Recently, a day-long Kathakali programme, which went on till the wee hours of the next day at the Koothambalam of Kerala Kalamandalam, began with Thodayam purappad and Melappadam in the morning.
In the evening, edited scenes from some well-known Kathakali plays were presented by young artistes. Select episodes from plays such as Kirmeeravadham, Kalyanasougandhikam , Balivadham, Nalacharitham and Dakshayagam were performed all through the night to a packed audience.
‘Lalitha and Panchali’, an excerpt from Kirmeeravadhom, was performed by Kalamandalam Champakkara Vijayakumar and Kalamandalam Jishnu Ravi. Vijayakumar stole the show with his Lalitha, especially during the padams ‘Nallarkulam Aniyam...’ in slow tempo and ‘Kandal athi Modam...’ Although his footwork and certain mudras needed finesse, he put up a good show along with Jishnu as Panchali.
An excerpt from Kalyanasougandhikam, began with Hanuman's penance in the forest. Sadanam Bhasi, a specialist in ‘Vellathadi vesham’ (white beard), once again proved his mettle in that role. Bhasi’s trademark manodharma narrated the incident of Sita gifting Hanuman a gold chain during Rama’s return to Ayodhya after his exile. He maintained the sthayi bhava (dominant mood) very well while enacting the scene and during the presentation of the padam ‘Aariha varunnithau....’. Towards the end of the scene, Bhasi was forced to rush through his act due to time constraints.
Kalamandalam Guruvayur Haridas, another excellent artiste, donned the role of Bhima with elan. His impeccable foot work and acting stood out. A scene from Balivadham followed. It began with Ravana and his uncle Maricha discussing the way in which Soorpanakha, Ravana’s sister, was mutilated by Rama and Lakshmana. The two-hour long performance ended with the scene that depicted Sita sitting all alone in her hut in the jungle.
FACT Mohanan enacted the role of the mighty Ravana with the right amount of energy and valour. ‘Mareecha Nisachara pungava...’, a padam, was systemically performed. Kalamandalam Prasanth and Vellinezhi Haridasan appeared in the roles of Rama and Sita. Prasanth’s presentation of the padam, ‘Vandar kuzhali Bale, Kandayo Sithe...’ was aesthetically done.
Background music rendered by Sadanam Sivadas and Kalamandalam Sudheesh deserves special mention.
Versatility evident
The ‘Kattalan-Damayanthi’ episode from Nalacharitham was the next one. Kalamandalam Manoj enacted the Kattalan with grace. Even though his initial manodharmam attam was a little prolonged, Manoj excelled in the padams ‘Aravam enthithu ariyunnatho eha...’ and ‘Angane njan angu povathengane...’ His versatility and spontaneity were evident. Kalamandalam Arunraju performed the role of Damayanthi.
After that edited scenes from Nalacharitham Moonnam Divasam and Nalam divasam were perfomed. Artistes like Kalamandalam Rajeev [Mayyanad], Kottakkal Rajmohan and Kalamandalam Prasanth Junior were the main artistes. A performance of Dakshayagam marked the end of the event. Kalamandalam Shanmughan, Kalanilayam Vinod and Kottakkal Devadas were in the grand finale of the programme.
The programme was organised in honour of Kathakali artiste Kalamandalam Ravikumar, artiste and researcher at Kalamandalam for more than three decades.
