‘Attathrayodhyatham,’ the three-day Kathakali Festival organised by Thodayam Kathakali Yogam as part of ‘Rajathothsavam,’ its silver jubilee celebrations, started in Kozhikode on Sunday.
Vice Chancellor of Thuchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University K. Jayakumar inaugurated the festival that features talks and demonstrations on Kathakali, besides live performances. Historian M.G.S. Narayanan inaugurated a photo exhibition on Kathakali by Jyothish.
In the seminar that followed, T.S. Madhavan Kutty spoke on the changes on stage in the last 50 years in Kathakali while N. Radhakrishnan spoke on ‘Pattikkamthodi Kalari.’ Ettumanoor P. Kannan spoke on the possibilities of expressions while performing ‘Nalan.’ A documentary on ‘Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, was screened, followed by a live performance of ‘Rugmini Swayamvaram.’
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Dramatist Kavalam Narayana Panikker will inaugurate the second day of ‘Attathrayodhyatham’ at 10 a.m. on Monday. In a seminar on ‘Changes in Kathakali over the last 50 years,’ V. Kaladharan will speak on ‘Kathakali music and expressions’ while Vellinezhi Achuthankutty will speak on ‘The road traversed by Kathakalai music.’ Kavil Ajayan Marar will perform on Edakka. A documentary on Mohiniyattom by Adoor Gopalakrishnan will be screened later. A musical eve led by Sreevalsan J. Menon, Kottakkal Madhu, and Ambalappuzha Vijayakumar will be the highlight of the day.
The festival will conclude on Tuesday.