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Photo: S. Mahinsha

Mythical heroes: Portraying foreign legends in the Kathakali format.

Kathakali buffs gathered at Theerthapada Mandapam, Thiruvananthapuram, were treated to Kathakali plays in Chinese, Malay and Tamil, a unique production of the Singapore-based Bhasker’s Arts Academy. As the singers rendered padams in familiar ragas in an unfamiliar language, it was through English translations that were projected on a screen in the hall that the audience grasped what the plays were about.

The three plays – ‘Lady Spiders’ in Chinese, ‘Thataka Vadham’ in Tamil and ‘Cherita Singapura’ in Malay – won the hearts of Kathakali fans for the adept adaptation of Kathakali in the interpretation of legends in foreign languages. ‘Lady Spiders,’ composed in Chinese, is a popular tale taken from ‘Journey to the West,’ a Chinese mythological classic. The story is based on the life of Xuan Zang, a seventh century Buddhist monk who is is waylaid and imprisoned by demons called Lady Spiders. The imprisoned monk is later saved by his assistant Sun Wukong, the monkey warrior or the Chinese Monkey God. This character shares similarities with Hanuman and is enacted with the use of the Hanuman costume and make-up.

The story of ‘Thataka Vadham’ is taken from the Tamil opera ‘Ramanatakam’ by Arunachala Kavirayar, an eighteenth century poet. ‘Cherita Singapura’ is based on a Malay legend on the founding of Singapore.

For K.P. Bhaskar, chairman and director of Bhasker’s Arts Academy, improvising legends of Chinese and Malay for Kathakali is a step towards intercultural understanding. “There is a universal dance and theatre, and what else is better suited for this purpose than our Kathakali which speaks a universal language of expressions, postures and gestures?” he asks. Bhaskar’s troupe is the only one of its kind in Singapore supported by the National Arts Council’s Annual Grants Scheme.

How about comprehending and rendering padams in Chinese and Malay? “It took hours of dedicated team work and practice to compose the padams and for the singers to familiarise themselves with foreign words,” says Kalamandalam Biju, a member of the troupe. The troupe has performed all over the globe to standing ovations for the curious blend of Kathakali and foreign legends.

The four-day Global Kathakali Fest was organised in association with Nehru Yuva Kendra and Shree Vidyadhiraja Sabha.

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