Kathakali artist to weave Pahalgam terror attack into solo performance
KOCHI: Moved by the terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam on April 22 this year, a kathakali artist has composed a 45-minute dance drama that conveys the shock, grief, and outrage over the incident. Kalamandalam Vijayakumar, a kathakali artist settled in the UK for the past four decades, has choreographed a solo performance incorporating four evergreen Malayalam film songs composed by legendary music director G Devarajan to deliver the anguish over the attack. The first performance will be staged at the Devarajan Master Museum and Research Centre at Paravoor in Kollam district on January 9. The songs selected for the performance are Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal from the film Ashwamedham (1967), Chandra Kalabham Charthi from Kottaram Vilkanundu (1975), Manjalayil Mungi Thorthi from Kalithozhan and Ayiram Padasarangal Kilungi from the film Nadhi (1969). While Manjalayil was written by P Bhaskaran, the other three songs were by Vayalar Rama Varma.Initially, I thought of composing the lyrics for the performance. However, I felt that using these immortal songs would help connect with the audience easily, Vijayakumar told TNIE. The story depicts the tragedy that befell Himanshi Narwal, the wife of Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, whose photograph that showed her sitting numb beside husbands body triggered outrage across the world. The couple, married just six days earlier, was on a honeymoon trip to Kashmir when the tragedy occurred. The photograph was so disturbing that I couldnt sleep for days. I felt a strong urge to express my anguish through my art, Vijayakumar said. He said the story starts with the heroine dreaming over her marriage.For that, I have adapted the song Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal. After marriage, the couple reaches Kashmir, and the stunning mountains, lush valleys, and the serene lakes create a perfect landscape for their love to flourish, for which I have adapted the song Chandra Kalabham.... And Manjalayil Mungi Thorthi conveys the intimacy of the lovers, he said. Subsequently, the artist will convey the terror attack through manodharmam, an expressive dramatic narration. The woman hears the gun shots and frantically runs around in search of her husband. She finds men lying dead in pools of blood and desperately searches for her husband, and finally finds his bullet-riddled body. The performance will end with the lines Omale... Onnu Chirikkoo Orikkal Koodi, which is part of the song Ayiram Padasarangal Kilungi. Vijayakumar and his wife Barbara have played a key role in popularising kathakali in the Western world, with the couple having organised more than 3,000 kathakali stage shows in Europe during the past four decades. Barbara is the first woman artist to take up chutty, the intricate make-up for kathakali. A native of Manimala in Kottayam district, Vijayakumar met Barbara when she arrived in Kalamandalam to learn chutty in 1975.
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