A Fiery Entrance
These moments of disruption challenged the weight of tradition and rewrote the rules of cultural participation. On July 26, yet another revolution was etched into history when RLV Aryadevi Thiyyadi, a painter and trained Kathakali artist, became the first woman to perform Ayyappan Theeyattu, an ancient ritual art form in Kerala, believed to be around a thousand years old.
As the daughter of renowned Ayyappan Thiyyattu artist Theeyadi Raman Nambiar, learning the traditional ritual art form came naturally to RLV Aryadevi. But stepping onto the stage as the first woman to perform was a real challenge.
'This art form was once confined to temple premises. Over time, many related art forms found space outside the temples, but theeyattu remained closed off, especially to women,' she recalls. Aryadevi traces her early exposure to the art back to her family's ancestral home in Mulakunnathukavu, Thrissur, where her father and brothers actively practised and performed Ayyappan Theeyattu.
Later, when the family relocated to Kochi due to her father's job, he began contemplating the future of the art. 'He felt a responsibility to pass it on. That is when he started teaching it to the next generation. My brothers were also learning, and I would accompany them. I was just five or six when I began absorbing it without really thinking about the cultural restrictions. I just loved it and continued training for about 15 years,' says Aryadevi.
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The Wire
a day ago
- The Wire
How Art Commissioned for Bank Calendars Led to a Sikh Museum
The following is an excerpt from The Story of a Sikh Museum: Heritage, Politics, Popular Culture published by Cambridge University Press. There is a story, of a Pathan who was seen holding a paint brush in his hand. A poet remarked, 'O Pathan, a sword in the hand suits you better, not a paint brush.' To this, the Pathan replied, 'You shall see. My paint brush will bring alive history—when you see my paintings, feel them, your hands shall pick up a sword on their own.' –Bhai Mati Das Museum, Gurdwara Sisganj, Delhi. Kanika Singh, The Story of a Sikh Museum: Heritage, Politics, Popular Culture, Cambridge University Press (2025). One enters the museum with the head covered and without shoes, as one would in the sacred space of a gurdwara. The entrance to the museum on the busy fawwara does not quite prepare the visitor for the space inside. There are large halls on two storeys, which constitute the museum. The display is unusual. In a museum, one typically expects a collection of old, rare objects of historical value. Here, the halls are lined with modern paintings. There are portraits of the Sikh Gurus, stories from their lives and that of their followers—'history paintings', which narrate the story of the Sikh past. These are oil paintings on canvas made in the Western academic or realist style. The painted scenes and their descriptions are like a storybook unfolding. Walking through the gallery of paintings, I found myself drawn into their world. There was the young Guru Nanak asleep in the sun, being provided shade by a cobra; Nanak and his companion Mardana on their travels; Mata Khivi, famous for her generosity, preparing the langar; Guru Gobind Singh accepting baptism from the Panj Piare; Baba Deep Singh charging into the battlefield; and Mai Bhago inspiring her companions to fight. The characters are so vividly depicted in the paintings that even as a non-Sikh viewer, I could feel both the gentleness of the Gurus' expression and the energy of the Khalsa; the sacrifice of the martyrs was deeply moving, and the fearlessness of these Sikhs was awe inspiring. Like many of us, I was already familiar with these images. I had seen them on wall and pocket calendars distributed by our local shopkeepers, in small, private shrines in shops and homes, in advertisements celebrating anniversaries of the Gurus and Sikh heroes; and in popular magazines. Animation films and songs available on the internet and television programmes on Sikh history are full of these images. These pictures had seemed to me as simply popular bazaar art; I was now encountering them within a museum. Where did these paintings come from? Who made them and why? How did they end up in a museum? What is it about these paintings that engages the viewer? And what is the story they tell? This book is a pursuit of these questions. Bhai Mati Das Museum at Chandni Chowk. The museum building is the façade with rooftop canopies on the right side. Photo: Author provided. Bhai Mati Das Museum opened to the public in 2001 and is run by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), a rich and influential body which manages the historic gurdwaras in Delhi. It is named after one of the three disciples of Guru Tegh Bahadur who is believed to have been martyred in Chandni Chowk in 1675. An introductory panel in Gurmukhi at the entrance of the museum informs the visitor of the purpose of the museum and its significance: that the museum stands on a site enriched with the blood of martyrs—of Guru Tegh Bahadur, his three followers and Banda Bahadur and his 740 companions (who are said to have died here in the early eighteenth century). 