Much ado about nothing

‘Kadraveyam – The tale of Kadru’ was premièred at Sadanam Kathakali Academy, Peroor.

New writing and choreography in Kathakali is aplenty. Yet, few of the new plays pass muster and often many fail to get a stage. Perhaps, this is due to the lack of good literature and skilful choreography. Considering these circumstances, Sadanam K. Harikumar’s new work ‘Kadraveyam – The tale of Kadru’ is a refreshing attempt. The play was premièred recently at Sadanam Kathakali Academy, Peroor, Palakkad. It has been written and choreographed by Harikumar.

‘Kadraveyam,’ based on an episode from the Mahabharata, narrates the rivalry between the two wives of sage Kashyapa –Kadru and Vinatha, both Naga queens. The two women make a bet over the colour of Lord Indra’s horse, Uchaisravassu, with Vinatha saying it is pure white and Kadru proclaiming that there is a black dot on its back. Kadru tricks Vinatha into losing the bet and along with her sons the latter end up as Kadru’s slaves. Vinatha’s son Garuda vows to save his family from slavery and on Kadru’s demand goes to heaven to win the divine nectar, only for Indra to steal it back in disguise as a Brahmin. The Nagas, thinking that Garuda had swallowed the nectar that is now rightfully theirs, pick up a fight with him. Eventually Kadru realises the error of her ways, apologises to Vinatha and all is well.

Sadanam Sreenath and Sadanam Vijayan Warrier enacted the lead roles of Kadru and Vinatha, respectively. Both artistes did well in their roles. Vijayan performed the role marvellously and was careful not to overstep the limit with unnecessary emotions and movements.

The highlight of show, however, was the brilliant performance of Sadanam Bhasi as Garuda. He stole the show with his skilful footwork and flexible movements. The most exciting and attractive element of Bhasi’s performance was perhaps the padappurappad. It was a magnificent entry indeed for the bird king, set to the rare tala, Parathalam. Sadanam Krishnandas enacted the role of the snake with quick actions and evocative movements. His thiranottam was innovative and captivating. Sadanam Manikandan performed the role of Lord Indra with élan.

Sadanam Harikumar and Sadanam Sivadas were the singers. Harikumar used almost all the popular Kathakali ragas for the play and talams such as Champa, Chempada, Adantha, Muriyadantha and Panchari. The newly designed make-up for the snake and Garuda might invite criticism from conventional rasikas, but it is evident that there is a justification behind each item worn by the characters. The design of the characters/roles were reminiscent of Harikumar’s guru, the late Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair.

However, there were some unwanted elements in the play; the ‘horse’ on stage, for example. It was rather ungainly and, one felt, it was unnecessary for the development of the play. Another aspect was the use of hands instead of sticks for playing the chenda for the thiranottam of the nagas.

Nonetheless, Sadanam Ramakrishnan on the chenda and vocalist Sadanam Sivadas really played a big role in the success of this play. Ramakrishnan’s support was the strength behind Sadanam Bhasi’s free flowing footwork. Sadanam Rajan and Sadanam Devadas (maddalam) and Sadanam Jithin (chenda) also contributed to the success of the play.