A pristine tradition
K.K. GOPALAKRISHNAN
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Art lovers in Thrissur try to popularise Nangiarkoothu.
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LIVING HERITAGE: Usha Nangiar in `Ugrasena Bandhanam,' a part from `Sree Krishna Charitam.'
Nangiarkoothu is an ancient form of theatre that is believed to have been around for more than a 1,000 years.
It is believed that Kulasekhara Varman in the 10th century, author of Sanskrit plays such as `Subadra Dhananjayam' and `Tapatisamvaranam,' was bowled over by the abhinaya of a Nangiar. Eventually he married her. But she and her children were ostracised on account of her inter-caste marriage and were not allowed to perform.
Saga of grit
This motivated Kulasekhara Varman to write another section to the second segment of `Subadradhananjayam' - the nirvahanam (recounting of past incidents) of Chedi, Subadra's maid, in which the story of Krishna (Sri Krishna Charitam) is narrated. He allowed them to perform this play in all the temples under his authority and demarcated it as their traditional performance space. Gradually, this solo performance by the Nangiars came to be known as Nangiar Amma's koothu, which later became Nangiarkoothu.
To preserve this ancient art form and to attract youngsters towards the art form, a handful of art aficionados in Thrissur under the initiative of K.P.C. Kunjunni Bhattathiripad organise a traditional Nangiarkoothu performance at least once a month in Thrissur. Chathakkudam Krishnan Nambiar Memorial Mizhavu Kalari at Vallachira (Thrissur), founded by Usha Nangiar and mizhavu player V.K.K. Hariharan, lend a helping hand to this initiative.
The third programme under the project, which began on June 25, was conducted at Chathakkudam Krishnan Nambiar Memorial Mizhavu Kalari.
Aparna Nangiar, an up-and-coming Nangiarkoothu artiste, gave a demonstration followed by Usha Nangiar's brilliant performance of `Ugrasena Bandhanam' (Capture of Ugrasena), the third sequence from `Sree Krishna Charitam.'
Story of Kamsa
It narrates the story of Kamsa; how his father Urgasena abandons him in the forest, his upbringing in the court of Jarasandha and Kamsa's marriage to Jarasandha's daugthters.
V.K.K. Hariharan and Kalamandalam Rajiv played the mizhavu. T.R. Saritha provided the thalam. The next performance under this scheme will be at Mitranandapuram Vamanamoorthy Temple at Perumbilassery, Thrissur, on September 23.
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