A Stairway into the World of Music: Transmission of Sopāna Saṅgītam from Temple to Theatre in Kerala

Abstract

This paper focuses on a form of pāṭṭu (song) that emerged in Kerala through a largely floating oral tradition, and evolved into a “cultivated” form of music over the years, getting allied to Hindu temples, developing  its own repertoire of musical and rhythmic practices, and influencing the way songs were sung for dance dramas in Kerala.

The paper explores the process through which an edifice of musical codes gets created with roots in indigenous modes of singing, and superstructure of a ritualized, formalized language. It looks at some of the musical (rāga) and rhythmic (tāḷa) modes in Sopānam music. It also explores the transformation of Sopānam into new vistas of singing when introduced into dance and dance drama forms such as Kūṭiyāṭṭam, Kṛṣṇāṭtam, Kathakali and Mohiniyāṭṭam.

The blending of the strains of the south Indian style of Carnatic music into the  Sopāna style gave a new melodic modification to Kathakali music. The paper seeks to explore the formal and aesthetic aspect of Sopāna Saṅgītam with particular focus on Kathakali.