Before Ravana could sleep…

Pothiyil Narayana Chakyar’s ‘Dasamukha Ravana’ sketched the mindscape of Ravana when he was at war with Rama.

October 23, 2014 04:25 pm | Updated May 23, 2016 07:32 pm IST

Pothiyil Narayana Chakyar Koothu. Photo: K. V. Srinivasan

Pothiyil Narayana Chakyar Koothu. Photo: K. V. Srinivasan

There is a special place for the vidushaka or jester in Koodiyattom, an ancient Sanskrit theatre form from Kerala. Being the only actor that is allowed to speak in Sanskrit and Malayalam, he bridges the gap between the educated elite and the common man. He is both narrator and comic, and as the latter, he has the license to mock anyone, be it the characters in the play or erstwhile kings.

The vidushaka has one more avenue- the one-act, Chakyarkoothu. This is more popular today in the temples of Kerala as the language is more accessible. It is essentially a one-man show with a percussionist on the Mizhaavu and the Illatalam, and can last between two to eight hours.

Recently, Pothiyil Narayana Chakyar, a disciple of the celebrated Koodiyattom and Chakyarkoothu artist Mani Madhava Chakyar, presented ‘Dasamukha Ravana,’ a piece more common in the Kathakali repertoire than in Chakyarkoothu. As a crusader, Mani Madhava Chakyar brought the art forms out of the temples and carried them across India with the help of scholars such as Dr.V. Raghavan in the 1900s. Narayana Chakyar himself is a senior artist and guru with 45 years of dedication to the art.

The Sanskrit slokas for the performance of ‘Dasamukha Ravana’ were developed by Guru Narayana Nambiar, son of Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar, with choreography by Kalamandalam Vijayakrishnan and Mizhaavu percussion by Kalamandalam Dhanaraj.

The opening rituals: the vidushaka kriya, with steps performed along a square in front of the stage and the vidushaka stobham, a comic act mimicking Kerala brahmins combing their hair into a sikha, chewing betel nuts and fanning themselves with the upper body angavastram etc., were performed, after which the story was introduced.

The lead-up to the fight between Ravana and Rama was sketched briefly and the action reached the battlefield. As per the yuddha neeti (rules of war), Rama sends an unarmed and fatigued Ravana home to rest before they resume the fight the next day. Ravana goes back but is unable to enjoy his meal or relax. He tries to sleep and dreams of past events which bring out the navarasa or the nine dominant emotions- Sringara- with Mandodari, Hasya- Kartaveerarjuna’s wives laughed at the identical responses from each of the ten faces to a question, Karuna- brought by putra dukha when he loses his son in the battle, Roudra- when his brother Vibhisana crosses over to the enemy camp, Adbuta- wonder at monkeys helping mere humans to form a powerful army, Veera- how he created Lanka for the rakshasa kula, Bhaya- fear of death, Bhibatsa- the sight of his defaced sister Soorpanaka and Shanta-peace while praying to Parvathi Vallabha.

Waking up, Ravana readies for war, praying to Siva and taking all the shakti from the Linga, but with a sceptical parting ‘Thirichu varilla’ (I am not coming back).

The hour-long performance sped by with an uninterrupted flow by the maestro. Without changing his tone or the rhythm of the narration, Narayana Chakyar would casually introduce mime, say imitating the sound of Ravana’s ten faces acknowledging hunger as a long, ‘eeee...’, or mock the audience leaving mid-way telling them, yes Ravana has to sleep, so do you... It was an inspiring soliloquy with the brilliance not losing lustre in an empty auditorium.

Chakyarkoothu and Mohiniyattom (Maya Vinayan) were presented by Kalasagar. Rajan Poduval, Secretary, Kalasagar, observed ‘Gurusmar anadinam’ in memory of Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Poduval, a renowned Chenda player for Kathakali, by honouring ‘Living Legends’ Vidwan T.V.Sankaranarayanan and Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar.

Tough times

Having lost both parents by his teens, Narayana Chakyar wanted to follow his passion for Sanskrit theatre. He knocked at Kerala Kalamandalam’s doors but could not find a guarantor for Rs.6,000 that they required in the late 1960s. Crestfallen, he returned home and related this incident to Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar’s relative when he met her next. She put in a word to the Guru, who wrote to him saying, ‘First come here, the rest we will see later.’ Thus his 20-year stint with the illustrious guru began.

Having just crossed 60, he is busy performing during the seven-month festival season and has many students across the State. Ask his opinion on the future of the art and he is cynical. “Where is the language proficiency in students these days- neither do they know Sanskrit or even pure Malayalam. And after learning comes the dedication. I have done only this for 45 years. There is limited exposure outside Kerala, so for an artist to make a living out of this art form is very difficult.”

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