Love story of Nala-Damayanthi through kathakali padams...

Nalacharitham, the famous Kathakali play staged at the Theerthapadamandapam recently turned to be a crowd puller in the city with the participation of experienced actors. The crowded audience at the auditorium was a proof for that. Various eminent kathakali performers portrayed the characters of Nalan and Damayanthi and other roles of the mythological play composed by scholar Unnayi Variyar on the four days of recital respectively.Among them the performance of Padma Sri Award recipient and epitome in the art form, Kalamandalam Gopi as Nalan on the second day stood out. When he gave life to the mythological hero Nalan, Margi Vijayakumar captivated the audience as Damayanthi. Through Kathakali padam Kuvalaya Vilochanae… the duo narrated the interaction between the lovelorn Nala-Damayanthi which received a standing ovation from the captivated the audience. Through slow paced mudras conveying myriad images and romantic expressions in shringara padams, the artistes conveyed the masterpieces of the melodrama in Unnayi’s script. With the accompaniment of musical instruments; chenda by Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan and Kalanilayam Ratheesh and maddalam by Margi Rathnakaran and Chunakkara Aji, the performance detailed the beautiful ambience of the royal garden to the deep conversations between the newly wed Nalan and Damayanthi.