It was a celebration of the return of five forgotten women — Ahalya, Tara, Sita, Mandodari and Draupadi — who had disappeared from the Koodiyattam stage over the years. Koodiyattam is perhaps the only theatre tradition where female roles have always been performed only by females. The restriction on depicting panchakanyakas in theatrical performances sprang from an oral edict handed down through generations, which eventually came to be accepted as common belief. By the beginning of the 20th century, Koodiyattam had been reduced to a mere temple ritual, having lost its grandeur as a performing art.
The five-day Panchakanya festival, held recently at Thrissur, featured performances, paper presentations, seminars, and discussions on the five epic heroines. It also marked a milestone for Usha Nangiar, who led the effort to bring back the five epic heroines and other female characters to the Koodiyattam stage. However, its main outcome was to throw the spotlight on the growth of Nangiarkoothu as a standalone artform.
Till 40 years ago, there were only a few roles for women such as Subhadra in ‘Dhananjayam’ and Lalita in ‘Soorpanakhankam’. These roles were retained solely because of their significance in carrying the story forward, but they were not given scenes with any great acting potential. The two basic documents of the Koodiyattam plays — kramadeepika or stage manual, and attaprakaram or actor’s manual — provided meaty roles for women, complete with purappad or entry and nirvahanam or retrospective, which are two of the three key parts of a Koodiyattam performance. It can be assumed that they were sidelined for various reasons, including the prevailing social circumstances.
Usha, who started learning Koodiyattam in 1980 at the age of 11, recalled that when she began performing Nangiarkoothu and Koodiyattam, she felt frustrated at the limited roles that existed for women. Meaty roles and colorful costumes were reserved for men. Usha’s close perusal of Koodiyattam texts led her to believe there was never an outright ban on women; it was merely mentioned that they were not usually presented on stage. Usha’s persuasive arguments convinced her guru, Ammannur Madhava Chakyar, to change his stance. Usha continued in his kalari for 17 years, and he even trained her in male roles, prophetically telling her it would come in handy someday.
It was Mandodari that Usha depicted on stage first in 2003. Her research showed the role was being performed years ago, but the shlokas or actor’s manual were not available. Usha had Sanskrit shlokas composed and wrote a new attaprakaram for Mandodari lasting five days. Then, in a span of over ten years, Usha presented ‘Draupadi’ in 2005, ‘Sita’ in 2007, and ‘Ahalya’ in 2013. Usha’s version of Tara is the only one she hasn’t performed herself. It was staged for the first time at the current festival.
What we saw at the Panchakanya festival was not merely a retelling of the epic stories but an imaginative interpolation of ideas from contemporary literature that reflect on today’s society and women’s status. The festival started with ‘Ahalyamoksham’ or Salvation of Ahalya. Usha’s rereading of the story of Ahalya, who was turned into a stone for infidelity by her husband Sage Gautama and liberated years later by the touch of Rama’s feet, was thought-provoking. It was called ‘Ahalya Vimochanam’, where vimochanam in Malayalam implies a shackled past and the promise of freedom, according to Devi Varma who introduced the character.
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The performance starts with Ahalya’s life in the hermitage, with a fawn as her only friend, and her only job being to cook and collect prayer materials for her husband. In her garden, Ahalya watches the bees as they suck honey from flowers, and in a flash, it reminds her of a life that could have been. Her trepidation as Gautama enters the hermitage, his indifference as she lovingly fans him, all strongly hint at the frustration of the beautiful Ahalya trapped in a marriage to an old celibate sage. But the highlight was the climax. After Rama liberates her, she sits alone in the ashram as the curtain drops. Whether she goes back to her husband, as epic texts say, remains an open question.
In her portrayal of Sita in 2007, Usha relied on Uttaramacharitam. However, what she presented at the festival was based on the 100-year-old famous poem ‘Chinthavishtayaya Sita’ (Pensive Sita) by Kumaran Asaan, where Sita poses several uncomfortable questions to Rama.
In a touchingly brilliant scene, Sita takes leave of her ashram and reluctantly accompanies Valmiki to Ayodhya. She bids farewell to every creature, plant, flower, the sun, and the stars. Sita’s stoicism, her resolution that she won’t brook any more insults, is writ large on her face. And then she enters Ayodhya, surveys the opulent palace, acknowledges the presence of the eminent people, looks at her sons sitting on either side of the throne, looks amused at her golden statue, takes one last look at Rama, and withdraws to Mother Earth.
On the last day of the festival, the packed hall watched Usha perform Draupadi for well over two hours. It was more of a straight narrative embellished by brilliant choreography. The game of dice came alive with an innocent-looking Yudhishtira taking on the devious Sakuni, while Duryodhana lorded over everyone. Every move, every mannerism, every look, and even the way in which Yudhishtira and Sakuni rolled the dice, all reflected their characters.
Mandodari was performed by Kapila Venu, while Aparna Nangyar presented Tara. Mandodari’s story was based on Usha’s attaprakaram for Mandodari’s nirvahanam in Asokavanikankam. The power-packed segment of Ravana’s penance to Shiva, surrounded on all sides by fire and his chopping off his heads one by one till Shiva appeared, was energetically presented by Kapila. Aparna too did complete justice to her role, especially where she acts out the story of Narasimha. But somehow it was more about Bali than Tara. Details of Tara’s character and life were skimpy.
Usha’s efforts to bring back the panchakanyakas and other characters have had a ripple effect. Nangiarkoothu has been enriched by new stories, new characters from the epics, contemporary stories, and the efforts of many other artistes. As every speaker at the conference pointed to the burgeoning repertoire of Nangiarkoothu, it was evident that the offspring of Koodiyattam has started to outshine its parent in popularity.
