Friday Review
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MUSIC ACADEMY
Done with finesse
ANJANA RAJAN
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The Kerala Kalamandalam stalwarts brought the characters alive.
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Photo: V.Ganesan
Great pair: Rukmangadha Charitham.
The Kerala Kalamandalam’s performance of ‘Rukmangada Charitham’ on the penultimate evening of The Music Academy Dance Festival featured some stalwarts of Kathakali. These included Kalamandalam Gopi, the Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee
and veteran of six decades of performances. Known for his paccha vesham portrayals, his abhinaya is a treat to observe.
The extract chosen for the evening was from the romance of Rukmangada and Mohini, who was sent by the gods to disrupt the meritorious record of the pious King Rukmangada. Kalamandalam Rajasekharan as Mohini made a great pair with the veteran Gopi. The king’s amorous similes and besotted looks, set against Mohini’s now crafty, now coy glances, brought out the story with humour. Perhaps more vivid than the overt message of the story — whose moral points to the gifts in store for devotees of Vishnu who observe the Ekadasi fast with dedication — was the warning that woman as temptress is an eternally useful trap to befuddle a man, no matter what his exalted status.
In the story, to test Rukmangada’s devotion to Vishnu, Mohini tries to embrace the king while he is observing the fast. When he refuses, she reminds him that he had earlier in his infatuated state promised to fulfil all her desires. Therefore she says, if he is not willing to break his vow of abstinence, he must sever the head of his son, Dharmangada (played by Vipin). To make matters worse the child is to be killed while lying on his mother’s lap. The drama of Rukmangada pleading with Mohini was heightened by the temptress’ surly lack of compassion. Rajasekharan introduced variety by showing Mohini momentarily puzzled at the turn of events, since the king, after an impassioned plea for mercy from his erstwhile lover, decides to sacrifice his son rather than retract from the vows of his fast.
The denouement came with the appearance of Vishnu, played by Anurag, to save and bless his devotee. Though the stage of The Music Academy was a tight fit for several Kathakali dancers at a time, and the angle of some of the auditorium seats ensured that the rituals traditionally performed behind the tiraiseela (handheld curtain) were visible, the actors performed their roles with finesse. Suspension of disbelief is in any case a predominant factor in a Kathakali performance, but it was further stretched by these conditions.
Competent cast
Sabarinath and Unnikrishnan as the two Brahmins who gossip about Rukmangada’s obsession with Mohini, and Manu as Sandhyavali, the queen, made up the rest of the competent cast. The orchestra consisted of vocalists Kalamandalam Babu Namboodiri and Hareesh, chenda players Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan and Navaneeth, and maddalam players Kalamandalam Gopikuttan Nair and Vysakh. Make-up was by Kalamandalam Sivaraman. The troupe and story were introduced by V. Kaladharan.
As a leading cultural institution of Chennai, The Music Academy would do well to set an example of presentation. It could set a trend of giving accompanying musicians their due credit after every programme, as these artistes are the backbone of dance performances. At present, there are inconsistencies in the way the accompanists are introduced.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
