanka. It contains aspects of ceremony and even trance, it can be categorized as folk theater. In a Kolam performance several clichéd characters and settings are tied together by a thin plot. The actual play is typically based on an Uppaththi Kathawa or a Jataka narrative from Buddhism.
On the origins of Kolam, one can only conjecture. The tradition itself offers legends as to how it came to be. It appears that Kolam is a synthesis of ancient religions, including Buddhism, as well as later popular culture, reflecting the social structure at different points in the island’s history.
The Kolam performance takes place in a circular space with spectators on three sides often referred to as a Kolam Maduwa. Its music is provided by at least two drummers. The performance is directed by the storyteller or master of ceremonies, who also introduces each character. Additionally, he occasionally delivers the characters’ dialogue or engages in conversation with them. A Kolam performance used to last all night, but currently it just lasts two to three hours.
The preceding rites performed in honor of numerous gods and the Buddha precede a traditional the Kolam performance. According to the legend, there was a king and a queen. The queen was pregnant and had a peculiar craving a desire to see mask dances.
This relatively open-ended structure for a story allows a theatre to present a variety of mask dances and mimes. The prologue is essentially a collection of quick stock scenes representing all strata of a predated traditional society. Police officers, villagers, a washerman and his promiscuous wife, low-ranking courtiers, soldiers, and different animal and demon characters each have their own scenarios, which are almost always amusing.
The king and queen finally arrive with their entourage. They wear enormous masks that are frequently over a meter tall. The performers must be carried to their thrones to view the mask spectacle because of their heavy masks. It is thought that in earlier times, large masks affixed to thrones were sufficient to portray these top ranks of the characters.
Thereafter, a series of performances will follow. These are frequently based on Jataka or Buddhist myths. The dance of the gara demons, which closes the show, is performed to drive away evil spirits and provide good fortune to both the artists and the audience.
We spoke to Kirshanatha about his Kolan gallery and the future of Kolam.
Krishantha is an award winning art director by profession and passionate Kolam enthusiast by choice. “I am someone who is doing and researching Kolam and I believe we have to demonstrate Kolam as a form of art so it can be appreciated and preserved, this in fact is the purpose of our Kolam gallery, to preserve this dyeing art, get people to appreciate the intricacies of this form of performance art and spread its joy.”
When asked about the biggest challenge for Kolam in this day and age, Krishantha told us that it is the lack of an economic plan to preserve art of this nature. “We are having a lot of trouble keeping up with the economic inflation while maintaining the gallery, however we try our best to spread the word and do what we can to protect this precious form of art”, he said.
We asked Kirshantha, what the Kolam gallery offers and he said, “We offer Pahatharata narthana kalawa in the form of an Ilagame haramba. This is not a class in the modern sense, but an open arena, often a garden used to teach and showcase dance.”
Krishantha and his Kolam gallery will be presenting a Kolam show on July 22 at the Elpitiya Rupa Karunathilake Hall. It will be a three-hour show of selected beloved Kolam shows and a night to remember.
