Inspired by Draupadi
K.K. Gopalakrishnan
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Usha Nangiar brilliantly interpreted the story of Draupadi in the Nangiarkoothu format.
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Draupadi is a very strong character, her character was not given due importance in Sanskrit dramas.
THE SPIRIT OF DRAUPADI: Usha Nangiar's performance highlighted the strong personality of this epic character.
Usha Nangiar's portrayal of Draupadi, staged for the first time in the history of Nangiarkoothu, captivated an audience in Thrissur. Traditionally, Nangiarkoothu, the origins of which can be traced to the 10th century, narrates the story of Lord Krishna and is usually performed by Nambiar women, known as Nangiars.
Usha adapted the art form to breathe life into Draupadi. She began the performance by depicting a distraught Draupadi who has been humiliated by the Kauravas. Her anguish is accentuated when she learns that Krishna is trying to negotiate a compromise between the cousins. She is shown thinking, "to protect dharma on earth I was born out of a great yagna. And I have five celebrated brothers as my husbands... .. still, look at my sufferings."
Through the technique of `nirvahana' (recounting of past incidents), Drupadi recalls how her maid Budhimadhika tried to console her and reminded her of Bhima's hostility towards his cousins. Drupadi decides to meet him and remind Bhima of her vow and the killing of Duryodhana and Dushasena.
Three-day performance
The three-day performance portrayed important incidents from the Mahabharatha from Draupadi's point of view. The first day portrayed the events leading to her swaymvaram to Arjuna, and Kunti's advice to accept all the five brothers as her husbands.
The second day's performance focussed on the game of dice between Duryodhana and Yudhishtra, the humiliation Drupadi had to suffer in the Kaurava court, and her oath.
On the final day, the presentation deviated from the nirvahana format and showed the incidences connected with Aswathamav and his killing of Drupatan, and the children of Draupadi and Dristhadyuman. The seasoned actress skilfully essayed how Aswathamav was punished and cursed by Krishna, how he was forced to give up the diamond that he wore on his head and how it was adorned by Dharmaputra as desired by Draupadi.
Mizhavu by V.K.K. Hariharan, Kalamandalam Rajiv and Hari and edakka by Kesavankutty were simply superb and heightened the effects of the well-choreographed piece. "In Bhattanarayanan's `Veni Samharam,' the character of Draupadi has been given the importance it deserves. Its first segment portrays the feelings of Draupadi, the insults that the Pandavas had to put up with and Bhima's seething anger when he sees Draupadi's tresses. It highlights Draupadi's strong personality and not the lethargic attitude or response of a passive woman who would have quietly borne the insults. I was inspired by this version," says Usha.
The duration of the choreography is almost six hours and Usha chose to present it in three days with two hours of performance on each day.
"Although Draupadi is a very strong character in our epic, her character was not given due importance in any of our Sanskrit dramas. From my research I came to know that the character exists only in three plays and only in `Veni Samharam' does the character of Draupadi give some scope for acting," adds Usha whose performance on the first two days adapted the methodology of `nirvahana.' Sanskrit scholar Vasudevan wrote the slokas and Aparna Nangiar provided the Thalam. The performance was under the aegis of Prof Maya T{macr}ngeberg-Grischin of Finland.
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