Performing on the same stage where he was initiated into the art of Kathakali after almost four decades, Kalamandalam Gopi seemed to be in a nostalgic mood while rendering the love-struck king of Nishadha in ‘Nalacharitam Onnam Divasam’. The venue was Koodallur Mana, near Pattambi in Palakkad district, the audience comprised of the kith and kin of Gopi’s mentor Koodallur Brahmadattan, a.k.a Kunju Namboodiripad and the occasion was a family wedding reception.
A sense of dé- jà vu seemed to grip the artists and the audience alike, even those who were performing and watching at the Mana for the first time. The atmosphere of a typical performance of almost fifty years ago was replicated, as Gopi’s exquisite ‘bhavas’ portrayed the anguish of King Nala, as he pined for Damayanthi and is unable to find solace in his royal duties. The soulful lines of Unnayi Warrier were rendered by Kalamandalam Babu Namboodiri, with Kalamandalam Vinod as his sinkidi, with Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan and Ravisankar accompanying on the chenda, and Kalamandalam Prakash on the maddalam. Margi Vijayakumar played Damayanthi, and Kalamandalam M P S Namboodiri played the legendary ‘Hamsam’.
In his autobiography, Gopi has given his readers a vivid description of his early Kathakali training days at Koodallur Mana under Thekkinkattil Ravunni Nair; the long, grueling hours, the intense training sessions and the customary hard punishments, all of which made Gopi almost turn his back on art. In his words right after the performance last week at Koodallur Mana, “It was the love and affection he (Brahmadattan Namboodiripad) showered upon me that made the artist you now know as Kalamandalam Gopi”.
The Kathakali training center or Kalari was set up in Koodallur Mana in the late 1940s, under the aegis of Brahmadattan Namboodiripad, a Kathakali enthusiast himself. Many stalwarts like V P Ramakrishnan, Kalamandalam Balan, and Pothayath Raman Namboodiri etc were initiated into Kathakali in this ancient house of learning, once renowned for its Sanskrit scholars and Vedic studies. Reminiscing about his younger days, an emotional Gopi told the audience how he used to accompany his mentor to all Kathakali performances, and recalled with gratitude, the constant encouragement he got to improve his art to perfection. Though the Kalari was open for only four years, and Gopi himself trained there for two and a half years, he continued to keep in touch with the family, and sought guidance from Namboodiripad until the latter’s demise in 1975.
Gopi, who has won this year’s State Kathakali Award instituted by the Government of Kerala, was visibly touched declared it as the highest recognition he could ever receive when the eldest of Brahmadattan Namboodiripad’s sons presented him with a shawl belonging to their father. Indeed, as one of the audience rightly put it, Kottakkal Sivaraman playing Damayanthi and Gangadharan as Ponnani would have made the performance just as it used to be in the early days of Gopi’s ascent to fame, and when Namboodiripad used to occupy the front seat watching the great artists of his time bring mythology to life.