|     |
|
| |
 Kathakali Festival at Bharata Kalanjali - Shobanaa Bhalchandra e-mail: theshoba@gmail.com Photos courtesy: Bharata Kalanjali March 8, 2024  Kelikottu We entered to the sounds of kelikottu, wherein chenda, maddalam welcomed us as a prelude to what was to follow soon. After the brief kelikottu, naatyacharya VP Dhananjayan welcomed the distinguished dignitaries. Dr AV Anoop, Managing director of AVP group of companies, was the guest of honour for the evening. Sadanam Balakrishnan, a senior Kathakali guru, was one of the dignitaries. Sadanam Harikumar was conferred the title of Kala Bhaskara and Dr. AV Anoop did the honours.  VP Dhananjayan, Sadanam Harikumar, Dr.AV Anoop, Sadanam Balakrishnan Ekalavya, a mythological story from the Mahabharatha, which talks about guru bhakti, was presented by Sadanam Kathakali Academy, Palakkad. This mega production premiered at Bharata Kalanjali on March 2, 2024 was a visual treat, transporting us back to the Mahabharatha days. The production opened with a traditional Thira Sheela entry of guru Drona training his prime student Arjuna in archery. The hesitant entry by Ekalavya was clearly brought out by Kalamandalam Neeraj, with his precise body language. Although Kathakali is known for using angika abhinaya (expression through body language), Sadanam Mohanan who played Arjuna and Neeraj as Ekalayva were extraordinary in communicating the characters. Arjuna ridicules Ekalavya as an outcaste saying that he is unfit to learn the art meant for higher classes. Mohanan as Arjuna had an arrogant look in the presence of Ekalavya which was evident from his stance. Ekalavya makes an idol of Drona from the mud taken from the training room and offers flowers as guru dakshina and learns the art of archery. It was an emotional scene where Ekalavya shone with guru bhakti.  The scene moved on to show Ekalavya making the dog dumb with his arrows only with the sounds heard. Seeing this, the agitated Arjuna rushes to his guru suspecting that the unknown person was trained by Drona. In the scene where Drona meets Ekalavya, Kottakkal Nandakumar as Drona was torn between acknowledging the expertise of Ekalavya and his prime student Arjuna. One could see the guru's pride and also the refusal to accept Ekalavya. Two conflicting emotions flowed with ease. When Ekalavya's right thumb is asked as guru dakshina, the silence in the audience was palpable, making us wonder if a guru could be so heartless. The arrogance of Drona took over when Ekalavya requested a challenge with Arjuna. Drona instructs him to win Krishna before challenging Arjuna. Ekalavya in good faith challenges Krishna for a duel. Kalamandalam Praveen as Krishna had subtle gestures and calm face which was apt for that role. Krishna tries to dissuade Ekalavya but fails. In the end Ekalavya gets killed by Krishna who looks on with sympathy.  Mahabharatha came to life on Bharata Kalanjali stage weaving a magical spell on the audience and the length of the play did not deter the audience. It was a very well attended program and all of us were glued to our seats. Each one of the characters in the play, such as Dronacharya (Kottakkal Nandakumar), Arjuna (Sadanam Mohanan), Ekalavya (Kalamandalam Neeraj), Srikrishna (Kalamandalam Praveen) proved their seniority and versatility drawing instantaneous applause for their abhinaya prowess and excellent nritta passages following the chenda (Sadanam Jithin) and maddalam (Sadanam Devadas). The production was choreographed by Sadanam Harikumar, who was also the vocalist of the evening along with Sadanam Jyotish. The story unfolded with their vibrant music that filled the auditorium and our hearts. The next day saw a workshop by Sadanam Harikumar on angika abhinaya which was very insightful and informative to the young professionals. Bharata Kalanjali's vision is to bring art to people in the beautiful Teach Auditorium in Chennai, and make it more accessible to the younger generation.  Shobanaa Bhalchandra is a senior performer, teacher and educator. She is the artistic director of Tharanginee. As an empanelled artist of ICCR, Shobanaa has performed for various prestigious international forums. She is now the creative/executive director of Bharata Kalanjali, Chennai. |
