‘Jatayuvadham’, the episode where Jatayu is slayed by the demon-king Ravana, is the theme of the fourth act of ‘Ascharyachoodamani’ authored by Sakthibhadra, widely recognised as the first Malayali composer of a Sanskrit play; a play that put Kerala on a pedestal in the domain of Indian theatre. Recently, the first part of this act was staged under the aegis of Margi in the capital city, commendably utilising in full, the talents of a team of actors and accompanists nurtured by the institution.
The first part of ‘Jatayuvadhankam’ is presented on the Koodiyattam stage as the prelude to the episode where Ravana slays the mighty bird, for trying to impede his abduction of Sita.
On learning from Surpanakha about Sita’s unparalleled charm, Ravana sets out immediately on his flying chariot to Panchavati to make her his own. He and his charioteer are disguised as Rama and Lakshmana, known in Koodiyattam parlance as Mayarama (maya means illusion) and Mayalakshmana, respectively. Sita, in her naivety, believes the story narrated by Mayarama, that Ayodhya was under attack from enemy kings and that Bharata was unable to handle the invasion himself. As such they would have to rush back to their kingdom to help defend it.
Sita mounts the chariot at once. Mayarama, meanwhile, attempts to touch Sita, only to be foiled by her chastity and he ponders how it’s possible that the wife of an ascetic can have more power than himself – a King who has defeated the Gods and even the mighty elephant Airavatha. Noticing Sita’s dishevelled hair Mayarama attempts to tie it and his hand accidentally brushes across her divine crest jewel, which causes him to reveal his true self.
It took about four hours for the artistes to present the Koodiyattam. Margi Sajeev Narayana Chakyar, Margi Akhil and Kalamandalam Sindhu donned the roles of Mayarama, Mayalakshmana and Sita, respectively. All three were quite at ease throughout, facing every challenge raised by the play text and the context.
Delineating the multidimensional role of Mayarama, Narayana Chakyar had to transform himself, at the outset, to the mind set of Ravana, while appearing as Rama. Then, in tune with the situation, he had to pass all the tests of transformational acting (pakarnnaattam) as the enemy kings, their forces, Bharata, the queen mothers and Sita, the gods and Airavata. His interpretative exposition of two quatrains beginning with ‘Tyajatu bharato bhaaram visvambharaa vishayo…’ and ‘Api vaasavavaaranasya vakthre’ turned out to a visual treat thanks to contextually appropriate verses, controlled bodily movements and expressions, duly embellished with gestural acting. His presentation left nothing to be desired. His mastery over emotional acting seemed equal to his supremacy over the spoken word, like when he essays the Vidushaka’s role.
Akhil and Sindhu too did justice to the roles they enacted.
The Margi team of accompanists, Sajikumar and Mahesh on the mizhavu, Mohan on the thimila, and Amrita and Visishta on the cymbals consistently filled the performance with energy and sweetness in commendable consonance with the action on the stage.
