Ramakathappattu
Ramakathappattu is a popular poem that emerged during the Pattu movement . Literary historians considered Ramakathappattu to be just one of the southern folk songs, like songs like Eravikuttipillapor and Ulakutaperumal . However, it was P.K. Narayana Pillai who gave it a great place .
Scholars date the work to between the 14th and 17th centuries. The style of the poem suggests that Ayyappillai Ashan was later than Kannassan(Ulloor says it was in the 7th century). [1]
Origin
The author of the Rama Kathapattu is Ayyappillai Ashan of Auvadutura near Kovalam . Legend has it that he was an illiterate farmer and that one day, having appointed his younger brother to guard his hut, he went to touch the Shivali at the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram . After offering the Deepa, he went outside and saw an old man and asked him for something. He ate the banana he gave him and sang songs on the way to the hut. [1]
Content
The content of Ramakathappattu is the Ramayana story. This work is modeled after Valmiki's Ramayana . However, the poet makes changes to the story and includes some innovative elements. An example is the Patala Ravana story taken from the Kambaramayana . Like the Ramacharitakaran, Ayyappillai Asan also attaches great importance to the Yuddha Kanda. The work ends with the killing of Ravana. The moderate and beautiful decorative ideas drawn from rural life are the specialty of Ramakathappattu.
The work is composed of viruthams and songs. One or more viruthams are followed by a long song. There are 279 viruthams and 3163 songs. The aim of this work is not devotion, but to provide entertainment to the masses. Like a song for bowing, the Ramayana was sung in Vishnu temples with the use of the musical instrument Chandravalayam . [2] . Ethu, Mona and Antyaprasav were used effortlessly in this.
Language
The Ramakatha song was written in Sanskrit letters, violating the pattu feature of the Leelathilakam. However, the influence of Sanskrit is much less in the Ramakatha song than in the Kannassa songs. Ulloor suggests that Ashan, who was a good Tamil scholar, wrote the Ramakatha in Malayalam Tamil. N. Krishna Pillai is of the opinion that it is a mixture of languages, not only Malanattu Tamil and Sanskrit, but also a mixture of Chanthamizhu. [3]While the language of the Ramacharitam is a purely classical mixture , Dr. K. M. Georgeanalyzes that it is based on the folk Tamil of southern Travancore . Forms with and without nasalization and palatalization are found in the Ramakatha song. Other features of the language in Rama Kathapattu include strange color changes, compound forms, and incorrect words such as Peedam, Adhisayam, and Jambhavan, which are not found in other works. [3]
References
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