The perils of love and war

Showcasing talent: A scene from ‘Narakasuravadham.’

An excerpt of the play ‘Narakasuravadham Kathakali,’ penned by Karthika Tirunal Rama Varma, was staged in Thiruvananthapuram. The three-and-a-half hour play, revolving around Narakasura and his sister Nakrathundi, began with Nakrathundi’s transformation from a cruel demon to a beautiful woman (Lalitha) who travels to Indra’s court to woo good looking women on behalf of Narakasura.

On the way she meets Jayanthan, son of Devendra, and falls in love with him. However when Jayanthan spurns her advances, a disappointed Lalitha turns into her real form and attacks him. Jayantha wards off her attack and mutilates her. Narakasura attacks and defeats Devendra to avenge his sister’s mutilation at the hands of Jayanthan.

All the major roles in this play were enacted by young artistes. Kalamandalam Vijayakumar, one of the recipients of the Ustad Bismillah Khan award for young artistes, played Lalitha.

Although Vijayakumar looked nervous and shaky in the beginning, once he settled into his role, he was able to catch the attention of the audience. His graceful expressions and movements came to fore in the padam ‘Vrithravairi nandana…’ Vijayakumar’s attention to detail and fine facial expressions stood out in the scene and padam ‘Noonam sahikkavathalle…’ that portrayed Lalitha’s reaction to Jayanthan’s rebuff. Narakasura was enacted by Kalamandalam Manojkumar. Manoj, quite well known for ‘Kathi’ (negative) and ‘Vellathadi’ veshams, essayed with panache the arrogant Narakasura.

As with Vijayakumar, Manoj looked a little unsure during the ‘thiranottam.’ But he regained his rhythm when ‘Pathimjapadam and ‘padappurapad’ started and was superb in the ‘Swargam jayikkal’ sequence. His brief but pithy narration of ‘Ahalyamoksham’ in the middle of the fight with Indra was noteworthy. However, Manoj could pay more attention to body language. Kalamandalam Shanmughan and Kalanilayam Vinod donned the roles of Jayanthan, Indra and Narakasurapatni respectively. Shanmughan’s Jayanthan was a pleasure to watch.

One of the highlights of the play was the ‘melam.’ Kalanilayam Manoj, an up-and-coming maddalam artiste, played a crucial role in making Lalitha a success. Kalamandalam Krishnadas, who has made a name for himself in these types of plays, perfectly supported the artistes on the chenda. He maintained the tempo and vigorous narration of the play.

Veteran singers Kalamandalam Subramanian and Kalamandalam Krishnankutty led the vocals. Subramanian’s slow and evocative rendering of Lalitha’s padams were imbued with emotion and passion. Kalanilayam Krishnakumar and Margi Baby supported the melam.

The play was conducted as part of the monthly programme of Drisyavedi.

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