Kathakali (Kalyanasougandhikam)

Kathakali (Kalyanasougandhikam)

Kathakali is a 300-year-old classical dance drama of Kerala, which combines the facets of the ballet, opera, masque and pantomime. This art form adopts events and stories from the great Indian epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas. The richness of this classical dance is its magnificent mixture of colour, expression, music and drama that are unparalleled in any other art form.

The DVD on Kathakali from Invis Multimedia has the Margi troupe performing Kalyanasougandhikam, a chapter from the epic Mahabharata, depicting the travails of Bheema who goes in search of Sougandhika flowers at the behest of his beloved wife Panchali. On the way, he meets his half-brother Hanuman and the story unfolds in the unique dramatic style of Kathakali.

The artistes are Inchakattu Ramachandran Pillai (Bheeman), Kalamandalam Ratheesan (Hanuman)  and Margi Vijayakumar (Panchali).

Vocal- Kottakkal Madhu, Vengeri Narayanan

Maddalam - Kalanilayam Babu

Chenda - Margi Krishnadas

Injakkattu Ramachandran Pillai

Injakkattu Ramachandran Pillai was trained by the renowned Kathakali maestro Mankulam Vishnu Namboothiri in Gurukula style. He is a specialist in Pacha and Kathi type of characters. He is the recipient of the prestigious Kumar Gandharva Award and Kalamandalam Award. Injakkattu Ramachandran Pillai is now working as the Principal of Margi Theatre in Thiruvananthapuram.

Kalamandalam Ratheesan

Kalamandalam Ratheesan, son of renowned Kathakali artiste Oyoor Kochu Govindan started his training in Kathakali at the tender age of six from his father and later joined Kalamandalam for further training. He was awarded the National Scholarship by the Government of India and had the opportunity to train under a great teacher, the late Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair. He joined Margi in 1984 and has performed in almost all countries in Europe and Asia.

Margi Vijayakumar

Margi Vijayakumar learned Kathakali from 1975 to 1983 at Margi. He was trained by renowned artistes like Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, Mankulam Vishnu Namboothiri, Inchakkattu Ramachandran Pillai and Thonnakal Peethambaran. Margi Vijayakumar, an expert in Sthree Veshas (female characters), is currently working in Margi as teacher and has given performances in many countries.

Tags: Kathakali, Classical Dance, Kerala , India, Margi, Injakkattu Ramachandran Pillai, Kalamandalam Ratheesan, Margi Vijayakumar, Kottakkal Madhu, Vengeri Narayanan, Kalanilayam Babu, Margi Krishnadas