The performing style that expresses the arts of acting, body movement, make up and costumes expressing moods through hand gestures and facial expressions unravelled at the Nangiarkoothu competition in the higher secondary school category (HSS) at the State School Arts Festival here on Saturday.
The audience, mostly comprising Nangiarkoothu enthusiasts, remained fastened to their seats at the venue at the Government Vocational HSS here as young participants presented their performing skills that combined the elements of the classical natya which blended the acting and dancing, as they performed stories taken from the life of Lord Krishna to the accompaniment of mizhavu, the pot drum. This extant ritual form of dance and drama which can be dated back to centuries was brought alive for almost the whole day at the venue with 21 participants in the contest.
‘Kaliya mardhanam’ depicting Lord Krishna's triumph over a poisonous serpent named Kaliya was among the favourite stories enacted by the young artistes. According to trainer Kalamandalam Prasanna, who trained six students, the participants perform the story they did at school and sub-district levels.
Among the participants who brought alive the story in their performances is Niharika S. Mohan of Chokli Ramavilasam HSS, Kannur, who is acting the role of Malala in a popular drama ‘Malala Aksharangalude Malakha’ (Malala, the angel of letters). She now focuses on performing Nangiarkoothu because it chisels her acting performance.
Anamika Ravi of St. Teresa’s HSS; Vaishna Dinesh N., PMSA HSS, Elankur, Malappuram; Avani S., GHSS, Karunagappally, Kollam; also performed the story. ‘Poothanamoksham,’ ‘Kamsa vadham’ and ‘Narasimhavatharam’ and ‘Akrooragamanam’ were among the stories enacted by the performers.
