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Play of emotions

T .K. SADASIVAN

The second part of ‘Kalakeyavadhom’ was staged in Kochi under the auspices of the Ernakulam Kathakali Club.



Action and romance: ‘Kalakeyavadhom’ narrates the story of Arjuna’s valour and chivalry.

The plays of Kottayathuthampuran such as ‘Bakavadhom,’ ‘Kirmeeravadhom’ and ‘Kalakeyavadhom’ are some of the outstanding stories in the Kathakali repertoire that also offer plenty of dramatic moments.

The efforts of Ernakulam Kathakali Club, which occasionally organise such rarely performed plays, are highly commendable.

The second part of ‘Kalakeyavadhom’ was staged under the auspices of the club.

The first part of the same play was organised by them a few months ago.

‘Kalakeyavadhom’ narrates the story of Arjuna’s valour and chivalry.

Urvashi tries in vain to seduce Arjuna. An angry Urvashi curses him. Indra consoles an upset Arjuna and requests him to kill Kalakeya and Nivathakavacha. Howwever, Kalakeya kills Arjuna with the help of the ‘Mohanastra.’ Nandikeswara, send by Lord Siva, rescues Arjuna and advises him to fight Kalakeya once again. In the subsequent fight Arjuna kills Kalakeya and seeks the blessings of Nandikeswara.
Inimitable performance

The highlight of the performance was the inimitable acting of Margi Vijaykumar and Nelliyode Vasudevan Namboodiri. Margi Vijayakumar captivated the spectators as Urvashi. Vijayakumar portrayed the wide range of emotions Urvashi undergoes in the first two scenes with his vivid expressions, elegant movements and expressive body language. Kalamandalam Sucheendran excelled as the ‘thozhi.’ Nelliyode Vasudevan Namboodiri, who is a master of ‘chuvanna thadi’(villainous roles), skilfully portrayed Kalakeyan.

Thonnakkal Peethambaran (Arjunan), Sadanam Mohanan(Indran) and FACT Biju Bhasker(Nandikeswaran) were the other actors.

Vocal support by Kalamandalam Rajendran and Kalanilayam Rajeevan was exceptionally good.

Rendition of padams such as ‘Pandavante Roopamkandu’ (Sankarabharanam), ‘Thavavachanena’ (Devagandhari) were outstanding. Kalamandalam Kesavan on the chenda, and Kalamandalam Sasi and Kalamandalam Vineeth on the madhalam supported the actors.