For three days, the Harmony Festival at Marthoma Nagar in Azhikode, Kodungallur witnessed art forms that highlighted the cultural plurality of Kerala. The participants seemed to be inspired by the historical importance of the venue where St. Thomas landed in AD 52. Their ingenuity was revealed in the way they could adapt art forms to embrace Christian themes.
‘Sahana Sougandhikam’ Kathakali, depicting the life of Sr Alphonsa, the first nun of Indian origin to be canonised as a saint by the Catholic Church, was premiered here.
A scene from ‘Sahana Sougandhikam’ Kathakali
Scripted by Kudamaloor Muraleekrishnan, based on the book Snehabali by Fr Romulus, the 75-minute play was choreographed by Meenadam Unnikrishnan whose ‘Abrahaminte Bali’ had won rave reviews in the past. The opening scene was on the lines of ‘nirvahanam’ in which Annakutty (previous name of Alphonsa) recapitulated her early days, including her commitment to become a nun. In a bid to shun a married life, she even ventures to disfigure her body with burns. Finally, her step-mother accedes to her wish. Her initiation into nun hood by Sr. Ursoolamma, the head of the convent, and her life was portrayed in the subsequent scene.
The portrayal of a nun in Kathakali by improvising on the usual costumes and by draping the character with a dark brown gown, but still keeping the archaic ornaments, appeared proper. The only addition to this was a rosary. What seemed redundant on the Kathakali stage was the cot on which the character finally breathed her last. But Unnikrishnan explained that the cot had a special significance as the one used by Sr. Alphonsa has been preserved as a divine relic at Bharananganam.
Kudamaloor Muraleekrishnan (Alphonsa) and Kalakendram Muraleedharan Namboodiri (Ursoolamma) came good in their respective roles but absence of theatrical events and variety of veshams seemed to be a major lacuna. The padams and ragas employed were commendable. Emotive rendition by Kalamandalam Balachandran assisted by Kalamandalam Sudheesh was praiseworthy. Kottakkal Rajesh (chenda) and Kottakkal Hari (maddalam) provided the percussion support.
A notable exemption to the Christian themes presented was an Adivasi dance staged by the Irula tribe from Attappadi. The venue reverberated for an hour with the high-pitched music by the 17-member Azad Kala Samgham, which was accompanied by shrill notes of the ‘kogal’ (pipe) and rhythms drummed on ‘pora’, ‘dhavil’ and ‘jalara’(small cymbals), instruments peculiar to their community. Nanjamma, the lead singer, opened with an invocation to their deity ‘Malleeswara’, which was repeated by the entire group in unison. An awardee of the Kerala Folklore Akademi, her unique voice culture was interesting to listen to.
Among the folklore presentations, ‘Arabana Muttu’, a Muslim musical performance of north Kerala, by V.J. Merin and team was notable for the synchronised movements of the artistes. Merin could successfully weave eulogies of Fr Chavara, the founder of CMI (Carmelites of Mary Immaculate) congregation, into the song.
Towards the end of the day-long marathon concerts by young musicians, Fr. Paul Poovathingal presented a 45-minute recital. ‘Parisudhatmave’ in Vakulabharanam, Roopakam, served as a trip down memory lane for music lovers. ‘Anandamrutha varshini’, a popular Dikshitar composition in Amrithavarshini, Adi tala, received an elaborate treatment with niraval at ‘Sree nandabadi samrakshini’. The kalpanaswaras in two tempos added to the grace of the rendition. He also presented a couple of Christian compositions set in Kharaharapriya and Harikamboji.
Concert by Fr. Paul Poovathingal
Narayanan Desamangalam, a senior disciple of T.R. Subramaniam, opened with a short elaboration of Nattakurinji and took up the Navagraha kriti of Dikshitar, Budhamasrayami. The musician’s acute sense of rhythm was evident in keeping the complex thalam, misra jathi jhampa (10 beats).
Tyagaraja’s ‘Raghuveera’ in Huseni, set to Roopakam, was followed by a neat elaboration of Syama. The composition was ‘Annapoorne visalakshi’ in Adi.
Palakkad M.B. Mani’s recital was devoted to Christian compositions. The kirtanas in Natta, Suruti, Hamsanadam and Sankarabharanam set in varied talas were proof of his attempts to enrich the repertoire of Carnatic music.
Palakkad M. B. Mani’s concert
Pandi melam led by Peruvanam Kuttan Marar was an attraction. The festival concluded with a two-hour ghazal recital by Umbayi. The fourth annual festival was organised by Marthoma Research Academy.
