After more than four decades, Harsha's play 'Naganandam' was performed as koodiyattam on 7th September at the Natyagruham, Thrissoor. Revived under the guidance of the greatest living master of the art, Ammannur Madhava Chakyar, this rare performance featured maestros like Ammannur Kuttan chakyar, Kalamandalam Raman Chakyar and Usha Nangiar. This performance, the result of dedicated effort of A V Narayanan and the koodiyattam artistes, is sure to give great fillip to the renewed interest in this great art. The performance was preceded by homage to the masters of koodiyattam - Padmasri Ammannur Madhava Chakyar, Ammannur Parameswara Chakyar, Ammannur Kochukuttan Chakyar and C N Raman Chakyar.

Koodiyattam is one of the oldest surviving classical theatres in the world. According to scholars, this Sanskrit theatre form is more than 1400 years old and was originally performed in the royal courts. In its present form, it has been the traditional privilege of the temple castes, chakyars and nambiars, before it came out of the temple precincts. Apart from the significant presence of female actresses onstage, this art form was also instrumental in keeping alive the prakrit language and Malayalam in its ancient form. The four-fold concept of acting enunciated in the natya-sastra - angika, vacika, aharya and satvic - find its full statement in koodiyattam. It is known for its highly stylized acting and is considered to be the mother of most of the classical art forms of Kerala.

Naganandam, a 7th century play, was written by the legendary king Harsha (AD 590?-647) who ruled most of northern India from AD 606 to 647. Harsha was a great patron of art, philosophy and literature, and wrote three well-known plays - Naganandam, Ratnavali and Priyadarsika. Naganandam is based on a Buddhist legend. It is the gripping story of the vidyadhara prince Jimutavahana, and a poignant treatise on dharma. Apart from being a love story par excellence, it is also a passionate appeal for non-violence.

Considered to be one of the greatest plays in koodiyattam (a rare play in which santham is the predominant rasa), according to witnesses, Naganandam was last performed in 1957 at Irinjalakuda. Ammannur Madhava Chakyar and his brother Parameswara chakyar took part in it, and their uncle, the legendary Chachu Chakyar is believed to have performed Naganandam three or four times. One of the oldest living witnesses of the play is the eminent Sanskrit scholar K P Narayana Pisharoty, who was also present during the performance. The spectacular 'parakkum koothu' where the actor performed while hanging atop a huge wooden frame hoisted outdoors, was one of specialties of this play. The various places named 'koothuparamba' scattered all over kerala are believed to owe their names to this performance.

In koodiyattam, the performance of a play takes days to complete. Maybe in order to cater to contemporary tastes, the present performance was limited to six hours. The vacika aspect was given predominance over the others and the vidushaka (a spirited performance by Kalamandalam Raman Chakyar) had to sweat it out from the beginning to end. A koothu artiste of repute, Raman Chakyar lived upto his task commendably. As a result, the parodic meta-theatre of the vidushaka tended to cloud over the natyadharmi theatre typical of koodiyattam. The performance was limited to the first half of the play, which deals with the story of love between Jimutavahaja and Malayavati. Naturally, the climactic scene was the one in which the disappointed Malayavati (Usha Nangiar, not at her usual best) decides to commit suicide by hanging.

Evidently the effort was to replicate the play exactly as it was performed earlier, with the help of doyens like Madhava Chakyar. Such revival of art forms and performances spring a lot of questions in one's mind, both textual and performative. Firstly, one is disturbed by the question whether fidelity to an earlier (hence 'original') performance should be given more importance than their rendering in a contemporary context using the language of koodiyattam. Secondly, art forms like koodiyattam were performed in front an elite, male audience within the koothambalams till recently. Hence a contemporary, secular audience may find many instances, situations and comments embarrassing. One hopes in future productions of the play will try to reclaim the subversiveness of the vidushaka role and the natya-dharmi aspects.

Despite all such shortcomings inherent in the excavation of a performance, the yeoman service of the organizers to revive the performance of a long forgotten play and to give a new fillip to a great art form like koodiyattam is commendable. 

Profiles of some artists involved in the play
Ammanoor Madhava Chakiar (b.1917) is undoubtedly the greatest living doyen of Koodiyattam and Koothu and one among the all time greats considered as the trinity of the art of this century, others being Mani Madhava Chakyar and Painkula Rama Chakyar. Ammannoor had traditional training on the art from his uncle, the legendary Ammanoor Chachu Chakyar. Hailed as one of the greatest actors by scholars and laymen, he has participated in various India International Festivals in and around Europe, and the Asian sub continent. Winner of Padmashri, Kalidas Samman and other meritorious fellowships, he continues his teaching practice in Ammanoor Chachu Chakyar Smaraka Gurukulam at Irinjalakuda in Thrissur District.

Ammanoor Kuttan Chakiar, nephew of Ammanoor Madhava Chakiar, is in his forties and continue the tradition of the Ammanoor family. Intiated into this art form by his two uncles, he had most of his training under Madhava Chakiar and they have performed together for the last twenty years. At present he teaches at the Ammanoor Chachu Chakyar Smaraka Gurukulam. He is a recipient of senior fellowship from the Kendra Sangeeta Nataka Academy and conducts performances for traditional theatre audience in Vadakkunnathan temple, Thrissur

Usha Nangiar, a devoted disciple of Ammanoor Madhava Chakiar, is a product of Ammanoor Chachu Chakyar Smaraka Gurukulam. Thirteen years of rigorous study and strict training makes her the most prominent artist among the women performers of Nangiar Koothu today and a gifted actress of Koodiyattam. A graduate in mathematics she has done her computer training as well. At present she is a lecturer in the theatre department of Sree Sankaracharya University, Kalady.

Kalamandalam Raman Chakiar, a known disciple of late Painkulam Raman Chakiar, is one amongst the prominent in the current generation of Koodiyattam performers. A talented actor as vidushaka in Chakiar Koothu, he is often held in great esteem by audiences abroad as well as in Kerala. A professor at Kerala Kalamandalm in Cheruthuruthy, he played vidushaka in Naganandam .

venkitesh@eth.net