Pottan Theyyam - carrier of social message
Story The Pottan Theyyam performance depicts the futile social set up of a bygone era (yet in many ways it still carries a relevant message). It is based on an incident involving Shankaracharya, the proponent of Advaita Vedanta and widely credited to the revival of Hinduism (which had lost its sheen and many followers because of a rampant unjust social system and misinterpretation for selfish ends) and his path to enlightenment. Shankaracharya was on his way to Sarvajnapeeta (symbolizing attainment of the ultimate knowledge) when Lord Shiva decided to test Shankaracharya’s depth on true knowledge. Lord Shiva donned the guise of a ‘Chandala’ (in those days a cast who were on the lowest strata and untouchable) and blocked the learned high cast Aacharya’s way. Aacharya commands the ‘Chandala’ to move out of his way, but Chandala stands his ground and throws questions at the Aacharya on how and why is he different from...
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