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 Panjarathram Festival - Vinu Vasudevan e-mail: vinuvasu73@gmail.com Photos: Raneesh Raveendran May 27, 2023 The festival season of Kerala came to an end with an excellent package of Kathakali performances by both senior and junior artistes at Karalmanna, the village famous for the legacy in art and culture near Palakkad in Kerala. The five day long festival 'Panjarathram' from May 13 - 17, 2023, was a real feast for the art connoisseurs and rasikas in terms of dance and music. The programme was jointly organized by Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair Memorial Trust, a thirty eight year old art organization and Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts (IGNCA). Kathakali, an ancient Indian classical theater form considered as the proper art form with perfect blending of dance, music and make-up is one of the most popular art forms in Kerala for the last fifty years. Normally, this art form is performed in the temple premises during festivals and special occasions during the night. But in the last fifty/sixty years, the venues of this art form got transferred from the temple campus to the Sabhas and cultural society auditoriums. This trend became very much popular and made tremendous changes in the growth and popularity of it. Kunchu Nair Trust is one among those organizations which took Kathakali from the traditional audience to more academically sound connoisseurs. Around one hundred and thirty artistes from different parts of the state including women participated in the five day long festival. Excerpts from different stories were performed in the late afternoons and a full-fledged play got performed in the evening time. Normally, eight hours of performance was held each day. The organizers made a clear design about the performance style with 'Solo' (Ekaharya) in the beginning session with almost one and half hours, 'Interactive' part in the second session which was around two hours, and three and half hours long performance in the final part.   Kirmiravadhom  Peesappalli Rajeevan 'Kirmiravadhom first part' was the play performed on the inaugural evening. This story part was taken from the epic Mahabaratha written by Kottayathu Thampuran. The story narrates the struggles and hurdles faced by Pandavas in the forest after defeat in the game of dice with Kauravas. Dharmaputhra is the central character in the play. Peesappalli Rajeevan, a well established actor with variety of acting techniques in body and mind enacted that role with maturity and class. He was at his best in the first two scenes where the Pandava king shares his helplessness with wife Panchali and where he meets the saint Dhawmya. Vellinezhi Haridasan, a seasoned artiste, who specialises in female roles, performed the grief stricken Panchali. Kalamandalam Vipin Shankar, a young artiste, enacted the role of Sreekrishna with energy and emotion. Kottakkal Narayanan, Kalanilayam Rajeev were the singers, while Kottakkal Prasad and Kalamandalam Haridas performed on chenda and maddalam respectively.  Kalakeyavadham The second day's highlight was another notable performance from Kalamandalam Krishnakumar, the ex-department head of Kerala Kalamandalam, who had performed one of the most technically crafted characters, Arjuna in the play 'Kalakeyavadham.' Krishnakumar's handsome appearance and facial expressions stood apart. Another excellent piece of performance was by senior artiste Kalamandalam Prasanth as Sisupala in 'Rajasooyam' story. The valor of a 'kathi' character was clearly evident in that one and half hour long enactment. His short and sharp manodharma really enthralled the audience. A piece from the plays 'Kalyana Sowgandhikam' and 'Narakasuravadhom' were also performed that day. Kalamandalam Babu Nambudiri, Sadanam Sivadas, Sreerag Varma and Sadanam Saikumar were the singers. Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan and Kalamandalam Ravisankar were the main percussionists. Excerpts from the play 'Nalacharitham' and 'Thoranayudham' were the important plays enacted on the third day. The young promising artiste Kalamandalam Adithyan's performance as Nala in exile was a noteworthy one in terms of technique and improvisation. His enactment of the padam (lyric) "Lokapalan mare" and "Ghora vipinam" were masterly crafted and perfectly narrated. In the manodharma piece, Adithyan controlled the emotions of Nala, who is in the forest due to the bad influence of Kali and focussed on the characterisation.   Thoranayudham Kalamandalam Pradeep, another seasoned performer's Ravana in the play 'Thoranayudham' was really an exceptional one. In that one and half hour session, Ravana thinking of "Why I am feeling such a heat all over..." realizes in the end that, this heat is because of his lust towards Seetha who is sitting under the Ashoka tree. Then, he went there with a lot of gifts and tries to impress her in front of his soldiers. Pradeep breathed his life while performing this part especially in the second part where Ravana Meets Seetha. Though there is no chance for any improvisation (there is a strict performance manual for acting), some minor, but interesting gestures and mannerisms were really suitable for the mood of the character. A scene from the stories 'Santhanagopalam' and 'Nalacharitham second day' were also performed that day. Kalamandalam Vipinsankar and Kalamandalam Praveen performed the roles of Brahmana and Arjuna respectively. Dr.Kannan Parameswaran and Kalamandalam Vijayakumar enacted the roles of Nala and Damayanthi. Kalamandalam Vinod and Nedumpalli Rammohan led the music and Kalamandalam Krishnadas and Kalamandalam Rajanarayanan were the main percussionists. The penultimate day of the festival witnessed some breathtaking performances by the young artistes as well as the seniors. Kalamandalam Mayyanad Rajiv's new interpretation of Karna was the first piece performed. His skill in enacting the emotional scenes won the hearts of the audience. In the manodharma, Rajiv essayed some new ideas which connect well with the ongoing emotional trauma of Karna. The situation where he met Kunthi, the mother of Pandavas, while travelling across her chariot, Rajiv performed those moments with very effective facial expressions. Another notable performance was a short piece of enactment by Kottakkal Harikumar and Kottakkal C M Unnikrishnan as Balabhadrar and Sreekrishnan in the play 'Subhadraharanam.' A well planned and designed portrayal of the characters was the highlight.   Ravanolbhavam That day's performance ended with a roaring show by Kalamandalam Harinarayanan as mighty Ravana in the play 'Ravanolbhavam.'This story looks like a flashback with importance to Thala (rhythm) and Veera rasa (valor) considered as a challenge to any artiste in Kathakali. The play narrates the birth and growth of small kid Ravana to the mighty emperor of Lanka. The two and half hours of non-stop performance without losing the tempo is really a challenging one. But a well-trained artiste made it true with his dedication and determination.  Kalakeyavadhom  Margi Vijayakumar The final day witnessed excellent shows by both senior and junior artistes. Kalamandalam Vaisakh portrayed the character of Nala in disguise as Bahuka in 'Nalacharitham.'Another youngster Kalamandalam Shanmugha Das easily essayed the role of Daksha with copy book form of performance and structured beauty. Seasoned female role performer Margi Vijayakumar's portrayal of Urvashi in 'Kalakeyavadhom' was another one which won the applause of the audience. Finally, Kalamandalam Manoj's enactment of Keechaka in the play 'Keechakavadhom' marked the curtain for the five day long festival. The organizers emphasised on the promotion of the art form by giving maximum opportunity to the artistes, while the artistes also believe in the same track as they can improve their skills and talent by performing in these kinds of festivals.  Vinu Vasudevan is a freelance journalist, art critic and a documentary maker. He has worked in a number of television channels between 1996 to 2013. Presently he is working as the Faculty of Journalism in Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed University for Art and Culture for their Post Graduate programs. He is also a regular writer in 'The Hindu', 'The India Art Review' and leading Malayalam publications. |
