Music and dance performances at a festival in the name of Shadkala Govinda Marar

Veteran artistes stole the show at a cultural fete at Ramamangalam

Kalamandalam Krishnakumar as Bhima and Kottakkal Nandakumar as Hanuman in Kalyanasaugandhikam

Any reference to Kerala’s heritage of vocal music invariably zeroes in on to Shadkala Govinda Marar of Ramamangalam who embodied the temple singing tradition known as Sopanasangeetham. A three-day festival at Ramamangalam in the name of Shadkala Govinda Marar featured music and dance performances.

Scholastic singing

Sudha Raghunath is a celebrated name in music circles for her sruti sudhi and bhavasudhi. Sudha entranced the audience through her evocative rendition of select kritis on the opening day of the fete. Following a brief yet redolent alapana of raga Kamas, she sang Mathe malayadhwaja..., a Daru varnam of Muthiah Bhagavathar. Her accent on melody and bhava were well pronounced even in the swara segment.

Sudha Raghunathan at Shadkala Govinda Marar Sangeetholsavam

Sudha then moved on to

Saptaswarasobillu..., a popular Tyagaraja composition

in raga Jaganmohini and Roopaka tala. Her erudition was evident in the manner in which she treated the kriti. Preceding the famed Annamacharya composition

Sreeman Narayana... in raga Bowli, Sudha sang the slokam

Santhaakaaram bhujagasayanam... in praise of Lord Vishnu. The dominant sentiment of devotion was sustained throughout the rendering.

Mamavathu Srisaraswathy... of Mysore Vasudevachari in raga Hindolam followed and Sudha sang it with an unfailing stress on nuances of the raga.

Sudha’s bani never allows the musical phrases to submerge the sahitya bhava. There was no attempt on her part to provide ornamentation to any segment at the cost of the melodious veins. Instead the silence of matras (beats) introduced in between the swara rendition enhanced the bhava. The quintessence of raga Reethigowla came to fore as Sudha took up the Tyagaraja composition Nannu Vidachi Raghura... in Misra Chapu tala.

The piece-de-resistance of the concert was Swathi Thirunal’s Rama Rama gunasima... in raga Simhendramadhyamam. She was equally at ease in the lower and higher octaves. Her judicious use of brigas could create the desired impact in the minds of the audience. After an authoritative singing of the kirtana, Sudha moved on to the swara-portion. One could notice flashes of Thishra and Khanda jatis in it. Violinist Pakkala Ramadas accompanied the vocalist flawlessly. Neyveli Skanda Subrahmanian was on the mridangam and R. Raman was on the morsing. They played a neat taniavarthanam.

In the latter half, she sang a Bengali folk song with shades of ragas Hamirkalyani and Yamunkalyan. Next was Kurai ondrum illai ... in Ragamalika and Adi tala. Ragas Sivaranjini, Kappi and Sindhubhairavi beautified the lines of the devotional penned by C. Rajagopalachari.

Similarly the slokam Kripasamudram... , and the all-too-familiar bhajan Viseswara darshan... in raga Sindhubhairavi and Roopaka tala were a treat to the listeners. Sudha concluded her recital with a thillana in raga Revathi.

Draupadi’s ordeal

Bharatanatyam dancer Vasundhara Doraswamy presented her solo thematic production Kshaatra Draupadi — Tale Of The Warrior Princess on the next day. Conceptualised by Joshi Shankar and based on Kumara Vyasa’s Mahabharata in Kannada, Vasundhara, in her presentation, comfortably navigated through the trials and tribulations of Draupadi, yet proving herself as the indefatigable heroine who wreaks vengeance on those who tried to outrage her modesty.

Vasundhara Doraswamy staging Kshaatra Draupadi — Tale Of The Warrior Princess at Ramamangalam as part of Shadkala Govinda Marar Sangeetholsavam

Vasundhara started her recital with king Drupada’s fire worship. The dancer did an elaborate presentation of the arrangements related to the swayamvara of Draupadi and showed the audience the disgrace of those kings who failed in the contest.

Through a series of changes in Aharya, Vasundhara facilitated communication with the audience as she switched from one character to the other.

King Duryodhana’s visit to the palace of the Pandavas along with his brother Dussasana, and the humiliation he experienced there were poignantly portrayed. Vasundhara made the game of dice between the Kauravas and the Pandavas a visual feast. Dussasana’s attempt to disrobe Draupadi in front of the great gurus and warriors in the court and her plea to Bhishma and others were essayed.

From the Vanaparvam, Vasundhara selected an excerpt from Kalyanasaugandhikam and briefly presented Jayadradha’s bid to abduct Draupadi.

She also crisply visualised Keechakavadham before moving on to the Kurukshetra battle in which Bhima confronts Dussasana, disembowels him and ties up the dishevelled hair of Draupadi with his blood-stained hands. Drama had an upper hand in the finale of her performance although she strived to maintain a balance between dance and drama in the production as a whole.

Core of classicism

Kottayathu Thampuran’s play, Kalyanasaugandhikam, an acid test for seasoned artistes, was staged after that. Kalamandalam Krishnakumar acted as Bhima and Kalamandalam Visakh as Panchali.

The very first padam of Bhima, Panchalarajathanaye... in the 32-beat cycle of Chembada tala, addressing his consort brings out sringara rasa extensively. Moreover there is a distinctively choreographed iratti (dance segment), which Krishnakumar presented immaculately. As Panchali, Visakh smoothly performed En kanava kandaalum... . The next padam of Bhima, Manchelmizhiyale..., is noted for Veera rasa. Krishnakumar enacted Bhima’s demeanour in realising his goal stylishly. The vanavarnana that followed and the structured improvisation, ‘Ajagarakabalitham’, were compact visual frames.

Kottakkal Nandakumar portrayed Hanuman with elan. His meditation in Kadalivanam, disturbance caused by indistinct sounds, and reflections on changes happening in the forest were arresting visual fragments.

The actor’s enactment of Aariha Varunnu..., the padam that described his mighty brother Bhima, reminded the connoisseurs of the great gurus of yore who were experts in the role of Hanuman. Nandakumar made the encounter between Hanuman and Bhima memorable with slices of humour.

Kalamandalam Babu Namboodiri was the principal vocalist. Sadanam Sivadas ably supported him. Kalamandalam Venu Mohan on the chenda and Kalamandalam Vineeth on the maddalam closely followed the actors’ expansive and minute movements complemented by appropriate expressions.

The fete was organised by Shadkala Govinda Marar Kalasamithi in association with Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi.