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Kaveetha Kootam brings Aashan’s poetic magic to Oman

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Entire auditorium watched rapt attentively, tapped fingers and foot on the rhythm of lyrics and  colourful choreography on every Talam, while forgetting the materialistic world of acquiring property and gold, reports Vinod Raghavan

It was a visual treat with colourful palette laced with soul stirring lyrics with graceful presentation of poetry in a musical-dance format captivated the audience till past midnight on a Friday evening in Muscat, Oman.

The century old lyrics penned down by laurel poet of Kerala state, “Mahakavi Kumaran Aashan” in the early 20th century, was presented live by a little known group of poetry lovers viz. “Kaveetha Kootam” on a pleasant weekend in the presence of Malayalam actor Prem Kumar, Chairman of Kerala Chalachitram Academy and large number of men and women, accompanied with their little ones, were unmoved from their seat, reminding their school days of learning and listening to the beautiful verses of great poet Kumaran Aashan. 

The group Kaveetha Kootam, formed half-heartedly by a handful poetry lovers, a couple of years back in Muscat, selected the occasion to pay tribute on the 100th death anniversary of the great poet Kumaran Aashan, to showcase the legends work through traditional art form of music and dance.

But, their fear short lived, as this writer witnessed the entire auditorium watched the three-hour show with rapt attention and also tapped their fingers and foot on the rhythm of lyrics and the colourful dance on every Talam, while forgetting the materialistic world of acquiring property and wealth, for which they have come to Oman for a good living.

Lakshmi Kothaneth, noted journalist, accompanied with her son, were present until the curtains were down, said, “this just shows the literary work of the legend and the present generations of Kaveetha Kootam and Director P R Gokulam and his entire team’s dedication to bring the creative art form – Kathakali, Bharatnatyam, Kerala Natanam, Mohiniyattam and Ottenthullal, to the audience of Oman.”

This is one of the finest musical presentations of great poet, which will definitely change the taste of art form presented by Kaveetha Kootam. The set and the costumes were eye catching, rich and soothing, said Kabeer Yousuf, a filmmaker and journalist from Oman.

The legend poet, was a member of the famous triumvirate of Malayalam poets along with Vallathol Narayana Menon and Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer, Kumaran Ashan was conferred the title ‘Mahakavi’ (meaning ‘great poet’) by Madras University in 1922. The suffix ‘Aashan,’ meaning ‘scholar’ or ‘teacher,’ reflects his dual role as a poet and philosopher, as well as a social reformer of his time.

The group ‘Kavitha Kootam Muscat,’ under the banner of NHP Events and Middle East Power Safety and Business LLC , presented the  life of five characters from his poems Viz. Karuna, Chandalabhikshuki, and Nalini. These were presented through five classical dance forms of Kerala: Kathakali, Bharatnatyam, Kerala Natanam, Mohiniyattam and Ottenthullal.

“This is an attempt to showcase the great Indian poet of our times, who initiated a revolution in poetry earlier this century. He transformed the medium of poetry from the metaphysical to the lyrical, inspiring his contemporaries to be vocal in their poetic expressions. What makes his poetry distinctive is its commitment to society in terms of moral and spiritual content, poetic concentration, and dramatic contextualization. We feel that this is a befitting tribute to the great poet,” said Gokuldas, Director.

The event, titled ‘Keleeravam,’ was divided into segments, such as Poomari (Floral Showers), which is an audio-visual assimilation of life and nature, choreographed by Nimisha Vineeth, brings complexity of the human mind to stage by intertwining it with Malayalam poetry and literature. The scenario revolves around a huge tree with many branches and flowers, situated between two imaginary lands, where people from both lands claim the tree, which provides shade to both sides without bias. The narrative later illustrates how nature is closely connected to humanity and how every human emotion affects the natural world, said Sujith Thiruvonam, one of the organisers.

The second segment, titled Sree Bhoovilasthira, an effort by a socially committed expatriate community to introduce the characters and life situations that emerged from the poet’s perspective to the new generation, without losing the essential values of poetry, through a spectacular showcase of dance forms.

The actors – Arun Madhav, Muhammad Kalathingal, Deepmala Ratheesh, Sandhya Ramesh, Shalini Sarala, Suseelan Palliyil, Ashwita Sujith, Akhila Ramachandran, Sheeba Prabhakaran, Sona Jibu, Vedika Raj, Sribala Sibin, Sribhadra Sibin and Joanna, gave their outstanding performances which was welcomed by the audience with loud claps, which is a booster for any artist.

The singers were Ramesh Sivan, Deepti Rajesh, Shiju Maimoon and B.V Khamarunisa captivated the audience with their soul stirring voice accompanied with music.

Gokuldas gives the visual version to the script written by Vinod Peruva. Sujith Thiruvonam is Secretary, Salomi Chacko, President and Arun Madhav, Creative consultant.

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