All’s well that ends well

In Bhasa’s rarely staged Swapnavasavadattam - Act VI, King Udayana is reunited with his beloved

A scene from Swapnavasavadattam - Act VI

Unlike the other well-known plays of Bhasa’s, Swapnavasavadattam has not hitherto been part of the customary repertoire of Koodiyattam. One reason for its marginalisation could be its duration. Even Act VI of the play, which was staged at the Koothambalam of Kerala Kalamandalam as a tribute to the late legend Painkulam Rama Chakyar, was a bit protracted.

The play, abounding in events and characters, basically underscores the enduring love of King Udayana, the

Nayaka (hero), towards Vasavadatta, the

Nayika (heroine). Despite her premeditated disappearance, during the course of which Udayana is wedded to Padmavathi, the princess of the Magadha Kingdom, the intensity of his love towards Vasavadatta remains unabated.

In the final segment of the Act VI, Udayana reunites with his beloved following a dramatic turn of events.

Titled Chitraphalakam , the VI Act, choreographed by Kalamandalam Rama Chakyar, veteran Koodiyattam artiste, was in consonance with conventional acting techniques of the Sanskrit theatre tradition.

The performance began with the entry of the nayaka and the vidooshaka. The vidooshaka soon exits and Udayana muses on images of Vasavadatta’s physique. Next came

Nirvahana (reminiscence of past events related to the nayaka) in which the actor explicates his marriage to Padmavathi after he was made to believe that Vasavadatta had died in a fire.

One day he happens to listen to the sound of a veena, Ghoshavathi, at a distance and directs a servant to its source. The servant brings the veena and presents it to the king.

Udayana then enters into a prolonged dialogue with the veena. He wonders if it recalls Vasavadatta’s agony following her separation from the King.

The actor as king Udayana at this stage does a pakarnaattam (the same actor switching from one character to the other) as Vasavadatta.

The vidooshaka re-enters and tells the audience the story hitherto in Malayalam, interpsersed with Sanskrit slokas. Kalamandalam Rama Chakyar as vidooshaka invoked his inherent qualities as an actor and humourist for an inspiring presentation of the cameo character.

As vidooshaka leaves the stage, another character Prathihaari, comes in and informs the king that Kanjukeeya and Vasavadatta’s foster-mother from king Mahasena’s kingdom are waiting to meet him.

Udayana then asks for his wife, Padmavathi. Padmavathi’s brief Nirvahana shows her empathy for Vasavadatta.

Padmavathi exits and the King returns. After a while, Padmavathi and Prathihaari come back. In their presence, the guests, Kanjukeeya and Dhatri (foster-mother of Vasavadatta) enter. In the course of the conversation between them and the king, the latter learns the truth about Vasavadatta whom a Brahmin had mortgaged to Padmavathi long ago.

At this juncture, Prathihaari apprises the king of the arrival of a Brahmin from Ujjayini for taking back the lady whom he had mortgaged. The king instructs her to welcome the Brahmin.

Yaugandharayana disguised as the Brahmin comes in and discloses in front of the king the reason for making him believe the concocted news about Vasavadatta’s demise in a fire.

Vasavadatta is brought to the scene and Dhatri reaffirms that she is none other than the Princess whom the king was given in marriage. The Brahmin sheds his disguise and appears in his true form as Yaugandharayana.

Here the choreographer has deftly adopted the technique of transformation of the Brahmin into Yaugandharayana from the play Mayaseethankam . In it, there is a similar scene in which Mayarama transforms himself into Ravana before Sita. Yaugandharayana tenders his apology to the king. Having regained Vasavadatta, Udayana’s joy knows no bounds and he sets out for Ujjayini accompanied by his two consorts and others.

Kalamandalam Sangeeth in the role of king Udayana did impress the audience with a high amount of involvement, integrity and articulateness. He could profoundly express on his face and the body the pangs of separation from the Nayika, the lasya during pakarnattam as Vasavadatta and the exultation of reunion towards the end.

While all other actors competitively did their roles, mention must be made about the histrionic skills of Kalamandalam Krishnendu as Padmavathi and Kalamandalam Reshmi as Dhatri.

The percussion led by Kalamandalam Achutanandan was in harmony with the movements and expressions of each character.

The play with its drawn-out narrative structure needs to be staged time and again, which alone would help the artists probe the subtleties of characterisation, the text and the contexts.