Shoorpanakha

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It was a performance like no other that I have witnessed in recent times. The mizhav drums thunderclap creating an ambience of antiquity in the atmosphere. Flames dance in a backdrop of red and white. Mystical chants brew an ancient dream…long lost and gone…

It was the story of Lalitha – the most beauteous of women…Kesadipada~ Padadikesha. Sita would seem just a shadow in front of her. But destiny would have other plans in mind.   

The story is as old as the human lives. Two Princes visit the forest abode-  Rama and Lakshmana. The Forest Princess – Lalitha didn’t know that falling in love was a crime. Maybe in their land it was. Then- there was also that other woman...

Her love fell on deaf ears. Whatever she said, whatever she did – all went unheard. She even tried to seduce...but it was not to be. Her beauty…Her youth…All in vain.

It was one of the best pleas in world theatre. Rama would have no answers to the questions Lalitha posed. Her intelligence, her beauty - remains unchallenged. Her pain... Her passion...Her liquid eyes…blends certain contemporariness to the mythical character. Something which we can relate readily in a modern world.

But why did Rama refuse Lalitha?

Maybe it was too great a mystery to fathom for Lalitha. Anger reigns…thunderclouds burst…a tear of blood trickles down…the dance of fury...Lalitha turns Shoorpanakha.

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Njanum sundariyaane…Prakrit verses fill the air..In sorrow…In envy..
In anger…The beauty transforms itself into a beastly figure...unimaginably grotesque.

She fights the princes...war cries and weapons...a slash of blood…But how could Lakshmana do that ?

        Cries fill the night sky. A chill runs down the spine. Flames burst forth furiously. There’s blood all over. A ghastly figure makes an entrance reminding us of the violent histories of our land. Blood and Gore. A disfigured womanity. It’s Shoorpanakaha. 

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An  appreciation of Shoorpanakhangam Koodiyattam from Sakthibhadra’s Ancient Sanskrit Drama Ascharyachoodamani.