abiding in Irinjalakuda

Hello there!
sorry it took me such a long time since last post, but here i am! After looking around in Thiruvananthapuram (or Trivandrum, easier...), the school Kalamandalam in Cheruturuthi, Moozhikulam where the excellent Kutiyattam artist Margi Madhu teaches, and last but not least Irinjalakuda (the Chakyar family there has a long tradition of Kutiyattam), i decided -for various reasons- to start taking lessons in Irinjalakuda. It`s a small town with temple (with 2 elephants!) and theatre where i saw my first movie in Malayalam, "Kichaamanii", it was about a big firm and a mob and corruption or something, not very good, but the fighting scenes were funny when i saw these little indian chubbies in dhoti stretching their legs in the air in a kung fu battle. There were also two tall muscled indians with bodybuilder stature who were doing some jumps. Oh well, apart from the bad Hollywood imitations these films have their value when the fat mustached maffia boss starts dancing and singing in the streets with his gang as background dancers... i have a few titles of Malayalam art films, i'll tell you filmfans more about that after seeing them.
I have the impression that i am the only white guy around. I'm still staying at the P(ublic)W(orks)D(epartement) Rest House for 100 IRS (about 2 euro) per night, but hoping to be able to stay in a vacant room with Varun who rents the house, but he has to ask permission to the house owner. It seems to be difficult for bachelors to find a room here. Even for Varun it was difficult, and he comes from Chennai (or Madras). Varun says that bachelors are considered to have a 'free lifestyle' or sth..., i don't know. I have to introduce myself soon so i will do my best to look decent and act like a good boy, that will be very easy for me, because i am a decent and good boy (those who know me are nodding to the screen now). Varun and this house owner are both musicians, so i really hope i can live there.
About the lessons, well, they are very different from what i would expect from a western teacher. I've had 4 lessons so far and the excercises are always the same in the same order, repeating them untill my legs start shaking. But Sooraj gives me something new every day. He is a young (28) and brilliant Kutiyattam actor, i have the privilege to see the daily rehearsel in the morning, and it becomes more fascinating every day. The psychological depth of Kutiyattam, the repetitions and slowliness which stretches gives all thoughts and actions so much more meaning. Western audience is always looking for the surprise act which will change our mind, but here recognition is so much more important. The elder Gopal Venu is a warm and interesting person. He met many great artists in his career and wrote books on the indian theatre tradition. He conducts the school/ensemble here and is quite busy. I almost finished his first book and will ask him questions about it in a few days.
This is enough for today, there is so much more to tell. I just hope all this is a bit relevant to you guys, maybe you want to know about other things, please tell me!
CU soon!
ps oh yes! look Irinjalakuda up on google earth and you'll see me jumping somewhere in the jungle.

On the search for Kutiyattam teachers!

Hi!
this morning at 6.30, Ewa and I arrived in Cheruthuruthi by train. This is the village where Kalamandalam(http://www.kalamandalam.org/), a school for most Indian traditional arts (dance, theatre,music), where Ewa studies bharatanatyam, indian classical dance. You can find the place on google earth. I'd say that we`re surrounded by the jungle, but the village is much bigger than I had imagined; there is a big road with a lot of shops going through, a train station (wich is almost as big as the one in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala with almost 1 million inhabitants!) nearby in Shornur. I will ask information about the Kutiyattam classes here and then go to Kochin for the Madhu Margi school (also for Kutiyattam).
The first night i was in India ( had to wait in Mumbai airport for a whole night, which was not very pleasant. In the morning i flew to Thiruvananthapuram, where Ewa picked me up. The busses make a lot of noise, but actually anyone makes as much as noise as possible when driving a vehicle. The city is different than I imagined, it actually looks like a village but a very big one. There are no bins and the houses are in bad condition.
Ok, there is a lot more to tell, but I will tell you next time, qn post some photos as well.
Have a great time there!
CU

strong espresso

Good morning!
a last extra-strong espresso in the veranda in the parental house in Tienen. I packed yesterday night, quite tired. Very weird feeling, it's as if the whole idea of going on this trip is not real. But it will turn into reality very soon. Wish me luck, you guys, in 4 hours I will sit in a plane!
cu soon!
mahapada

nog tweeënhalf etmaal voor take-off!

Pieke trek!

we need you!!!! in spaaaaaace

aangemaakt, de blog is aangemaakt!

Hallo!
De blog voor Leo in India is aangemaakt!