NaLa-charitham kathakali-padam/aattakkatha
Munna
Date: 24 Jan 1995 23:22:47 GMT
Organization: Laboratory for Applied Logic, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
NaLa-charitham kathakali-padam/aattakkatha
though it was just a coincidence, my folks were wondering why i wanted
the book that has caused some commotion there recently, on this side
of the globe. well, i was just following links.. from an audio cassette of
Kathakali padangal by Kalamandalam Sankaran Embrandiri & co.[Magnasound]
which had part of the naalaam divasam padam, to kathakali encyclopaedia
reachable through the net [by no means automatic! ;) ] and finally to
the aattakkatha with vyaakhyaanam by Ilamkulam Kunjan Pilla [dcbooks].
"engaanum-undO kandu thungaanubhaavanaam nin changaathi", the padam
starts with Damayanthi asking Bahukan, the charioteer, who is actually
NaLa in disguise, who's brought the king R~thupaRNNan for Damayanthi's
second swayamvaram which was announced shortly {that was part of the
ploy to bring NaLa to her place, as no one but NaLa could drive the
horses so fast}. Though almost certain that this was NaLa himself,
Damayanthi is confused on seeing Baahukan, who doesn't look anything
like NaLan. So, she's asking indirectly, whether he's seen someone
who's a peer(changaathi) to him in chariot driving and other skills.
quoting an authority:
"Unnayi's naLacharitam is definitely one of the most brilliant works
in malayalam and in the world. The characters, the dramatic moments,
the way things unfold are simply superb, not to talk about the poetic
and musical genius in them."
All this can be seen even in the single scene that was described.
Though NaLan tells her that he's finally come back and she doesn't
need to worry any longer, Damayanthi remains confused and expresses
her emotions by comparing herself to the beautifully dark night,
longing to see the moon on a new moon night. {Implying partly that
Nala's moon-like face is hidden under the darkness of disguise}. At
the same time, the dark NaLa can't question her about the second
swayamvaram, with the authority of a husband either. So he finally
becomes the real NaLa and starts abusing Damayanthi. Unnayi Warrier
presents some beautiful word-play in the conversation that follows, in
which Damayanthi explains (very beautifully!) that she announced the
swayamvaram as it was the only way she found for seeing NaLa again,
and NaLa continues to misunderstand her intentions. Finally, the air
(vaayu) had to appear as a witness of the past to clear the
misunderstanding!
Ilamkulam wonders, who else could portray so well, even characters of
little significance, as Unnayi does.
Professor Mundasseri qualifies NaLa-charitham as the `Shaakunthalam in
Malayalam'.
The raagam/thaalam the scene was set to are thodi&saaveri/chempada and
makes it worth listening to the padam as such..
{has anyone seen this enacted?}
Adithy
(has the `culture' of ack been transferred to scik yet? ;) )
muraly kandanchatha
: {don't think the following post left the local net.}
: Date: 24 Jan 1995 23:22:47 GMT
: Organization: Laboratory for Applied Logic, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
: NaLa-charitham kathakali-padam/aattakkatha
I am glad to find out someone else out there who enjoys kathakali
as much as i do. Your discription of the scene, i find it
very realistic and it gave me memories of seeing the scene
itself all over again. I grew up in an artistic environment
and let me tell you if I could ever be satisfied with seeing
Nalacharitham, especially if Kalamandalam Krishnan Kutty Nair
and Kottakkal Sivaraman team is on the stage.
Glad to read an excellent article , besides those superb
stories written by Mr.Chemmanoor on scik after a long time.
Thanks once again Mr. Munna.
Cheers
muraly