Although there are several plays in the Kathakali repertoire in vogue, there are not more than 20 plays. Select excerpts from 10 or 15 plays are alive on stage. The rest have been forgotten or sidelined, both by performers and beholders alike. Yet nearly a dozen new plays are being penned almost every year by those who are mesmerised by the visual and rhythmic exuberance of this classical dance-drama.
‘Dasaradhavilapam’ (Lament of King Dasaradha) is a new composition by Poonthottam Chandramohan, which was recently staged at the Poonthottam Ayurvedasram with leading actors, vocalists and percussionists.
Theatrics was its forte. Kalamandalam Gopi choreographed the play. It’s his maiden venture as a director. Kottakkal Madhu composed vocal music and Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan, the percussion part.
The play begins with the young King’s tragic encounter with Sravana during a hunt while the second scene depicts Dasaradha’s meeting with Sravana Kumara’s blind parents. The five scenes that follow unfold a series of incidents starting with the battle Dasaradha wages against the army of Sambarasura and then narrates the events in the king’s life. In the first segment of the play, Kalamandalam Krishnakumar as Dasaradha successfully tried to portray the anguish of Dasaradha who inadvertently kills Sravana Kumara and incurs the wrath of his parents.
In the second segment, Kalamandalam Gopi acts as Dasaradha. Gopi, with restraint and self-esteem, enacted the role with the right shifts in moods, especially in the scenes involving Kaikeyi. Margi Vijayakumar immaculately presented the emotional shift in Kaikeyi – from a demonstrative woman to a vindictive and selfish mother.
Mention must be made here about Kalamandalam Adityan who, as Mandhara, was simply superb. Mandhara, planting envy and discontentment in the mind of Kaikeyi overtly and covertly, found excellent expression in the actions and nayanabhinaya of Adityan. In the opening scene, Adityan’s portrayal of Sravana tugged at the heartstrings of the audience.
The play closes with Dasaradha lamenting over Vichinnabhishekam (breaking up of the coronation ceremony). Unable to bear the sorrow of Rama being sent to the forest accompanied by Sita and Lakshmana, Dasaradha dies of a broken heart. Prolonging the death-scene, however, proved to be a dampener for the climax of the play.
Kalamandalam Arun Warrier as Viswamitra and Kalamandalam Harinarayanan as Sri Rama did justice to their roles. Kottakkal Madhu composed the music and evocatively sang each and every padam with exceptional support from Kalamandalam Vinod and Ram Mohan. The ragas chosen were befitting the text and the contexts. Since the play centres round shoka rasa and its subtle shades, percussion music was not well pronounced. However, Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan and Venu Mohan ensured harmony in the playing of the chenda combining it with the deft fingering of Kalamandalam Hariharan on the maddalam.
Poonthottam Chandramohan’s lyrics was in consonance with the visual grammar of Kathakali though some of the images he used had an uncomfortable relation with the language of the art form.
DEBUT AS PLAYWRIGHT
A school teacher by profession, Chandramohan is a has been a die-hard fan of Kathakali. Well-conversant with the great Indian epics and knowledgeable in Sanskrit, ‘Dasaradhavilapam’ is the first play he has written for the Kathakali stage.
Why did you select an episode that zeroes in on to Dasaradha?
We are drawn to emotions on most occasions. Hence when we go through the Ramayana, Dasaradha, more than Rama, captures our attention. Rama is often guided by reason in his thoughts, words and actions.
We already have Kottarakara Thampuran’s ‘Vichinnabhishekam’. What was the reason for prompted you selecting the same repeat the theme?
Yes. Of course. But in the play I wrote, I conceptualised the curse that befalls Dasaradha at the very beginning of the play becoming a stark reality towards the finale. The continuity is retained and therefore the spectators are treated to a steady emotional flow. Dasaradha, Kaikeyi and Mandhara are the most important characters in the play. I have attached significance to both Dandakams and Slokas.
Have you been influenced by the Ramayana plays of Kottarakara Thampuran in the composition of the play?
No. Not at all. I even read C.N. Sreekantan Nair’s ‘Saketham’ only on completion of ‘Dasaradhavilapam’.
Why did you hinge on the play as a tragedy?
It just happened that the play turned out to be a tragedy. Redemption of Dasaradha did not seem to be a viable option. My focus in the play has been on the distress of Dasaradha, jealousy of Kaikeyi and viciousness of Mandhara.
