Two anecdotes excerpted from Shakuntalam and Thoranayudham were staged by Sooraj Nambiar at St Thomas College, Thrissur. The sloka beginning with ‘Chalaa paamgam drushtim sprusasi bahu sove padhumathim’ from Shakuntalam was taken to depict ‘Bhramara badha’ (attack by the bee). On reaching the ashram of sage Kanwa, Dushyantha is puzzled to see a bee that hovers constantly around Shakuntala.
Sooraj, an alumnus and current faculty member of Ammannur Chachu Chakyar Smaraka Gurukulam, appeared in the ‘sthayi’ of Dushyantha, who wonders at the strange sight. Sooraj’s transformation into Shakuntala was admirable. Annoyed with the bee’s antics she tries to run away but the bee chases her. All attempts to drive it away fail. While staccato beats from the two mizhavus served to enhance the intensity of the bee’s constant buzz around Shakuntala, the edakka supported the amorous attitude of the bee. The display won a spontaneous applause from the audience. Then, Sooraj turned into Dushyantha, his face reflecting emotions ranging from wonder to jealousy.
The 20-minute anecdote was presented to highlight ‘pakarnnattam’ (multiple impersonation of characters by a single actor), an intrinsic technique in Koodiyattam, and also to depict the delineation of varied rasas.
Solo act
There are around a dozen archetypal anecdotes that are generally presented to highlight the theatrical potential of Koodiyattam, when a play is not fully staged. Among them, Kailasodharanam (lifting of Kailasa) was enacted by Sooraj. This feat is presented to project the valour of Ravana, whenever he appears in a play.
Sooraj selected a part from the ‘Nirvahanam’ (pre-story recital) of Sankukarna in Thoranayudham of poet Bhasa. The headgear was changed to suit the character. After defeating Vaisranava and usurping his vimana, Pushpaka, Ravana is returning to Lanka when he finds Mount Kailasa blocking his way. He asks Maricha to remove the obstacle but he is helpless. Infuriated, Ravana alights from the vimana and throws away the giant of a mountain.
Sooraj Nambiar
Sooraj, as Ravana, surveys the mountain. One could see in his eyes the height of Kailasa and its innumerable peaks. Lowering his body while staring at the mountain appeared an ingenious technique to demonstrate its height. The description of the mountain entailed the valleys, the rain drops, water flowing to form rivulets which in confluence turns into rivers forming water falls.
Using his eyes and gestures, Sooraj magnificently depicted the mountain and its features. Long drawn was the process to shake the mountain and lift it. After stretching his hands several times to warm up, he tries to shake the mountain at first. When such attempts fail, he sits on the ground and starts inserting his hands under the mountain. Finally the mountain begins to move and he starts lifting it up gradually. The entire body and the eyes of the actor communicated the weight of the mountain. The beats of the mizhavu seemed to energise him. Ravana plays a game of ‘ammanaattam’ as he transfers the mountain from one hand to the other. He finally discards the mountain as if it were a flower.
Sooraj’s abhinaya skills received spontaneous applause from the audience, as they watched the mountain being lifted. Kalamandalam Hariharan AN and Kalamandalam Narayanan Nambiar were on the mizhavu and Moorkanad Dinesh Warrier, on the edakka. The programme was organised by Devamatha Cultural Centre.
