Spectacle with a rustic feel

From different eras, ‘Bhama Kalapam,’ ‘Parvathi Parinayam’ and ‘Bhakta Prahlada’ showed the evolution of the art form.

June 18, 2015 04:03 pm | Updated 04:03 pm IST

Abridged versions of the Kuchipudi Yakshaganas – ‘Parvathi Parinayam’ and ‘Bhakta Prahlada’ - and ‘Bhama Kalapam,’ each of two to two and a half hours duration, were presented by Vedantam Radhesyam and his 30-member troupe at Natya Rasaprabandha, held at Narada Gana Sabha recently.

Since the plays were taken from different periods, one could see the gradual evolution of the art form. While the oldest, the ‘…Kalapam,’ had more dialogue and less songs, the trend changed with the later ‘Parvathi Parinayam,’ which had more songs and dances and less dialogue.

Despite the changes, an informal, rustic air remained. The emotions were overplayed, decibel levels high, movements dramatic and the lighting basic, as were the props. The folk touch was there in the loka dharmic or realistic expressions such as the tongue sticking out in Devi poses in the invocation. Till today, members of the audience in smaller towns garland their favourite dancers during the performance.

While abridged versions brought up issues for the dancers on the number of repetitions etc., the informality in the group formations was also due to carelessness. The only disappointment was the uneven quality of the vocalists (Vedantam Radhesyam, Vedantam Durga Bhavani, Vedantam Satyanarasimha Sastry) over the three days.

The musicians were excellent with an attentive, nimble-fingered percussionist, Vedantam Ramakrishna, a consistently melodious P. Indrakeladri Sharma along with his talented disciple Vadali Lakshmi (violin, flute, casio) and energetic table player, Meher Babu. Other credits: Vanipathy (make up), Jamuna (hair) and Vijayalakshmi (costumes).

In order to kill the invincible Tarakasura, Siva has to marry Parvathi and beget a son. Hence, ‘Parvathi Parinayam,’ the story of Parvathi’s marriage to Siva, is preceded by Tarakasura’s story. For the first time, we saw Vedantam Radhesyam in action. He was the narrator, (sutradhar), nattuvangam artist, singer, recited the jathis and spoke the dialogue; in short, he did everything. There was undiluted drama in Tarakasura’s (Vedantam Satyanarasimha Sastry) arrogance and his fierce expressions matched the aggressive steps.

The second part had a softer feel, with a graceful Parvathi (Swarnalatha) trying to win over a meditating Siva (Vedantam Siddhendra Varaprasad). Her pravesha daruvu, ‘Vedale Nagaraja putri’ (Sahana, Adi) was presented with a quiet maturity.

The highlight was Siva’s rudra tandava, when he is disturbed by Kama’s arrows. The preceding Kama-Rati (Ujjwala, Satyanandini) duet, ‘Sumasarudu rati Sati samethudai’ in beautiful Saveri, was marred by the not-so-aesthetic kissing sounds. The impressive snake dance (Ramya Sahiti) enhanced the dramatic yakshagana.

‘Bhama Kalapam,’ dated 13th century and penned by Siddhendra Yogi, was the piece de resistance . The purvaranga or preliminary portion carried the mudra, ‘Siddhendra.’ The kalapam deals with Sathyabhama’s pride and possessive attitude towards her husband Krishna, and how she eventually gives up her ego and comes to revere Krishna as godhead.

Guru Radhesyam in streevesham was a natural; agile in the most famous pravesha daru, ‘Bhamane Sathyabhamane’ (Bhairavi, misra chapu), coy when asked her husband’s name in the humorous conversation with Madhavi (Vedantam Satyanarasimha Sastry) in ‘Siggaye noyamma’ (Madhyamavathi), sorrowful due to Krishna’s absence in the Mohanam ‘Ranguga..’ (Adi), and angry when he eventually appears.

The Mohanam daruvu was reminiscent of Jayadeva’s ‘Sakhi He’ in which Radha describes the first encounter with Krishna, with a similar ‘prathama samaagama’ situation in Sathyabhama’s recollection. Sathyabhama next philosophises about the difference between a man and a woman, equating a woman to a tender leaf and a man to a cruel thorn.

Since the play is heavy on dialogue with less emphasis on music and dance, Guru Radhesyam had introduced short nritta sequences, some Vempati Chinna Satyam’s, his own and others. Satyanarasimha’s nattuvangam was noteworthy. He switched roles easily between Madhavi and sutradhar, and as Madhavi was a perfect foil to Sathybhama’s spirited nature. Vedantam Siddhendra Varaprasad as Krishna had his upper body painted blue; his footwork impressed in the pravesha daru, ‘Rajeevaakshudu’ (Yadukulakamboji, Adi).

The Lekha scene, when Sathyabhama expresses her love and devotion towards Krishna in a letter in ‘Srimad Ratnakara putrika’ (Arabi, Adi), is another well-known one, but the three-day Kalapam shortened to two hours could present only snippets.

‘Bhakta Prahlada’ is admittedly the most dramatic of the three. The child devotee Prahlada’s (Trisha Saisri) father, the demon king Hiranyakashipu (Vedantam Satyanarasimha Sastry), is averse to his devotion to Hari. Prahlada is steadfast even in the face of death. In the end, Hari incarnates as the half man-half lion Narasimha and kills Hiranyakashipu.

It was interesting to see how the dramatic quotient was retained throughout the two-hour yakshagana. Satyanarasimha’s continued aggression and his split-second reaction during conversations as well as Vedantam Radhesyam’s aggressive singing facilitated this. Trisha’s soft stubbornness worked to contrast characters, though some eye-contact with the audience would have helped reinforce the role-play. Leelavathi (Himabindhu) as a protective mother tries in vain to reason with Hiranyakashipu and later, Prahlada. Himabindhu was correct but self-consciously so.

The encounter between the sutradhara (Guru Radhesyam) and the snake charmers was light-hearted. Another interesting touch was Prahlada singing Annamcharya’s keerthana, ‘Narayana te namo namo’ (Behag, Adi) with devotion, untouched by the angry conversation between him and his parents.

There was an effective build up to the finale. Hiranyakashipu challenges Prahlada about Hari’s omnipotence and asks about his presence in the pillar to which Prahlada calmly recites the important padhyam, ‘Jale Vishnu, sthale Vishnuhu..’ The demon breaks open the pillar bellowing, ‘Let him come out for my son!’ When Narasimha emerges terrifying and growling, Hiranyakashipu congratulates Prahlada on his faith. These little details show the depth of understanding of the Puranas and their faithful adherence down the ages. Such traditions need to be revered.

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