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കേരള ക്ഷേത്ര കലോല്‍ത്സവം അവിസ്മരണീയമായി

Published on 27 July, 2011
കേരള ക്ഷേത്ര കലോല്‍ത്സവം അവിസ്മരണീയമായി

Kerala Kshetra Kalotsavam leaves a memorable mark of an artistic tradition extraordinaire

CHITTOOR  K.RAMACHANDRAN

 

Those who attended Kerala Kshetra Kalotsavam at Sri Guruvayurappan Temple during last weekend ( July 16-17) were convinced of the inseparable relationship between Indian classical arts and Hindu religion.  When Kiran Gopinath and Arun Gopinath rendered sopana sangeetham, a strange feeling of bliss could be experienced .  A similar atypical levitation was felt in the audience when the ascending pace of thayambaka (an artistic style of rhythmic improvisation) reached the peak. Again, when the episode of Mahabharata was acted by the spectacularly costumed kathakali artistes against the background of lyrics written in a language unknown to majority of the crowd, the conversation between the characters was as clear as a crystal.  This phenomenon would not have been better felt if this festival was conducted in a climate-controlled, perfect setting in a high tech auditorium. An intimate relation between a temple and these art forms is what is being indicated.  

As the organizers had envisaged, Kerala Kshetra Kalotsavam was indeed an unprecedented, authentic, audacious and original art festival Houston rarely gets to watch.  With the concept inspired by a mahotsavam of a typical temple in Kerala, the organizers had dissected to exhibit many aspects of the temple art forms exclusively developed and nurtured within the temple  boundaries.  The main performers in this festival were the eminent touring artistes of Tripunithura Kathakali Kendram Ladies Troupe. This 12-member team of talented female artistes has been holding a great reputation in this male dominated kathakali art since 1975. Started by a small group of women from the Cochin Royal Family, the troupe has more than 800 successful performances to their credit. The percussionists and the supporting team for the make- up and costume (male members) were also presented in this festival separately to showcase their contribution to the success of this team.

Glimpses of spontaneity, improvisation, permutation and combination in the rhythms were demonstrated with precision by the maestro Sri Gopikrishnan Thampuran in a demonstration of  thayambaka. This is a rhythmic improvisation unique to Kerala Temple art. Sri Gopikrishnan Tampuran’s prowess as a percussionist gleamed throughout the festival. Essentially, he elevated the status of chenda in this festival.

Although maddalam is an ancient percussion instrument that looks similar to the familiar mridangam, many in the western world are unfamiliar to this instrument. The artiste Kalamandalam Vineeth captured attention through waves of its majestic sound. Both independently and together with Sri Harikrishnan Thampuran, this young budding artiste became dear to the audience in several occasions which included melapadam, keli and  kathakali.

Mrs. Kumari Varma and Mrs. Shylaja Varma essentially were the pace determining conductors of kathakali with their melodious recital of kathakali padam. These two artistes appeared to possess an enormous repertoire of memorized lyrics ready to sing spontaneously. Their amazing talent in the accuracy of lyrics, the right bhava (mood) and the thorough knowledge in ragas place them at the forefront in kathakali performance. Their clarity of the words and time management skills were outstanding. We also noticed that the unique style of kathakali sangeetham necessitates handling of a pageant of thalams (measure of rhythmic patterns) and kalasams (unique to this style). The marvelous expertise and experience in these musicians deserve special appreciation.

The elaborate facial make-up considered as the signature symbol of kathakali was performed by Mr. Kalamandalam Radhakrishnan in the back stage. As a gifted artist and as a performer of kathakali with a masters degree in his profession, Sri Radhakrishnan virtually transformed humans into distinct characters without deviating from the traditional method. Working together with the costume specialist Sri Surendran, the size of each actor was magnified several fold to create each character. The spectacular make-up and the costume appropriate to each character drew undivided visual impression throughout the play. This masterful design is the result of the work that was evolved through generations of artistes.

