‘Utharaswayamvaram' is an Irayimman Thampi attakatha inspired from the Mahabharata.
Living in disguise
‘Utharaswayamvaram' tells the tale of the Pandavas when they are living in disguise in King Virata's palace, and their encounter with the Kauravas. The second part of the play was staged at Thrissur, recently.
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The second part begins with Utharan, son of King Virata, romancing his wives. In the meantime, he is informed that Duryodhana has attacked his kingdom. Utharan decides to confront Duryodhana and sets off for the battlefield in the company of Brihannala, who is actually Arjuna in disguise. Brihannala reveals his identity in order to encourage Utharan to confront Duryodhana.
Veteran artiste Kalamandalam Gopi was charismatic in his portrayal of Brihannala. His narration of the attam ‘Urvashishapam' was simply marvellous. Gopi's acting in the scene with Syrandhri (Panchali in disguise) was noteworthy because he adroitly expressed Arjuna's state of mind at the time – that of a warrior King forced to don the garb of an eunuch.
Kalamandalam Balasubramanian proved himself to be an ideal Utharan to his guru's Brihannala. He enacted the role with grace, and right from the beginning his body language and expressive eyes won him the appreciation of the packed audience.
Kalamandalam Suchenndranath donned the role of Syrandhri while Kalamandalam Rajesh and Kalamandalam Kasinathan performed the roles of Utharan's wives.
Kottakkal Narayanan and Vengeri Narayanan rendered the music. Their mix of the old and the new banis was well-appreciated. Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan and Kottakkal Ravi played the chenda and the maddalam, respectively.
The play was staged under the aegis of Trichur Kathakali club.