In praise of Lord Ayyappa
T. K. SADASIVAN
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Kalamandalam Kesavan's play `Sabarimala Dharma Sastha' was staged in Kochi.
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CREATIVE ACTING: Kalamandalam Sreekumar as Shiva and Sadanam Krishnankutty as Soorpakan.
One of the criticisms against classical art forms is that only scholars can enjoy them. This might have been on Kalamandalam Kesavan's mind when he wrote `Sabarimala Dharma Sastha.'
`Sabarimala Dharma Sastha' was the 13th play penned by Kalamandalam Kesavan. The versatile artiste's prolific talent and rich experience have contributed a lot to making the play a remarkable one.
The play was staged under the aegis of Changampuzha Samskarika Kendram, Edappally, and it was well received.
The lyrical beauty and captivating music of some of the compositions were outstanding. The ragas chosen for most of the padams were appropriate for the sequences.
Story of Lord Ayyappa
The story of Lord Ayyappa was the theme of the play. The play had 12 scenes and as many as 18 characters.
The play starts with the appearance of Soorpakan, an asura and a devotee of Lord Shiva. It narrated the circumstances that lead to the appearance of Lord Vishnu as Mohini and the birth of Lord Ayyappa. The play also had incidents from the life of Lord Ayyappa. The highlight of the performance was the superb acting by Sadanam Krishnankutty as Soorpakan. He was at his best while portraying Soorpakan's ferociousness as well as the character's romantic transformation when Soorpakan falls in love with Mohini. Kalamandalam Shanmugan as Mohini and Kalamandalam Sreekumar as Lord Shiva excelled in their roles.
The other actors were FACT Padmanabhan (Manikandan), Kalamandalam Krishnakumar (king of Pandalam), RLV Radhakrishnan (queen of Pandalam), FACT Jayadeva Varma (Vishnu), Mahishi RLV Gopi (Mahishi), Elamakkara Ranjith (Kadutha) and FACT Biju Bhaskaran (Vavar).
Some of the padams such as `Varavarnnini' in Kharakharapriya and `Panthadichu' in Arabhi were captivating. They were rendered well by Kalanilayam Rajendran, Kalamandalam Rajeevan and Kalamandalam Vinod.
Sadanam Divakaran and Thripunithura Gopikrishnan were on the chenda and Kalamandalam Narayanana Nambeesan and Thiruvillwamala Venkitesan were on the maddalam. Although the play strictly adheres to the norms, it is easy to follow.
The first part of the play gives ample scope for creative acting and improvisation.
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