Once upon an age, there lived a powerful demon called Narakasura who terrorised the three worlds. Lord Krishna slew the asura and delivered the universe from his tyranny. Deepavali is celebrated to mark the day of deliverance.
This is the bare outline of a story with which most of us are familiar. But have you ever wondered about the larger picture? As in, why did Narakasura consider himself invincible? What were his traits? How was he vanquished?
These and some not-so-frequently asked questions were answered in the attakatha, ‘Narakasuravadham,’ staged under the auspices of Uthareeyam at the Sopanam Hall, Ayyappan Temple, Mahalingapuram.
Composed by Karthika Tirunal Rama Varma, ruler of Travancore from 1758–1798, the work narrates the events leading to the asura’s samhara. Born from the contact of Bhuma Devi with the tusks of the Varaha avatar of Lord Vishnu, Narakasura was granted the divine weapon, Narayanastra, by Vishnu in response to Bhuma Devi’s plea. Emboldened by the boon that none but the Lord himself could slay him, so long as he was in possession of the astra, the arrogant Narakasura perpetrated countless atrocities against the devas and humans. Among these, was the despatch of his minion, the demon Nakrathundi, to abduct celestial nymphs from Devaloka.
It was at this point in the tale that the performance commenced. The first segment was taken up by the sringara padam in Padi raga, Chempata tala, enacted by Narakasura (Kalamandalam Ravikumar) and his wife Vibhrami (Kalamandalam Sarath). The asura, in a mood for relaxation and romance, becomes lyrical about the beauty of the ‘kekigal’ (peacocks) around them in the royal gardens of his kingdom Pragjyothisha.
The mudras and rasabhinaya wove the most minute details into the description of the birds’ quivering plumage, movements and dance (kekiattam), Ravikumar’s hands whirring fan-like in a blur of speed that transfixed.
Waxing eloquent about Vibhrami’s womanly attributes and grace, metaphors galore were aired in growing eulogy in the slokattam by Narakasura. Vocalists Kalamandalam Vishnu and Krishnakumar brought out the bhava with great involvement and fervour.
Suddenly, Narakasura is interrupted by a thunderous noise. He discovers the reason to be a wailing, grievously wounded Nakrathundi, mutilated by Jayanthan (son of Indra) who had spurned the demon’s unwelcome advances. Narakasura vows vengeance on Indra and immerses himself in war preparations. The pakarnattam, with Ravikumar alternating between the roles of Narakasura and Nakrathundi, bore the stamp of the artist’s expertise and tapped into moments of fury, pain and poignancy, making a memorable impact.
With veteran chenda artist Kalamandalam Raman Namboodiri helming the percussion, accompanied by Kalamandalam Sreehari (chenda), Kalamandalam Achyuta Warrier and Biju Attupuram (maddalam), the melam was of a very high order, leading the vanguard in the war segment. Here, with drumming alone providing accompaniment, tonal variations finessed a gamut of emotive nuances. Narakasura views Indra’s (Kalamandalam Shyamdas) entry into battle with contempt, denigrating him with the story of how his body came to be covered with eyes, referring to Sage Gautama’s curse in the Ahalya episode. Nakasura then defeats Indra, fells Airavata, conquers Devaloka, forcibly acquires Aditi’s earrings, uproots the Kalpavriksha and abducts the apsaras.
The fierce energy surround was palpable, the drumming whipping up a storm alongside Ravikumar’s whirling leaps. It was fascinating to observe how, in direct contrast to the earlier mood of sringara, the artist transformed into the very embodiment of rajas and tamas. Terrifying to behold, roaring in uncontrollable rage and blood lust, this was a contrast of extremes, capable of being carried off with élan and more important, without overkill, only by a seasoned asan. Which Ravikumar did, being a maestro in the Kaplingadan (Southern) style. A truly spectacular display of veera and roudra rasa!
Sarath and Shyamdas played the supporting characters with ease. Chutti by Kalamandalam Ravikumar was executed to perfection, with costumes by Kottakal Kunjiraman, Rajan and Kuttan.
Senior Kathakali vocalist, Thiruvalla Gopikuttan Nair, was honoured on the occasion, his valuable contribution to Kathakali sangeetham outlined in the felicitation speech.
