Doyens of different schools of Kathakali shared the stage together for a night-long performance that was organised in connection with the annual festival of the Navaikulam Sankaranarayanaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram. The night’s proceedings began with Purappadu and then moved on to the play ‘Nalacharitham Randam Divasam’, penned by Unnayi Warrier.
Kalamandalam Gopi and Margi Vijayakumar, current favourites for the roles of Nala and Damayanthi, pulled out a performance par excellence in the first scene. All the troubles that Nalan had to endure to gain Damayanthi was evident on the face of Gopi as he enacted ‘Indu vadane ninne labhichu...’, from the opening slow-tempo padam. His subtle gestures and eye movements elucidated the inner meanings as Margi Vijayakumar’s Damayanthi expounded the beauty of the palace garden.
Their onstage chemistry worked well with a fresh approach in the self-explored narratives that followed the padams.
As Nala and Damayanthi celebrate their early days of marriage, Kali and Dwapara meet Indra who informs them that the marriage they were heading to, is already over. A furious Kali vows to separate the couple and makes a plan involving Pushkara, the half-brother of Nala, to make it happen. As it often happens these days, actors playing the role of Kali go on bashing Indra, and inexperienced actors essaying the role of the King of the Gods find it hard to save the character. Things weren’t all that different here. Kalamandalam Ramachandran Unnithan in the role of Kali went on and on abusing Indra, and Kalarangam Bijulal (Indra) could hardly do anything about it! However, Ramachandran Unnithan made up for it in the sequences that followed, where Kali persuades Pushkara, who is reluctant at first, to stand-up against Nala and invite him for a game of dice. Kalanilayam Kochunarayana Pillai appeared as Dwapara.
Kottakkal Chandrasekhara Warrier was at ease in the role of Pushkara and presented the character quite convincingly. At the end of the game, Nala faces defeat and he has to flee the country along with his wife. At night, in the forest, Nala thinks about their fate and decides to abandon Damayanthi while she is asleep, so that she could seek shelter with her father.
For someone who has been following Kalamandalam Gopi, the ‘verpadu’ (separation) scene might not be as engrossing as it used to be. But, then the actor himself has set his standards quite high. Here, in spite of the act falling short, it remained captivating.
Damayanthi wanders in the forest in search of Nala and is swallowed by a python. A forest dweller rescues her from the serpent but then he falls for her beauty. As Kattalan makes his move to cuddle Damayanthi, the blessings that she had received from Lord Indra burn him to ashes.
Madavoor Vasudevan Nair essayed Kattalan. While his age certainly restricted him from being agile, he impressed with his gentle approach without exaggerations, which suits Kattalan in this particular play.
Pathiyoor Sankarankutty was the lead singer for the most part and rendered the padams with élan, ably supported by Kottakkal Madhu and Kalamandalam Jayaprakash. On par with the actors on stage, Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan, Kalanilayam Kunjunni, Margi Raveendran and Kalamandalam Narayanan Nair provided ample support on the chenda and the maddalam.
One thing the organisers could have done better was the light and sound arrangements. Two hours into the play and still the technicians were putting up lights and adjusting them, disrupting the mood the actors were trying to create.
In ‘Keechakavadham’, the second play for the night, Sadanam Krishnankutty and Kalamandalam Rajasekharan played the lead roles of Keechaka and Malini, respectively.
