On Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at 12:07 AM, Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan <palaniappa@aol.com> wrote:

Dear Scholars,

There is a CBSE document (http://heritage.cbseacademic.in/blog/index.php/performing-arts/ ) on the Web dated September 2, 2012 which says the  following:

"The word Kutiyattam is derived from the word ‘Kuti’ which in Malayalam language primarily means ‘combined’ or ‘together’ while ‘attam’ means acting. Therefore, the word ‘Kuttiyatam‘ means combined acting."

The above document was a product of the CBSE Research & Development Unit. 

But 'Module 10 - Theatre and Drama in India' of the 'Knowledge Traditions & Practices of India' textbook edited by Kapil Kapoor and Michel Danino and probably uploaded on or after September 14, 2012 says the following on page 7. ((http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2012/68_KTPI/Module_10.pdf )

Although the document was uploaded on September 14, 2012, it is very likely that the content was prepared much earlier. I believe the website version is meant to be a later correction.

  

"Kuṭiyaṭṭam (or kūṭhiyaṭṭam) is derived from the Sanskrit word kūrd, meaning to ‘to play’. Kuṭiyaṭṭam, the only surviving specimen of the ancient Sanskrit theatre, remains a popular theatre form in Kerala. In May 2001, kuṭiyaṭṭam earned a rare honour when UNESCO declared it a masterpiece of human heritage to be protected and preserved. It is believed that Kulasekhara Varma Cheraman Perumal, an ancient King of Kerala, was the creator of kuṭiyaṭṭam in its present form. His book Āṭṭaprakaraṇa is considered as the most authoritative work on the art form till date."

This entire paragraph appears to be a straight lift from one of these sites. It is also possible that the Wikipedia entry for Kutiyattam had this exact paragraph sometime in the past.

http://www.culturopedia.com/Theatre/koothiyattam.html

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Koodiyattam

http://www.scribd.com/doc/84386127/Indian-Theatre

It is interesting that even the Sanskrit word kūrd is possibly a borrowing from Dravidian (Burrow Dravidian Studies VII 1948:375, CDIAL 3411,3412, See DEDR 1705).

Regards,

Suresh.