THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On Monday, the 'kalivilakku' at Margi theatre will be lighted for the first-ever performance of a centuries-old play penned by Karthika Thirunal, whom Travancore fondly calls the 'Dharma Raja’. The play, penned by the former king in the southern style, was never staged owing to the complex preparations it demanded from the artistes. 'Subhadraharanam’, penned by Manthredathu Nambuthiripad in the northern style, is popular among Kathakali aficionados. But Nambudiripad’s play is actually a continuation of Karthika Thirunal’s play. Karthika Thirunal’s playis equally exciting with joyful moments of love and thrilling fights involving Arjuna. ''Margi strives to preserve the traditional performing culture of Kathakali. We feel that staging of hitherto unperformed plays would help the art form to reinvent itself,’’ says Margi principal Inchakkattu Ramachandran Pillai.The play was composed by Pillai. 'Subhadraharanam', based on the epic Mahabharata, is a story of love and valour. It begins with King Yudhishtira spending time with Panchali at Indraprastha. Meanwhile, a Brahmin visits his brother Arjuna and requests help to recover his cows from thieves. Without knowing that he was breaking into the privacy of his brother, Arjuna, in a haste, enters the palace to get his bow and arrows. Though Arjuna successfully recovers the cows and presents them to the Brahmin, sage Narada points out that he should atone for the wrong he committed in violating his brother’s privacy. Arjuna heeds to the advice and sets out on a one-year pilgrimage. As a sage, he visits several holy places and meets Uloopi, the daughter of Nagaraja. They give birth to Iravan, who would later become a hero. Later at Prabhasatheertha, Arjuna falls in love with Subhadra, Lord Krishna’s sister. Though Krishna is happy with the relation, his brother Balarama wants Subhadra to marry Duryodhana. Arjuna abducts Subhadra and travels back to Indraprastha. Hearing the news, Balarama becomes angry over Krishna’s support to the couple. Meanwhile, on the way, Arjuna has to encounter Vipudhu, a warrior sent by Lord Krishna himself. Arjuna defeats Vipudhu in a heroic fight. Later, Krishna takes his brother to the warfront to show him the valour of their brother-in-law. Both the brothers are happy and proud for Arjuna. In the end, Arjuna and Subhadra travel to Indraprastha on a chariot presented by Vipudhu. A team of reputed artistes has teamed up for Margi’s innovative venture. Besides Pillai, those who don the various characters are Kalamandalam Ratheesan, Margi Vijayakumar, Attingal Peethambaran, Kalamandalam Balakrishnan, Kottakkal Ravikumar, Kalamandalam Balasubrahmanian and Margi Harivalsan. ''Dharmasoono mama vallabha kelka giram, sharmam valarnneedunnoo manasatharil mama dharma parayana nin vakkukal kelkayal….’’ Some mellifluous 'padams' too await the spectators. Kalamandalam Krishnankutty, Kalanilayam Nandakumar and Margi Damu are the vocalists. Accompanying them are percussionists Margi Ratnakaran and Margi Raveendran. The play will be staged in five parts. The first two parts will be staged on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, the scenes till t he recovery of the cows will be staged. Arjuna’s travels till Iravan’s birth will be staged on Tuesday. The last three parts will be staged in November, said S Sasikumar, Margi treasurer.
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