Kathakali Covid drama set for YouTube release

ALAPPUZHA:

Kathakali

artists of Alappuzha are staging a show ‘Covid-19’ narrating the story of the fight between coronavirus and a vaccine developed to prevent the deadly disease. The

maiden performance

will be staged on Wednesday for broadcasting on YouTube.


The story has been written by the director of Natyakala Classical & Folk Art Research Centre at Kalarcode, Kalamandalam Ganeshan, and will be staged by his son and Kathakali artist

Goutham Ganeshan

and another Kathakali artist Syamlal.

Kalamandalam Ganeshan, the mastermind behind the show said the 50-minute long performance depicts the fight between Covid-19 and the vaccine. “Finally, the vaccine will emerge as winner, destroying the virus. It will also touch upon the importance of wearing masks to break the chain of virus transmission,” he said.

“There will be scenes based on the

Mallayudham

scene in Keechakavadham. Syamlal will portray a Kari Vesham representing the coronavirus. His face will have five marks representing the image of the virus. Goutham will be on stage with the make-up code for Pazhuppu Vesham and enact the vaccine’s role,” said Kalamandalam Ganeshan.

The Padam, scripted by Ganeshan, begins with the origin of the virus in Wuhan and its subsequent spread across the world. “There are 24

basic mudras

in Kathakali. For this performance, I have developed new mudras combining the two basic mudras—Ornanabham and Sukathundam,” said Ganeshan.

“We have completed the training. The performance will be conducted at the Natyakala centre at Kalarcode and will be uploaded on Natyakala’s YouTube channel,” he said.

Fifty-seven-year-old Ganeshan joined Kalamandalam in 1972. He completed his course in 1986 and set up the Natyakala in Alappuzha in 1998 for teaching Kathakali.

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