Portraits from the Ramayana

Koodiyattam exponent Indu G. seized every opportunity to display her histrionic skills in her detailed depiction of ‘Uthararamacharitham.’

April 07, 2016 10:17 am | Updated October 18, 2016 12:49 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Indu G. presents ‘Uthararamacharitham'

Indu G. presents ‘Uthararamacharitham'

Despite its claim to a rich legacy and its history of continuous performances stretching across centuries, the repertoire of Koodiyattam was very limited. It was only after the opening up of the ritualistic art form and its coming out of temple precincts in the recent past that new stories were attempted by accomplished practitioners such as Venu G. (‘Urubhangam’, ‘Sakunthalam’), Margi Madhu Chakyar (‘Kaunchukiyam’, ‘Karnabharam’, ‘Macbeth’), Usha Nangiyar (‘Mandodari’, ‘Draupadi’) and the late Margi Sathi (‘Sree Ramacharitham’, ‘Silapathikaram’).

The recently concluded three-day Koodiyattam performance by Indu G., at Nepathya, Moozhikulam, on ‘Uthararamacharitham’ (The Later Life of Rama), was another remarkable attempt at introducing Bhavabhuthi’s masterpiece to Koodiyattam aficionados.

Although based on the Ramayana, the epic that lent itself to umpteen retellings and adaptations, ‘Uthararamacharitham’ is not all that familiar a play to Kerala audiences.

Reckoned at par with Kalidasa by scholars, Bhavabhuti’s works are noted for their astute literary and poetic intuition, richness and maturity of language, humanism and insightful incursions into the perpetually fascinating human psyche. ‘Uthararamacharitham’ deals with the story of Rama following his coronation and the circumstances that lead to his abandonment of Sita. Her rescue by Valmiki, the birth of her twin sons, the Aswamedha yagna and the heroic act of the boys in capturing the horse, her final ordeal and, finally, the happy reunion of the family in Ayodhya are all taken up for detailed exploration.

After 12 years of separation, both Rama and Sita happen to be in Panchavadi at the same time, unbeknownst to each other. The play progresses through the internal conflicts and mental strife of Rama and Sita on their witnessing the familiar landscapes of Panchavadi, where they spent happy days in exile. Indu began her performance with Act III of the drama and the entire story was presented as the nirvahanam of Sita, sitting happily in Ayodhya, following her reunion with Rama.

Spread over three days, the play provides the actor with a plethora of opportunities to showcase their histrionic skills, which Indu seized so judiciously, using the technique of Pakarnattam, by transforming herself into different roles of Rama, Sita, Vasanthy, Tamasa Ravana, Jatayu and even birds such as the peacock and trees such as the Kadambu, to evoke a cascade of emotions, all the while keeping Karuna Rasa (pathos) as the undercurrent of the play throughout.

The gifted portrayals of the scenic beauty of Panchavadi, the personification of the Kadambu tree and Sita reviving Rama from his frequent fainting spells recur as leitmotifs for Rama realising the presence of Sita.

The new experiments in the application of familiar rhythms, such as Triputa and Lakshmi talam, in slightly modified tempos on two occasions – Rama’s revival from his swoons and Sita teaching the peacock to dance –were remarkably executed with the help of the percussion team of Kalamandalam Manikantan, Nepathya Jinesh and Kalanilayam Rajan.

The entire choreography was supervised and technically supported by Margi Madhu. The project was financed by Department of Culture, Government of India.

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