Duryodhana vadham is the story that was acted on Saturday, July 16. The text of this story ( attakatha) was written by Vayaskara Arya Narayanan Moossatu. The play enacted many familiar key events that led to war between the Kauravas and Pandavas including the infamous dice game between Sakuni and Duryadhana with Yudhistira, cheating in the game that resulted the loss of Pandava’s  army, palace, wealth and kingdom, and finally all Pandava brothers and their wife Draupadi were enslaved to Duryodhana. Draupadi is dragged to the court by Dussasana who  tries to disrobe her in public. Lord Krishna helps Draupadi as a savior. Sri Krishna’s attempts to avoid a war by acting as a negotiator, which failed due to Duryodhana’s adamant attitude against sharing his land with Pandavas. In the Kurukshetra war, Dussasana was brought to justice by Bhima.

On the second day (Sunday, July 17) the story from Srimad Bhagavatahm ( attakatha written by Sri Madavoor Kelu Asaan) that resulted in the incarnation of Mahavishnu as Narasimha to stop the atrocities of Hiranyakashipu was acted. The beautiful and impressive story about Prahlada’s devotion to Mahavishnu was the main theme. Such a well known theme generated keen interest in several hundreds in the audience.     

The impeccable acting of Parvathi Menon, Radhika Nandakumar, Pramila Menon, Geeta, N., Radhika Ajayan, Suma Varma and the guest artiste Anand Guruvayoor kept the audience in close attention throughout the two hours of the show. Students who learn other forms of Indian classical dances were intrigued by the copious use of mime in kathakali. An educational  lecture /demonstration presented earlier in the day dissected various aspects of kathakali including facial expression, mudra ( highly specialized hand gesture), improvisation, intricate footwork, mime etc. That was effective to attract dozens of youngsters sit at the front rows to enjoy the performance attentively. Many people in the audience seeing kathakali for the first time were amazed by the existence of such an art form in India.

The astounding performance of Divya Unni was an attractive presentation appropriate for the occasion. Her performance Kshetra Darshanam was specifically and meticulously composed  in praise of each deity of Sri Guruvayurappan Temple, Houston. Her choreography and frequent magnificent photogenic pose resemble temple sculptures  with unique perfection.  Divya’s vast familiarity in several dance forms made each piece distinctively imposing and attractive.

In a superb performance, Sunanda Nair stunned the audience by playing the entire Ramayanam in Mohini attam style. Her incredible mastery in acting made depiction of a story with many different characters perfectly well in a one –hour show. Sunanda Nair transformed herself into Rama to Hanuman or to Ravana so effortlessly to lead the audience to a different world.  Being in the audience, I felt that Swathithirunal Maharaja’s composition Bhavayami Raghuramam  has seldom been sung as good as Arun Gopinath did in this performance. He was accompanied by Kiran Gopinath ( mridangam), Mahesh Iyer (violin) and Kalamandalam Vineeth ( maddalam).    Together, these artistes performed in perfect harmony before the audience in dismay.  

In a very special session before a packed audience, the popular distinguished guest Smt. Sasikala Teacher addressed the families who have made the western world as the land to raise their children.  She emphasized the need to understand the value of Hinduism and living in peace.   While talking about the status of  Hindus in India in the present day, she suggested that there is much to be done for promoting Hindu unity. She urged active steps to strengthen Haindava dharmam in the world.

The festival ended with a happy feeling of the rich heritage many devotees of Sri Guruvayurappan have inherited.   

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കേരള ക്ഷേത്ര കലോല്‍ത്സവം അവിസ്മരണീയമായികേരള ക്ഷേത്ര കലോല്‍ത്സവം അവിസ്മരണീയമായികേരള ക്ഷേത്ര കലോല്‍ത്സവം അവിസ്മരണീയമായികേരള ക്ഷേത്ര കലോല്‍ത്സവം അവിസ്മരണീയമായി
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