Thanjavur: Electric lights illuminating the stage at Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Melattur were for once kept aside. Oil lamps mounted on plantain stems emitted feeble light. The ambience sought to go to 400 years back here on Friday night.
Amateur (male only) artistes performing Bhagavatamela
In that re-created old atmosphere, amateur artistes of Melattur Bhavatamela Natya Vidya Sangam came out with a splendid performance on the play "Prahladha Charithramu", one of the plays written in Telugu by the great Venkatrama Sastri, marking the beginning of Melattur Bhavatamela, an annual event in the tiny village.
As nattuvanars sang the songs written by Venkatrama Sastry, one Aravind Subramaniam came as Hiranyakashibu, a main character of the play and enthralled audience by his acting fitting the mannerisms of an ‘Asura’ king.
Then came Nagaraj, who acted as Leelavathi and floored the audience with his feminine nature and ‘abhinayas’. Master Hariharan performed the main character of the play Prahalada and enthused the audience with his devotion to Lord Hari.
Initially, the ‘melaprapthi’ was performed by Anand Subramaniam. Sri Ramaswamy, an 81-year-old energetic artiste who is associated with this art for the past 50 years. Heperformed the role of Lord Narasimha. Arunachalam, Gobi, Raghavan, Sathish, Vinoth among others added their contributions as supporting characters.
People of the village and VIP guests sat through the night to see Lord Narasimha slaying Hiranyakashibu.
The inauguration of the festival was presided over by Padmashri Dr Nalli Kuppusamy Chettiyar, chairman of ‘Melattur Bhavatamela Natya Vidya Sangam’.
Ms. Revathi Ramachandran, director, Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, participated as guest of honour. She recalled her research in Bhagavatamela art. Mr. Sekar, secretary of Karthik Fine Arts, Chennai, and ‘Jothida Thilagam’ Shri R. Kumaresan were also present.
Earlier, Mr. Hariharan Herambanathan, a nattuvanar was awarded with the title "Bharatham" for his contribution in continuation of the great services of his father Kalaimamani Herambanathan and grandfather Pavupillai to the Bhagavathamela.
The Government of Andhra Pradesh prestigious awardee “Kalarathna”K.V. Satyanarayana, an eminent kuchipudi artiste has been conferred with the "Bagavathamela Pithamaha Melattur Sri Venkatarama Sastri Award" in recognition of his outstanding contributions in the field of arts.
Kalaimamani Mahalingam, an artistic director and coordinator of the festival, welcomed the gathering and recorded his deep sense of gratitude to the South Zone Cultural Centre, Thanjavur, and other sponsors and donors for their contributions to the festival.
