TRIPUNITHURA: Nizhalkuthu kathakali will be presented at the Oottupura Malika of the Sree Poornathrayeesha Temple here on Saturday night as a part of the ongoing Vrischikolsavam.
Duryodhanan and Bharatha Malayan are the central characters in Nizhalkuthu. When Duryodhanan directs Malayan to finish off Bheemasenan using the mystic trick of stabbing on the shadow of Bheemasenan, at first Malayan refuses to do so. However, Duryodhanan compels him to do so.
In the next scene, Malayathi, wife of Bharatha Malayan, who has a soft corner towards Kunthi and the Pandavas, takes revenge on her husband by killing their son. The scenes involving Duryodhanan and Bharatha Malayan and Malayan and Malayathi are very interesting. "One can see more dramatic scenes in Nizhalkuthu which are not common in the usual kathakali stories," R V Sasikumar, who heads the subcommittee formed to oversee the kathakali presentations, said.
"We have decided to include Nizhalkuthu, which is based on the thekkan chitta (southern school), to tap the acting potential of Madavoor Vasudevan Nair, the living legend of the southern school of kathakali,'' Sasi said.
Madavoor, the patriarch of the southern school, will present the role of Duryodhana and Chengarappally Anujan will present the role of Bharatha Malayan. The songs will be sung by a team led by Kalamandalam Gopalakrishnan.
Thayambaka
On Saturday evening, thayambaka will be presented by Kalpathy Balakrishnan at the aanakkottil. The style adopted by Kalpathy Balakrishnan is quite amazing as he plays the intricate thaala patterns with both hands, which is very rare. The clarity of nerkol (the straight beats) is a unique feature of his thayambaka.
While presenting the edakaalam (middle phase of the thayambaka), Balakrishnan enriches the performance with innovative thaala patterns by poignantly tapping the tonal variations on the chenda.
Thousands of devotees will throng the temple premises on Saturday afternoon to get a glimpse of the presiding deity at the Pazhukka Mandapam. The idol of the deity will be presented at the mandapam as a part of the Ulsava Bali.
Kurathiattom by Eroor Nanappan Pillai and vocal concert by Bangalore Vani Satheeshan are the other highlights of the second day of the Vrischikolsavam ?