Koodiyattom at Kalikotta Palace

TRIPUNITHURA: The great thespian Bhasa had taken a lot of freedom while describing select excerpts from the wonderful epic, Mahabharatham .

Pancharathram , the play penned by Bhasa to give his own version of the the ajnathavasam ’ (exile) exposes the subtle nuances of mental agony suffered by Arjuna (disguised as Brihannala) through his experiments with the invaluable theatrical technique, Nirvahanam ’ (Recalling the past which we find only in this thousand-year-old Theatre) Kootiya ttom.

On Monday a group of talented and promising youngsters, who had undergone rigorous training in traditional Gurukula Sampradayam,’ presented some ecstatic moments for the Koodiyattom connoisseurs at Kalikotta Palace. “We have rendered a novel version of Bhasa’s classic work Pancharathram by unveiling the little known personality of the unique character, Brihannala,” said C.M.Neelakantan, president of Paimkulam Rama Chakyar Smaraka Kalapeetam.

The second act of Pancharathram koodiyattom, Gograhanankam contains many sequences to prove the talent of the artistes, he said.

This rare staging turned out to be an acid test for three young artistes from Ammannoor Chachu Chakyar Smaraka Gurukulam, Ammannoor Rajaneesh Chakyar, Pothiyil Ranjith Chakyar and Sooraj Nambiar.