KOCHI: Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, the living legend of Kathakali, has turned 84. And Kerala Kalamandalam and the Public Relations Department have started the celebrations in a big way.
And admirers of Ramankutty Nair, who have witnessed many of his sterling performances, have camped at Cherpulasseri, Asan's native place, to participate in his 'shathaabhishekam.' This group of Kathakali lovers is headed by municipal chairperson Ranjini Suresh, the daughter of Asan's favourite disciple Kalamandalam Karunakaran, has left for the show 'Thiranottam' at Cherpulasseri. During the occasion, Ramankutty Asan, along with his followers will present some immortal acting moments to his fans. He will don the role of Dharmaputhrar in 'Kirmmeera Vadham' on May 15. Kalamandalam Gangadharan and Madambi Subrahmanyan Namboothiri will accompany him with their soulful music.
"The play will begin with the padham 'Pundareeka nayana' and is choreographed to be in a very slow pace," says Kunjikkuttan Thampuran who has had many occasions to share the innovative experiments adopted by Ramankutty Nair in plays like 'Seetha Swayamvaram' and 'Keechaka Vadham.' "Áctually we consider it as a blessing to watch 'Kirmeera Vadham," says Sathi Varma of Idoop Palace, who is eagerly waiting for those cherishing moments.
"Words can hardly describe our joy to watch the Hanuman of the maestro," Sathi says.
The two-day long celebrations began with the 'deepashikha' procession from the monument of Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon, the guru of Ramankutty Nair on Wednesday. The staging of 'Nalacharitham' was the main attraction of the day with Kalamandalam Gopi as Nalan, Margi Vijayan as Damayanthi and Nelliyodu Vasudevan Namboothiri as Kali.
On Friday, after the staging of 'Kirmeera Vadham,' Madavoor Vasudevan Nair will present 'Ravana Vijayam' along with Kalamandalam Rajasekharan as Rambha. 'Bali Vadham' and 'Duryodhana Vadham ' will also be staged as part of the celebrations.
The connoisseurs of Kathakali in Tripunithura still recall with joy the emotional scene presented by the famous 'kutty thrayam' (three artists with 'Kutty' at the end of their names, Ramankutty Nair, Kalamandalam Appukutty Pothuval and Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Pothuval).
While depicting the role of Hanuman, Ramankutty Nair, with his matchless body language, always succeeded in conveying the deep devotion Hanuman had towards Seetha and her two sons, Lava and Kusha. With excellent improvisations, Nair was able to portray with elan the scene in which the monkey god shows his utmost loyalty towards Sree Rama.
"The portrayal of Parasuraman by Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair in the play 'Seetha Swayamvaram' deserves special mention. The temple premises here still reverberate with his performance in the scene," recalls 87-year-old Elamana Hari who was the main coordinator of Kathakali at the Vrischikolsavam at Tripunithura from 1954 to 1964.
sivadasvarma@gmail.com