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The origin of ramanattom indicates a turning point
in the artistic and literary culture of Kerala. Upto
that time the supporting literature used for koothu
and attom, was written in pure Sanskrit. Ramayanam
attakkatha, written in manipravala style, was a new
step in those days. Koodiyattom and koothu were then
considered as the monopoly of chakyars.
With the advent of ramanattom different castes from
Brahmans to Nairs began to demonstrate their acting
ability, through this new form. The visual arts were
able to move outside the temple precincts from then
onwards. Koothu, koodiyattom and krishnanattom were
presented only inside the temple and hence the lower
castes could not see and enjoy them. But with the
advent of ramanattom, visual arts acquired entry
into a more popular stage.
Ramanattom was born out of certain particular
circumstances that existed in southern Kerala. Some
are of opinion that ramanattom is only a simple
imitation of krishnattom that existed in northern
Kerala. But that is not correct. Ramanattom which
has an individuality and style of its own was not
the imitation of another art form. If it was so
kathakali which is a more developed and cultured
form of ramanattom could never have achieved its
present level of universal fame. At the same time,
krishnanattom still survives only in its original
form within the four walls of the Guruvayoor temple.
Veera Kerala Varma (A.D. 1653-1694) who was a young
poet and a member of the Kottarakkara royal family
was the inventor of ramanattom. A legend is still in
existence regarding the origin of ramanattom. "Once
Kottarakkara Tampuran invited the krishnanattom
group of Manaveda Raja, the samutiri of Calicut to
his place. But the samutiri rejected this invitation
saying that there is none in southern Kerala who can
really relish krishnanattom. This incident really
enraged Tampuran and as a challenge he created
ramanattom instead of krishnanattom and performed it
on the same day as was decided earlier." Such
legends regarding many art forms are prevalent in
Kerala.
However it is difficult to believe that ramanattom
was written by Kottarakkara Tampuran to take revenge
on the samutiri of Calicut. For it is impossible to
believe that such a fine visual art which is
technically complex and a combination of the good
parts of many earlier forms of visual arts could
emerge from the imagination of a particular person
in one fine morning. Ramanattom can really be
considered only as a particular development in the
prolonged process of evolution of different art
forms in Kerala.
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