Onam Fervour Peaks In Prasanthi Nilayam…

From the holy land of Thiru Anandan, Lord Maha Vishnu, to the Abode Of Sri Sathya Sai! This day-2 evening of the ongoing Onam festivity Balvikas children from Thiruvananthapuram district, famed for being host to  Lord Sri Padmanabha Swami, presented a musical dance drama entitled ‘Krishnayanam’ at the Sanctum Sanctorum in Prasanthi Nilayam.

The presentation as the title suggests is the story of Bhagawan’s Sri Krishna’s Avataric sojourn on earth. Commencing with King Kamsa officiating the marriage of his sister Devaki with Vasudeva, the storyline flowed on with snippets showcasing Kamsa attempting to foil the Divine Party after hearing the Divine prophecy, His epochal Advent in the jail and subsequent Divine drama transporting the Little Divine to ‘safety’ to Mother Yasoda in the thick dark night winning over oddities galore, Little Divine’s pranks with the Gopikas, The Rasaleela and so on, finally depicting The Lord reigning Supreme.

The evening turned out to be ‘Krishnamayam’, suffused with Krishna flavour, with the land that adores Him the most coming up with the apt theme, well supported by effective multimedia backdrop, glittering costumes, music and dance. Tiny tots from the Sri Sathya Sai Balvikas forayed the centre-stage, dancing to the tunes of Krishna numbers playing it out winning hearts many.

Earlier in the morning, noted Kathakali singer Kottakkal Madhu and fellow musicians presented a Kathakalipada Kacheri, a compilation of Kathakali numbers. Kathakalipadam is the musical side of Kerala’s traditional dance form Kathakali, that goes in tandem with the acting movements of the Kathakali artist. Streaming steadily at a slow pace, singing in tandem telling the story in vernacular Malayalam, escorting with rhythmic natural percussion, the art form it is a new musical experience for Prasanthi, well presented by the artist with the accompanying band. Along with numbers connoting Lord Krishna, Devi Mookambika, etc., Madhu’s morning list of songs had a couple of customised versions of Prasanthi Mandir bhajans too. This morning the artist was accompanied by Sarangh on vocal support, Ottappalam Hari on Chenda, Bharatarajan on Maddalam and Rakesh Kamath on Idakka, all typical Kerala percussion instruments.

II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II