I’ve grown up in the streets of Chennai, where ‘therukoothu’ or street shows have been an integral part of cultural expression. An art form in Kerala that borrows from this tradition is the Porattukali or Panapporattu, performed by the Paanar community in Palakkad. Two streams of art developed in Kerala: classical art forms that were centred around temple traditions and folk art culture that thrived outside the temples. Even though each tradition has influenced the other, Porattukali especially delves into a complex performance structure that mediates dialogues between caste, culture, and protest. The term 'Porattukali' comes from the confluence of two words — puram meaning ‘outside’ and attam or kali meaning ‘art or performance’. Porattukali therefore becomes "the outsiders’ performance." 

Porattukali is a multi-disciplinary art form consisting of dance, music, drama and storytelling. No two porattukali performances are the same, since it comes from a tradition of improvisation. The show has no written script or rules. The flow of a show depends on the performers’ skill to improvise and compose songs spontaneously. Often a culmination of satire, sarcasm, songs and theatre, the art form has remained a way for performers to bring conversations about caste, politics, and life’s difficulties to the forefront. 

Hymns of ‘lower’ Gods or those generally not worshipped by the upper cast, like Kali, Kandakarnan, Mookan and Chaathan, are usually sung at the beginning of each segment of the play. Plays are often designed to talk about various castes and prejudices through different segments of stories. Some of the communities discussed during the plays include the Devadasis of Thanjavur, Pookaris and Mappilas (a Muslim sub-caste), and many other intersectional communities between the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. 

Cross-dressing is a common practice in porattukali and there are also influences of Sanskrit literature character tropes that establish key characters in any Porattukali play. According to Sahapedia, the chodykaran, or a comic character is a character usually central to all acts. He is the ‘Narad’ of any story. A sootradara or string holder is who determines the tone and mood of the narrative, a

Porattukali is not a written tradition of any kind — the art form presents unwritten records of the lives and injustices against underprivileged communities. It is performed, remembered, learnt and passed down across generations orally. Beyond mere storytelling, what has allowed it to endure is a passion runs that runs through the district of Palakkad to keep history alive through the art of Porattukali. 

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