Nalacharitam - Onnaam Divasam unveils the myriad dispositions of Nala, the king of Nishadha, and Damayanthi, the princess of Vidarbha, as they fall in love with each other without even seeing each other once.
By systematising the padardhabhinaya (articulation given to each and every word of the verse) Kalamandalam Gopi as king Nala addressing sage Narada with the line ‘ Bhagawan! Narada! Vandeham’ rendered the grace of cholliyattam (structured enactment of select padams in the Kathakali Kalari) to the pallavi, anupallavi and charanams of the padam concerned during a recent performance in Kochi. Thus the word, ‘Harimandirathilninno’, is visually recreated by showing palazhi (milk-ocean), the thousand-hooded Anantha and Lord Vishnu lying on it.
As the king hears from the sage the charms of Damayanthi, whom even the Devas pine for, his love towards her blooms. Kalamandalam Vipin as Narada retained the composure of the character admirably. The seasoned actor in Gopi vividly presented Nala’s longing for Damayanthi.
Nala capturing the golden swan out of curiosity and the latter’s prayer for liberty were noteworthy in terms of movements, expressions and music. Kalamandalam Shanmukhan as the Hamsam could have been a little more animated as the character offers a lot of space for free-style acting. In the enactment of the padam Urjithaasaya , in praise of king Nala and the princess, Damayanthi, Shanmukhan as Hamsam was a bit too restrained. Priyamanasa that followed, once again, testified to the theatrical agility of Gopi to which Shanmukhan as Hamsam responded radiantly.
The second half began with Damayanthi and her two Sakhis. Chambakkara Vijayan as Damayanthi with Kalamandalam Adityan and Praveen as the Sakhis could come up with an evocative presentation of the poetically loaded sloka following which was the famed padam Sakhimare in raga Nadhanamakriya. Vijayan depicted the varying layers of disquiet felt by Damayanthi in the company of her sakhis and within the garden.
The scene in which the Hamsam befriends Damayanthi and their subsequent tête-à-tête in which the former realises the intensity of the princess’ love towards king Nala were aesthetically nuanced. At times, the semantic grandeur of Unnai Warrier’s poetry took away the sheen from the visuals.
Pathiyoor Sankarankutty and Nedumbilly Rammohan sang the slokams and the padams infusing appropriate emotions in harmony with the angika and satwika of the lead characters. Both vocalists did not go in for an experimentation in ragas nor indulge in improvisations. Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan traced even the minutest movements and expressions of Gopi on the chenda with virtuosity and fluency. Kalanilayam Manoj on the maddalam contributed to the lasya-segments of the play.
The play was staged in connection with the International Book Fair 2018 in Kochi.
