As the singers began reciting the slokam, some members of the audience — among them budding and seasoned Kathakali artistes — moved towards the stage and sat down expectantly on the floor. This was the innocuous build-up to the spectacle that was to take place — Kottakkal Devadas playing the role of Jarasandhan in Rajasooyam . For more than two hours, he held them enthralled in a powerful display of story-telling that was packed with action, humour and expressive acting.
The first performance of the festival was Kalakeyavadham , an apt beginning after a lecture on Kottayam Thampuran’s stories by arts commentator TS Madhavankutty, who stressed the importance of prayoga over prameya (style over substance). Kesavan Kundalayar as Arjuna and Kalamandalam Adityan as Matali presented the highly-structured story in all its stylised purity, adhering to the rigour of Kathakali’s grammar. It was a pleasing start to the three-day Natya Thrithayi Kathakali festival.
A scene during a performance of Subhadraharanam Kathakali
There are only a few chuvanna thadi or villainous roles in Kathakali that offer an actor scope for detailed acting. Jarasandhan is one such role, and Devadas tapped its potential to the hilt. His entry and the thantedattam that followed, where he narrates the story of his birth, was disciplined and controlled. The subsequent segment, after the entry of Krishna, Bheema and Arjuna disguised as Brahmins, offered lively interactions between the characters. Sadanam Bhasi, Kalamandalam Pramod and Kalamandalam Adityan provided the ideal foil to Devadas’ Jarasandhan. Devadas acted out in detail Puranic episodes that emphasise charity. The story of Vamana, who sent Mahabali to the netherworld after being granted a mere three steps, was apt and done with finesse. A little more discretion and control over time would have enhanced the performance.
“There are some venues where an actor gets inspired. This was one such. I watched the audience — no one was leaving, all were focussed. I didn’t hold myself back,” Devadas later said.
The third performance of the day was Keechakavadham , with Peesappilly Rajeevan as Keechakan and Vellinezhi Haridas as Sairandhri. Rajeevan’s Keechakan was nuanced — this was not a lecherous molester but an admirer of beauty. The motif he used, of bees humming around the blooming flowers to taste the honey, was befitting of his interpretation of the powerful general.
Peesappilly Rajeevan as Keechakan during a performance of Keechakavadham Kathakali
The following performance, Subhadraharanam , was an ideal vehicle for Kalamandalam Balasubramanian, well known for his cholliyattam, elegant mudras and statuesque postures. Balasubramanian as Arjuna and Haripriya Namboodiri as Subhadra brought out the aesthetic beauty and the body language of Kathakali in both the wedding scene and the sringara padam that followed. Kalamandalam Krishnakumar did justice to the role of the angry Balabhadra, while Kalamandalam Harinarayanan was the wily Krishna.
Vocals and percussion maintained high standards throughout the first day. Kottakkal Narayanan, Kalamandalam Hareesh and Nedumballi Rammohan led the vocalists. Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan, who earlier in the day presented a paper on contemporary Kathakali melam , led the team of chenda players that included Kalamandalam Krishnadas and Kottakkal Prasad. Kottakkal Ravi, Kottakkal Radhakrishnan and Cherpulassery Hariharan were among the maddalam artistes.
A Kathakali festival curated by Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair Smaraka Trust, Karalmanna, Palakkad, always holds much promise. This festival, supported by Kerala Kalamandalam University, was no exception.
One casualty of such ambitious programming — 13 performances over three days interspersed with a few lectures and award presentations — is time management. The delayed start, compounded by lectures and performances that exceeded the allocated time, led to a long delay on the first day. A little more discipline would have ensured larger audience numbers.
