Nangiarkoothu – The Dance of Expressions

From July 21 a special documentation and dance performance series has been taking place at Sangeet Natak Akademi, in the national Capital which will go on till today. The event will cover Nangiarkoothu and Kutiyattam dance forms. Nangiarkoothu is an art form that demonstrates the story of Lord Krishna and predominantly performed as a solo dance by the Nangiars. It is in all aspects, one of the gorgeous and powerful acting heritages of India highlighting the original form of ancient artistry backed by a thousand years of tradition preserved in Kerala. 

On the first day of the series, talented artiste, Guru Kalamandalam Girja (P.N. Girijadevi) performed to mesmerize the audience through her eye movements and hand gestures. She is the very first female performer outside the traditional community of Nangiar to take up the art. She was the member of the first foreign tour of Kutiyattam in 1980 to Poland and France. After completing her formal training, Guru Girija joined her alma-mater as a teacher and in 2014 retired from Kalamandalam as a Head of the Department. Since then she has become the Acharya at Mrunmaya. She was accompanied by SjithVijayan, Rahul, Hari Krishnan and Neethu G Raj on instruments at the performance.

Girijadevi presented the birth of Kamsa. The performance revolved around the character Shooraseni, the daughter of Shoorsena, who was married to Ugrasena- the king of Mathura.  Once when she went to take a holy dip in the Yamuna, a demon called Dramila, noticed her and was at once infatuated by her beauty. Ugrasena was out for hunting and at that opportunity Dramila disguised himself as Ugrasena and got into a relationship with the queen, which resulted in Shooraseni’s pregnancy. 

After ensuring that, Dramila left the queen alone. When she returned to the palace, she gave birth to a male child called Kamsa and as Kamsa was believed to be a bad omen and queen of Mathura left him in the forest. When he became a youth, he set out to meet Ugrasena and eventually conquers the kingdom of Mathura and imprisons Ugrasena. Kamsa enthrones himself as the king of Mathura. 

The duration of performance was into two parts 1 and a half hour each. On the stage PN Girijadevi becomes the narrator, Ugrasena, Shooraseni, Dramila and the maids.