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There are scenes of Sikhs embracing martyrdom; portraits of the commanders of military bands (misl) who rose to prominence in the eighteenth century, followed by the emergence of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's empire in Punjab in the early nineteenth century; bhagats (saint-poets, like Baba Farid and Kabir) whose compositions are part of the holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib; events showing Sikh resistance to the British colonial rule (late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries); and the Sikhs' role in the army of independent India (post-1947). There are a couple of glass cases near the entrance with a few items, including a replica of a wooden rabab (stringed musical instrument) and a miniature model of the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple), Amritsar. A simple welcome desk and a small shelf with popular tracts on Sikh religion and history complete the set-up of the museum. Inside view of Bhai Mati Das Museum. Photo: Author provided. The history paintings in the museum have a particularly interesting trajectory. These were not made for display in a museum but were originally commissioned by the Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB), a prominent banking institution in India, over a period of three decades for their annual calendars. The bank published calendars on Sikh history, illustrating them with history paintings especially commissioned for this purpose. Tracing the journey of these paintings from the calendars to the museum reveals the underlying threads of interconnected processes: the world of popular Sikh art, the networks of patronage behind the paintings and Sikh museums, the creation of Sikh heritage through these and its relationship with Sikh identity and politics. A number of Sikh museums have been established in independent India—museums which narrate stories from the lives of the Sikh Gurus, their teachings, episodes involving their most dedicated followers, and significant events in the history of the Sikh community. Some of these exist in association with gurdwaras, others stand independently and may vary in size from being small one-roomed spaces to prominent buildings functioning exclusively as museums. They are noteworthy for several reasons. A significant number of these museums exist, mainly in the north Indian states of Punjab and Delhi. The display is unusual, for it is largely based on modern history paintings rather than on artefacts of historical value. In spite of the appellation 'museum', there is hardly any drive to collect, classify or preserve historical remains in Sikh museums. Sikh museums rarely have a curator; it is common for artists to be associated with specific museums, creating paintings for the display. 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New Indian Express
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Krishna Through Dance
The significance of Lord Krishna extends beyond Indian mythology. People admire, worship, and love Krishna not only as a deity but also as a figure who feels connected to their lives. And Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (SBKK) is no exception. Like every year, this year also, it has been celebrating its flagship dance drama Krishna, from August 12-16. As the programme is in its 49th year, TMS speaks with Shobha Deepak Singh, the director of SBKK. 'The Krishna dance-drama has been an integral part of Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra's annual calendar for nearly five decades. Its 49th edition carries the weight of that heritage while embracing the freshness of renewed creative expression,' says Singh. Although SBKK performs the programme every year, this year's production is special because it reimagines a beloved classic with refined choreography, intricate costume detailing, and enhanced stagecraft. "It combines the depth of live music, the visual richness of lighting design, and the disciplined artistry of our repertory dancers. For long-time audiences, it offers the comfort of tradition; for first-time viewers, it presents an immersive introduction to the timeless story of Lord Krishna,' notes Singh. The phases of Krishna This edition of Krishna focuses on multiple phases of Lord Krishna's life. It highlights his childhood in Gokul, the pastoral beauty of Vrindavan, his eternal bond with Radha, and the epic events of the Mahabharata. 'The life of Krishna is a sequence of events woven with playfulness, love, wisdom, and the triumph of dharma over adharma. By selecting episodes that span both the personal and the cosmic—from the innocence of his early years to the moral gravitas of the Kurukshetra battlefield—we offer audiences a holistic portrait of his journey. The intention is to allow viewers to travel with him through changing landscapes of emotion and purpose,' says Singh. The choreography Other than storytelling through the diversity of events in Krishna's life, what also makes the dance drama special is the choreography. This year's production is choreographed by Shashidharan Nair, a known face in India's dance-theatre circle. Trained in multiple dance genres like Kathakali, Mayurbhanj Chhau, and Kalaripayattu, he has put his experience and skills into making this production a grand success. 'What makes his association with the Kendra exceptional is the legacy he carries forward. Having performed, taught, and choreographed here for generations of dancers, he bridges tradition and innovation with equal ease. Many of our principal artists today are his protégés, shaped by his discipline and commitment to authenticity. In Krishna, his skills transform episodes—from the pastoral simplicity of Gokul to the moral urgency of Kurukshetra—into vivid representations that remain etched in the audience's memory,' Singh concludes. Krishna is ongoing till August 16 at Kamani Auditorium, Mandi House
Time of India
4 days ago
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