Five decades after their debut, Kalakshetra’s Ramayana dance dramas still resonate

Rama’s exile arsenic demanded by Kaikeyi lasted 14 years. It took Rukmini Devi the aforesaid fig of years to implicit her six iconic Valmiki Ramayana productions. “It is simply a unusual coincidence that it took 14 years for maine to bring my Rama backmost to his Kingdom,” she had said. 

Nearly fractional a period aft that, Kalakshetra’s Ramayana bid continues to gully afloat houses — this Margazhi play saw the full bid being staged aft a gap. 

Rukmini Devi brought successful situation and aesthetics, story and philosophy, integrative creation and theatrical rituals into a azygous arena. Her Ramayana bid personifies qualities and dramatises abstract concepts. Those who deride her for allegedly removing sringara tin find tender moments betwixt Rama and Sita. For those who scoffed that the Kalakshetra benignant was excessively serious, determination were galore scenes afloat of humour and contented worthy of appreciation.

It was successful 1954 that Rukmini Devi decided to nutrient Valmiki Ramayana arsenic a creation play series. The task of selecting verses and editing the publication was fixed to Venkatachala Shastry, Adinarayana Sharma and S. Sharada. Rukmini Devi went each the mode to Mysore to transportation 83-year-old Vasudevachar to travel to Kalakshetra successful Madras to constitute the music. First presented successful 1955, Sita Swayamvaram began with Lava and Kusha, the children of Rama and Sita narrating the communicative to Rama himself. 

When Vasudevachar composed the narration successful Ragamalika, veena maestro Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer is said to person exclaimed “If I were a Maharaja, I would springiness you a 1000 golden sovereigns successful appreciation of this Ragamalika.” Even today, galore are fans of the series’ music. Mysore Vasudevachar’s euphony has specified extent to it. The ragabhava successful the euphony is aggravated and enhances the afloat import of each word. Expressions of changing moods successful a azygous raga wrong a opus are brought retired strongly. For the country wherever the boatman Guha ferries Rama, Lakshmana and Sita crossed the Ganga, Vasudevachar created a caller raga called Gangalahari. 

Sri Rama Vanagamanam and Paduka Pattabishekam were produced successful 1960. Vasudevachar passed distant conscionable earlier his 100th birthday, and it took Rukmini Devi 5 years to travel backmost to Ramayana with Rajaram, Vasudevachar’s grandson composing euphony for Sabari Moksham (1965). Choodamani Pradanam was produced successful 1968, and Mahapattabishekam successful 1970. 

There were galore creator decisions Rukmini Devi took portion producing these iconic creation dramas. For instance, successful Sabari Moksham, the country wherever apsaras were singing and dancing successful a water was depicted done imaginative choreography. 

Again, portion delineating the quality of Surpanaka, Rukmini Devi did not visualise her arsenic transforming into a beauteous woman. Her mentation was that Surpanaka already considered herself beautiful. Rukmini Devi saw that Valmiki Ramayana does not speech astir Lakshmana drafting a enactment of occurrence to support Sita. She effected flimsy changes successful the series of events to marque it enactment for the stage. Instead of recreating the warfare connected stage, she utilized the clever strategy of apsaras describing the sequences. She utilized minimum props to make the illusion of Hanuman flying implicit the oversea to Lanka.

Rukmini Devi had said that the unhappiest country for her to choreograph was the Agnipravesham, wherever Sita enters the occurrence to beryllium her chastity. But erstwhile she heard Seetharama Sarma’s opus for it, she consented to its inclusion. S. Sharada was witnesser to however Rukmini Devi choreographed the country — she demonstrated to Krishnaveni, who was playing Sita, however to explicit desolate sadness. This country went connected to go iconic.

These creation dramas were besides pioneering, due to the fact that they were primitively produced erstwhile determination were nary creator notation points. For the costumes, Rukmini Devi created unbelievable colour combinations. It is said that she erstwhile placed fallen leaves successful antithetic stages of drying, and wanted those colours for Jatayu’s costume. She had the assistance of the champion lighting designers who helped her bring live the epic.

It is unfortunate that Choodamani Pradanam and Mahapattabhisekam were not performed for a mates of years by Kalakshetra. After decades, each the six episodes were presented arsenic portion of a azygous festival. Brilliant costumes, divided 2nd lighting changes, due philharmonic effects and each artiste showing heavy engagement and enjoyment marked this Season’s presentation, peculiarly the vigor brought by Jyothish Satheesh, the caller Hanuman. He near a akin content arsenic the erstwhile Hanumans — played by Balagopalan and Janardhanan.

Third-generation Kalakshetra artistes presenting vintage productions similar they were freshly-minted gold, with the elegance and dignity with which they were choreographed galore decades ago, hits differently.