The patriarchal structure of Koodiyattam was unenthusiastic towards the growth of Nangiarkoothu as an independent theatrical entity till the latter half of the last century. Painkulam Rama Chakyar and, in course of time, Ammannur Madhava Chakyar were pivotal in the resuscitation of this female theatre tradition.
Since then remarkable actors have been groomed in the art form. Among them, Usha Nangiar, a disciple of Ammannur, proved her mettle in the field through splendid portrayal of solid female characters from the great Indian epics; women such as Mandodari, Karthyayani and Draupadi in addition to those in Koodiyattam like Subhadra, Sita, Thara and Lalitha. She recently presented Mandodari at the TDM Hall, Kochi.
The excerpt was from ‘Asokavanikankam’, the fifth Act of the play, ‘Ascharyachoodamani’ of renowned playwright, Sakthibhadra.
`Mandodari’s entry is spread over five days of recital true to the tradition of Koodiyattam.
Usha abridged the same to one-and-a-half hours and her choreographic ingenuity was manifest right through the performance.
Following the ritual, kamala parivarthanathil thozhuthu, she did the samkshepam in which the 10-headed Ravana with 20 hands emerged as an eye-catching visual image in her precisely effected hastamudras and facial expressions.
She then moved on to Nirvahana, the systematic recollection of past events by a character for stepping into the present. Here the actress, through angika and satwika, portrayed child Ravana sleeping on the lap of Kaikasi, his mother, who is irked by Vaishravana passing across the sky in Pushpaka, the flying chariot.
Kaikasi’s initial curiosity progressing to jealousy towards Vaishravana and agony looking at her own child moved the spectators beyond measure as Usha spontaneously and evocatively switched from one expression to the other.
Ravana’s determination to win boons from Lord Siva and his severe penance were an extraordinary visual treat as Usha performed the sequences sans over-dramatisation.
Usha succinctly presented Ravana’s usurping of Lanka and the ouster of Vaishravana, falling back upon the time-tested technique of pakarnnaattam.
The coronation of Ravana engulfed by hundreds of thousands of demons and his setting out for hunting were testimony to the histrionics of the actress.
The veera rasa (heroism) associated with Ravana’s padappurappad and the chariot heading to the forest beautifully synchronised with the playing on the mizhavu and the edakka.
Kalamandalam V.K.K. Hariharan and Kalamandalam Rajeev created striking impressions of the galloping horses on the mizhavu while Usha as Ravana majestically waved the whip. Usha made memorable the scene of Ravana, the predator, shooting the arrow towards the prey, a petrified deer.
Filling a short interlude, the ace instrumentalists did something akin to a taniavartanam in a Carnatic music concert. The dialogue between the mizhavu and the edakka in the magical process of ettichurukkal (competitive playing leading to a crescendo) was enchanting to the ears.
As Ravana came across Maya along with his gorgeous daughter, Mandodari, the mood changed over to delight and then to sringara rasa. With Ravana’s return to Lanka and the marriage ceremony that followed, Usha’s histrionic nimbleness became once more apparent. The interplay of mizhavu and Kalanilayam Unnikrishnan’s melodious notes on the edakka stimulated her leisurely-executed hastamudra and expressions denoting Ravana’s bliss in the company of his consort, Mandodari.
All said and done, in comparison to her consummate presentations in the previous years, one could discern a lacuna in certain aspects of involvement or in the body kinetics.
The performance was organised under the auspices of BEAME.
