How a Tamil opera was adapted to Kathakali
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M.P.S. Namboodiri recalls his memorable choreographic work for Arunachala Kavi’s Rama Natakam
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M.P.S. Namboodiri recalls his memorable choreographic work for Arunachala Kavi’s Rama Natakam
In the four century-old history of Kathakali, October 28, 1995 is momentous. A play was presented in an Indian language other than Malayalam for the first time. Arunachala Kavi’s magnum opus
Rama Natakam, choreographed by the maestro Kalamandalam M.P.S. Namboodiri, was staged in Tamil that day.
M.P.S. Namboothiri and Krishnakumar presenting Rama Natakam Photo: Special arrangement
A petitioner in Krishna’s court
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April 29, 2021 21:21 IST
A performance of the Kathakali play Santhanagopalam saw spectators moved by a bereaved father’s anguish
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A scene from the Kathakali play Santhanagopalam
A performance of the Kathakali play Santhanagopalam saw spectators moved by a bereaved father’s anguish
The Kathakali plays composed between the 17th and early 20th centuries with stories drawn from the epics deal with the myriad mortal sentiments, interspersed with divine interventions. Some are easily comprehensible, even to the uninitiated. One such play is Mandavappally Ittiraricha Menon’s
Santhanagopalam, which unfolds the anguish of a Brahmin who walks into Dwaraka with the corpse of his newborn son, lamenting his fate and presenting his grievances to Krishna.