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Warrior saint: Sadanam Krishnankutty donned the role of Parasurama.

‘Sita Swayamvaram,’ an aattakatha scripted by Kottarakkara Thampuran (1555-1605), is one of the important plays in Kathakali, though it is not often performed on the stage.

Since this play was rarely performed and hardly used for kalari training in any of the schools, there were doubts about the choreography and the attire for Parasurama.

In the early 1950s, under the initiative of Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair and with the support of Vallathol, a new costume was designed for Parasurama. It had none of the typical attires of the art form such as chutti, uduthukettu and kireetam, and it was based on the depiction of Parasurama in Ravi Varma paintings.

The late Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair had given a clear depiction of the traditional costume of Parasurama in his autobiography (1999) and had reminisced about his innumerable portrayals of Rama along with Guru Chandu Panikkar (1875-1969) as Parasurama.

According to him, it was ‘pazhuppu’ (dark yellow) and black beard with the usual outfits of Kathakali. According to the late Maddalam maestro Venkichan Swamy (1873-1951), who saw the play it was “a sort of make-up that was in some way similar to Balabhadra” using ‘pazhuppu.’

In this backdrop, it was interesting to watch the return of ‘Sita Swayamvaram’ to the stage with seasoned performer Sadanam Krishnankutty, one of the disciples of Keezhpadam, in the role of Parasurama. Krishnakutty used the ‘pazhuppu’ make-up, along with black beard and a moustache to denote a sage. The performance was at Urakam Temple, in the suburbs of Thrissur, under the aegis of Manjuthara, Mangode.

Kalanilayam Raghavan, former Principal of Unnai Warrier Smaraka Kalanilayam, Irinjalakuda, gave exemplary support by donning the role of Rama.

The play depicts Parasurama confronting Rama and his brothers who were returning to Ayodhya after Rama wins the hand of Sita by breaking the sacred bow that had once belonged to Lord Siva. Parasurma eventually discovers that Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu.

Krishannkutty’s portrayal of the famous librettos ‘Areda nadannedunnen Ramano mooda’ and the related manodharma unveiled the charm of Kathakali aesthetics.

After the performance, Krishannkutty said: “it is left to scholars and practitioners of the art to go into a healthy discussion on the rationale and aesthetics of costume and make-up.”

Thrippayya Peethambaran acted as Dasaratha with Arjunan as Sita and Anandan as Lakshmana.

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