Keralas Ancient Serpent Worship Folk Music Comes Alive In Delhi

The Stein Auditorium at the India Habitat Centre (IHC) came alive with the Pulluvan Pattu performance, one of Kerala’s centuries-old ritual folk traditions tied to serpent worship on August 9.

Presented at the second evening of this year’s IHC Lok Sangeet Sammelan, the performance was organised by India Habitat Centre along with Anwesha Kala Kendra, a group that has spent over 25 years working to keep India’s folk and classical arts alive through performances, festivals and cultural exchanges.

The performance was brought to the Capital by the Sree Sankaran Memorial Pulluvan Pattu Kala Samithi, led by Sathyanarayanan P, a well-known name in this tradition and a recipient of the Kerala Folklore Academy, Government of Kerala’s 2024 Guru Pooja Award. He was joined by Bindhu K P, Suresh Babu E, Sreejith P and Sreejil P, who together recreated the sound of a ritual that has survived largely through oral transmission within the Pulluva community.

The performance featured the distinctive sounds of the Pulluvan Veena, a single-stringed fiddle played with a bow, Pulluvan Kudam, an earthen pot fitted with a taut string along with bell-metal Ilathalam, cymbals.

The songs themselves go back to stories from the Mahabharata. Traditionally sung during the Malayalam month of Karkidakam — the monsoon month associated with hardship — and again around the Malayalam new year in Chingam, the songs trace the lineage of serpent deities — from the birth of Kadru’s thousand serpent sons, to King Parikshit’s death by snakebite, to the tale of Krishna and Kaliya among other stories. Traditionally, Pulluvan and Pulluvatti singers would travel door to door in rural Kerala, singing these stories in exchange for rice and small offerings, a practice that tied art, survival and devotion together in a single act.

The evening brought together the larger vision of the IHC Lok Sangeet Sammelan. Speaking at the event, KG Suresh, Director, IHC, said, “India’s folk traditions represent the living cultural memory of our communities. They are not simply forms of performance, but embody relationships between people, nature, faith and generations of inherited knowledge. Through the IHC Lok Sangeet Sammelan, we are delighted to bring such distinctive traditions as Pulluvan Pattu to audiences in Delhi and contribute to their continued appreciation and preservation.”

Anwesha Brahma, Secretary, Anwesha Kala Kendra, said, “Pulluvan Pattu is a beautiful example of how India’s folk traditions bring together music, ritual, community and a deep relationship with nature.”

Babu Panicker, President, International Centre for Kathakali and other dignitaries from the Malayalee community in the national capital attended the event.