Kalamandalam Krishnakumar donned the role of Dhananjaya, an epithet of Arjuna, used almost invariably in Koodiyattam parlance, in the episode centred on the wedding of Subhadra and Dhananjaya, one of the two Sanskrit plays penned by Chera king Kulasekhara Varman of the 9th or 10th century, who was also a playwright-cum-actor.
In Koodiyattam, the actor has to first of all place the character in the context relevant to the scenes that follow. As part of the so-called ‘setting out’ (Purappadu) of Dhananjaya in the first act of the play Subhadradhananjayam , Krishnakumar presented the hero as enchanted by the beauty of head and heart of Subhadra, his dearest friend and benefactor Krishna’s sister.
Impeccable presentation
In the traditional ritual-dominant presentation in conventional venues, the artiste essaying Dhananjaya usually enacts a kesadipadam (full-fledged description of the physique from top to feet) of the heroine. But, quite appropriately, Krishnakumar presented just a panchamgam (‘five parts’), sketching the heroine’s attractive physique.
The hero finds himself struggling between the possibility of being near Subhadra or the chance of enjoying the company of his mother, siblings and wife. He was on a pilgrimage as per a consensus among the siblings. But he had to forego the pleasures of being with his family.
Subsequently he plunges into a detailed imagination of how Kunti, Dharmaputra, Bhima, his twin brothers and Panchali would have given him a warm welcome and how he would reciprocated to each of their affection and love.
The challenge in presenting this scene is that the actor appearing at the outset as Dhananjaya has to assume in turn the roles of Kunti, Dharmaputra, Bhima, Nakula, Sahadeva and finally of Panchali, by the technique of pakarnnaattam (transformational acting). Krishnakumar’s presentation was flawless in this aspect of the performance. The emotional and gestural aspects of his acting were on par with the excellence of his aharyam (makeup and costume).
He concluded his presentation by returning to his state of infatuation on account of cupid’s arrows enhancing his infatuation for Subhadra. Laudably, he eschewed the final ritual called ‘nityakriya’ indispensable in traditional performances.
Kalamandalam Dhanarajan and Kalamandalam Sajikumar played the mizhavu, Kalanilayam Rajan was on the edakka and Margi Usharathnam handled the cymbals. They stood the performance in good stead throughout by harmoniously enhancing even subtle movements or emotional variations. The programme was organised by the Sangeet Natak Academy’s Centre for Kuttiyattam in Thiruvananthapuram.
