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Kolatam
Kolatam is a play with sticks. This is known as Hallisaka and Dandarasaka
in Sanskrit. In olden days females used to play Kolatam in temple halls
as a devotional offering. Now the Kolatam played by males is a folk art
form.
A troupe consists of twenty to forty members or the least eight members.
There are even numbers of players and a leader in every troupe. The troupe
leader is called Pennuddi or Kolanna Pantulu or Garuva. He controls and
leads the troupe. A pair of two players is called Uddi in which one is
called Rama and the
other is Lakshmana. All the players form a big circle in the beginning
and change into two circles one in another. The leader along with the
Mridangam,
flute, harmonium
and cymbal players, stand in the middle of the inner circle. Each
player holds two sticks one in each hand with coloured strings or
bells tied to their ends. As soon as the leader signals, pairs in the
circle starts moving with a prayer to Lord Ganesha.
The leader then cries out the rhythm Etlugada and begins a song. The songs
are in different rhymes and beats. They may be prayers, duets, descriptions
or narratives delineating
Bhakti, Sringara, Karuna and Virarasa. The variety in steps is called
Kopulu. There are 50 kinds of kopulu as maximum and minimum number ranges
from six to twelve. When the troupe leader sings the first line of the
song the players sing the second line and strike the sticks moving or
jumping forward and backward in the circles. The leader whistles and changes
the speed to a high crescendo. This is called 'Usi'. The players accordingly
move with fast steps maintaining the speed for some time and stop
with Muktayimpu. The troupe leader then takes up another kopu and the
kolatam continues with different style.
There is a special type of Kolatam called 'Jada Kolatam'or
veni Kolatam'. This is more popular in Karnataka. The troupe consisting
of 12 to 18 players holding coloured strings or ropes tied
above to a pole or branch of a tree form into a circle. The circle's movements
inside and outside are so well timed and executed that the ropes hanging
from the top become plaited to form a Jada or veni. when the troupe dances
anticlockwise the ropes are unwound again, colourful ribbons on
platforms during ceremonial occasions.
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