Kapila Venu and her many expressions of dance
| Photograph Credit score: Particular Association
Kapila Venu, a Koodiyattam dancer will carry out at Jagriti’s annual classical music and dance competition, SwarTaal, which will probably be held in Bengaluru between September 27 and 29.
Kapila, who has been studying the shape since she was a toddler, describes Koodiyattam as an historical dwelling theatre custom. “It has a steady unbroken lineage of about two millennia. “It developed in Kerala with its repertoire consisting of the efficiency of Sanskrit performs.”
Koodiyattam, Kapila says, has a extremely developed strategy of abhinaya and stage craft. “It’s a stylised type and actors undergo years of intense coaching to have the ability to embody this manner.”
Kapila will current Shaiva Koothu for the competition and he or she will probably be accompanied by Kalamandalam Rajeev, Kalamandalam Hariharan and Kalanilayam Unnikrishnan. “Shaiva Koothu is a efficiency collection primarily based on the Tamizh saint, Thiru Karaikkal Ammaiyar’s Thiruvalangattu Mootha Thiruppadhikam.”
Ammaiyar, Kapila says over the cellphone from Kerala, was a exceptional feminine poet and devotee of Shiva who lived in the course of the sixth Century CE in Tamil Nadu. “Shaiva Koothu is a vibrant and expressive Nangiar Koothu, which is a solo storytelling custom of the feminine performers of Koodiyattam, which contains music, dance and storytelling.”
It serves, Kapila says, as a way to painting the non secular and mystical experiences of Thiru Karaikkal Ammaiyar and her deep devotion to Shiva. “The songs and verses sung throughout Shaiva Koothu are in Tamizh.”
Feeling a powerful connection to Tamil rising up in Tamil Nadu, Kapila says, “A decade in the past I used to be launched to the poetry of Karaikkal Ammaiyar. I discovered her poetry to be potent with imagery, the sort that might simply be narrated via Koodiyattam. I used to be drawn to the poetry and wished to discover.
Conscious of the conference of utilizing solely Sanskrit textual content, Kapila says, “I used to be conscious that if the textual content was translated to Sanskrit, it will lose it essence. Lastly two years in the past, I had the chance to carry out one thing new in Mumbai. That’s after I began creating Karaikkal Ammaiyar’s poetry into Koodiyattam.”
Kapila took to Koodiyattam simply as her father, G Venu, is a practitioner of the shape. “My mom, Nirmala Paniker, is a practitioner of Mohiniattam and can be researching feminine performing traditions of Kerala. I used to be naturally launched to the world of performing arts and although I learnt the artwork since I used to be a toddler, it was solely a lot later that I realised that that is what I wished to pursue for all times.”
Bengaluru not often sees Kathakali or Koodiyattam performances and even dance faculties that concentrate on these types, in contrast to Odissi or Kathak. “This isn’t the case with Mohiniattam, which is in style in Bengaluru with many studying and instructing the shape. “Koodiyattam and Kathakali are each theatre traditions, which solely work in an ensemble manufacturing in contrast to Kathak or Odissi, the place you’ll be able to practice as a solo performer and dance regardless of the place you might be.”
With Koodiyattam and Kathakali, Kapila says, you need to exist in an ecosystem with fellow artistes to develop this manner. “These types can’t be carried out to recorded music. They’re additionally, in some ways, tradition particular. The identical goes for Yakshagana.”
Kapila will carry out on September 27, 7.30pm at Jagriti Theatre. Open to anybody aged eight years and above. Tickets on BookMyShow
Printed – September 26, 2024 11:48 am IST
