Books in Malayalam on Art and Music

Kerala is a place that is known for art expressions and vibrant festivals. It has every entertaining ingredient to engage individuals everywhere. The most well-known conventional art forms of Kerala are:

• Kathakali, 

• Mohiniyattam, 

• Chakyar Koothu,

• Nangiar Koothu, 

• Theyyam, 

• Panchavadyam, 

• Ottamthullal, 

• Padayani, 

• Onapottan, 

• Pulikali, 

• Krishnanattam, 

• Koodiyattam, 

• Kalaripayattu, 

• Pava Kathakali, and so on.

Kerala has a rich practice in Carnatic music. Music shaped a significant part of early Malayalam writing. The meaning of music in the way of life of Kerala can be laid out by the way that in the Malayalam language, a melodic verse came into existence way before prose. With the improvement of music in the locale, various branches were framed out of it. 

Kerala's very own Sopana Sangeetham 

Kerala is artistically known for Sopana Sangeetham. Sopana Sangeetham is a type of traditional music that began in the temples of Kerala. Sopanam is strictly religious and created through singing invocatory songs at the Kalam of Kali, and later inside temples. Sopanam achieved prominence following the rising ubiquity of Jayadeva's Gita Govinda or Ashtapadis. Sopana sangeetham (music), as the very name proposes, is sung by the side of the sacred steps (sopanam) which lead to the sanctum sanctorum of a temple. It is sung, commonly utilizing plain notes, to an hourglass-molded ethnic drum called idakka, besides chengila or the metallic gong to sound the beats. Men who generally sing Sopanam are of the Marar and Pothuval group, who are Ambalavasi (semi-Brahmin) castes connected to it as their genetic profession. 

The harmonious heart and soul of Kerala, Carnatic Music

Carnatic music is one of two principal subgenres of classical music of India that developed from old Sanatana dharma sciences and customs, especially the Samaveda. Carnatic music is typically performed by a gathering of artists, comprising a primary entertainer (normally a singer), a melodic companion (generally a violin), a rhythm companion (generally a mridangam), and a tambura. Other common instruments utilized in several Carnatic music performances might incorporate the ghatam, kanjira, morsing, venu woodwind, veena, and chitraveena.

As opposed to Hindustani music, Carnatic music is disseminated and learnt scholarly through compositions, which encode numerous mind-boggling melodic subtleties, likewise giving degree to free acts of spontaneity or improvisation. Essentially every version of a Carnatic music organization is unique and one of a kind as it encapsulates components of the writer's vision, as well as the performer's understanding.

The folk melodies penned down in Malayalam, Knanaya Folk Songs

The Knanaya, an ethnic gathering among the St. Thomas Christians, hold folk melodies that were first recorded in the Knanaya researcher P.U Luke in his text Purathana Pattukal or Ancient Songs, close to their hearts. The beginnings of the actual folk songs are obscure yet were gathered by Luke from Knanaya families who kept palm leaf relics comprising the text of these melodies. The songs were written in Old Malayalam but comprise words from Sanskrit, Syriac, and Tamil demonstrating their vestige. Systematically, these old folk melodies contain fables about the beliefs, customs and practices of the local community, accounts of verifiable occasions (like the mission of St. Thomas the Apostle and the migration of the Knanaya to India), scriptural stories, melodies of places of worship, and the existences of holy people. The folk songs are poetic and are viewed as fortunes in Kerala's cultural legacy.

FAQs

Q1. What are the various musical instruments used in Malayalam music?

Malayalam music incorporate chenda, mrudangam, mizhavu, maddalam, perumbara, edakka, kuzhal, kadumthudi, ilathalam, kuzhithalam, thoppi maddalam, idumudi viranam udukku, thamber, veekanchenda, thimila, chankidikuzhal, killari, ankyam, and a musical instrument kept high and played.

Q2. What are the special Kerala drums called?

The Chanda is a tube-shaped percussion instrument popularly used in Kerala and broadly utilized in Tulu Nadu of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India. In Tulu Nadu (Coastal Karnataka), it is popularly called chende.