Chemmeen through the idiom of Kathakali

The scene, enacted in the backdrop of a white curtain that symbolises the sea, is an emotionally charged  one.  Pareekutty is bidding farewell to his love Karuthamma, who would soon be married off to Pazhani.  The star-crossed lovers recollect the dreams they once shared, vow never to forget each other, and bring themselves to utter a heartbreaking goodbye.

 Of all the adaptations the classic scene has received, the most recent and one of the most unusual is part of a Kathakali composition titled ‘Karuthamma’.

 Kalamandalam Ganeshan, an artiste with a standing of several years in the field, staged this experimental piece at the Vyloppilly Samskrithi Bhavan.

 Says Ganeshan, tracing the thought that developed into the one-and-a-hourlong composition - “It was my student M Mahesh who mooted the idea of depicting the farewell scene through the idiom of Kathakali.  The single scene was developed into a halfan- hour long Kathakali.  In April this year, it was staged at Thakazhi in Alappuzha, the birth place of Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai whose novel ‘Chemmeen’ inspired the landmark Malayalam movie.”

The adaptation was wellreceived and suggestions poured in urging Ganeshan to incorporate the rest of the story into the composition.

 “Kalimandalam, a collective of art lovers at Thriprayar in Thrissur, facilitated a workshop and encouraged me to elaborate the narrative to include Palani, Chempan Kunju and other minor characters like Panchami,” he says.

 The novel was condensed into the form of a Kathakali using the narrative mode of a ‘dandakam’ (a prose-cumverse rendition) in between the acts.  After the first act, which depicts the farewell scene, the ‘dandakam’ informs the audience of the ensuing marriage and related events.  The second act begins from where Palani enters listening to the conversation between Karuthamma and Panchami about Pareekutty.

 And the final act portrays Palani drowning in the ocean and Karuthamma leaving her home to unite with her lover in death.  Apart from finding a rhetoric that allowed the story to be told without maiming the framework of the stylised art form, he had the task of scripting a convincing Kathakali padam in Malayalam, says Ganeshan.  “It was beautifully rendered by Kalamadalam Sajeev with Sreekumar and Jithin accompanying on Chenda and Maddalam.” The cast included Kalamandalam Prasanth as Pareekutty and Sanal Kumar as Palani.  The costumes were also designed with slight modifications from the traditional attire and was the handiwork of Mahesh and Bejoy.