P.J.Cherian ( Ed ) Essays on the Cultural Formation of Kerala literature, Art, Architecture, Music, Theatre, Cinema

Preface

Essays on the Cultural Formation of Kerala - Literature, Art, Architecture, Music, Theatre and Cinema conceived as Part II of Kerala State Gazetteers Vol. IV was initiated as a Gazetteer project in 1989. Several problems of a technical nature-to use the current formula to explain delays-came in the way of publication within a reasonable span of time. Work that is put off for a while tends to remain put off for a long while there after. Such has been the fate of this project as well.

During the 10 years that divide the initiation of this project and the release of the present volume the content of 'culture' has changed and new areas of cultural significance have emerged. Perhaps another volume need to be brought out to accommodate these areas. In spite of all the apparent gaps, I hope the present volume will serve the need of opening up the "Cultural Formation of Kerala" as an academic field demanding critical attention.

The definition of culture and identification of cultural categories need not be specific. These must remain somewhat vague and diffuse. When cultural is reduced to the position of the obvious and further reduced to a configuration of stock icons, critical discourse is the casualty. In the present consumer capitalist ethos, the term 'culture' suggests icons that represent uncritical perception and the latent will of the establishment. To bypass the popularly accepted terminology, would be to expose one to the risk of incomprehension.

The transactions of culture today, are promotional in nature - sometimes aggressively so. The multi-colour brochure is the new cultural paradigm that brings together kathakali, boat race, elephants, ayurveda and a host of other items. The package, obviously, is an imagined neo-colonialist shopping list. "Strong" opinions, debates and the ever- continuing and necessarily futile efforts at definition have been banished from the terrain of culture. Cultural critique has been orphaned by a skilful coup of its orientation and terms of reference. This seems to be the frightening aspect of cultural imperialism promoted by the capitalist market economy and globalization.

In recent years the Malayali has been progressively deprived of his capacity for philosophic theorizing. If culture is the way of life of a people, what do we really represent today? Am I guilty of nostalgia, when I say that not long ago, there waspace for theorizing in struggles, relationships and silences-i.e., in our cultural transactions? This has been comprehensively replaced by a mechanical and showcase mode that has taken culture way beyond the reach of critical interrogation.

In the context of fiercely promotional cultural forms and debilitating poverty of imagination, critical understanding of the cultural formation of the Malayali has become a formidable task. The terms of culture are secreted by commercial transactions and deeply entrenched by the mass media. The media must be identified as the most powerful single instrument that has successfully suppressed the recognition of genuine social impulses of cultural formation. The dense and incremental media-created overlay of manufactured reality has entombed social fact to inaccessible subterranean depths. I realize that an essay on the Malayalam print media culture is a genuine omission of this anthology. Again, for technical reasons, the publication of this volume was enmeshed in a "now of never" situation and we opted for the "now". Perhaps a whole volume needs to be set apart for an exclusive discussion of the media.

The terrifyingly dominant and disabling terminology of cultural discourse needs to be undermined. Perhaps, the first steps can be descriptive re-mapping of the most conspicuous areas of cultural expression, so that these can be studied historically or in relation to traditions of thought located in social structures. The contributors to the present volume attempt to unravel the genuine socio-cultural strands mostly identified with contemporary times.

Most of the essays had been collected before I took over as State Editor. While engaged in the pre-press work on the manuscripts, we decided to add a couple of new essays - one on Music (R. Nandakumar), another on Church Art (George Varghese) and another on Kerala Murals (M.G. Sasibhooshan). The other articles cover the Literary Traditions of Kerala (V. Aravindakshan), Folk Arts (A.K.Nambiar), Performing Art Forms (Aymanam Krishna Kaimal), Painting and Sculpture
(R. Nandakumar), Modern Malayalam Theatre (V.M. Ramachandran), Music (Leela Omcherry), Architecture (T.S. Balagopal), Temple Art (Shivaji Panikkar) and Malayalam Cinema (K.V. Ramankutty). The introductory piece by B. Rajeevan provides the critical theoretical perspective for the Cultural Formation of Kerala.

I think I have said enough and it is now left to each reader to take his or her own measure of the volume and then wrestle or quarrel with it.

Thiruvananthapuram 27-3-1999

Dr. P.J. Cherian State Editor Kerala Gazetteer Department

Acknowledgement

This publication also represent a demarcating line in the history of Gazetteer publications. It represents the new paradigm and agenda evolving out of the colonial critique of Gazetteers. We are indebted to Dr. K.N. Ganesh, the then State Editor who initiated the project and all the contributors who made this publication possible. I may also specifically mention here that but for the interest taken by S. Hemachandran, my colleague, this work would not have come through. I also put on record the help rendered by Mrs. Radhika Menon, and Gimmy George in the translation of articles which were in Malayalam or bilingual form. At a personal level I want to thank N. Madhavankutty, A.M. Geevarghese and R. Nandakumar for their advice, encouragement and collaboration. The title and cover page of this work emerged out of my discussions with them.

I mention here with gratitude the service and support of the Cultural Affairs ministry and its staff led by Dr. D. Babu Paul, Addl. Chief Secretary, N.V. Madhavan, Principal Secretary and Smt. K.V. Sreedevi, Joint Secretary. Among my colleagues here, Sub- Editor Kumari Vanaja N.B. and the administrative staff, J. Sarala Devi, P.K. Omana, P.D. Usha, B. Vilasini, V.K. Ashok Kumar, R. Sailajakumari and B. Balamma -all contributed in their own way for the success of this endeavour. We are also grateful to Godfrey Das for the excellent execution of the cover page and the staff of Impress Tech Pvt. Ltd. and AVRC for their neat D.T.P and printing work.
I am also grateful for the technical assistance in photography provided by
C. Chandramohan for some of the chapters. It is certainly possible that the discerning reader will identify errors that have escaped our notice. The editorial team, no doubt, must take the blame for these.