KANNUR: In a first in the history of the state school youth festival, a girl performed Parayan Thullal in the Thullal competition. It was 17-year-old Devika S P from Kollam who went ahead to perform this least enacted form of Thullal in the competition held on Tuesday. Ottan Thullal, Parayan Thullal and Seethankan Thullal are the different forms of Thullal. But in the youth festivals, Ottam Thullal is the most popular and performed one. Parayan Thullal and Seethankan Thullal are hardly performed.
Devika, a 12th standard student at GHSS Kadakkal in Kollam, has been contesting in the Thullal competitions in the state youth festivals for the last three years. In her first appearance in the youth festival, she performed Ottam Thullal and in the second she performed Seethankan Thullal. She has been training Thullal under Drishya G for the last three years. According to Devika, it was her teacher who motivated her to perform these different forms of Thullal. “Though Seethankan Thullal and Parayan Thullal are equally prominent when compared to Ottan Thullal, they are neglected. So, my teacher motivated me to perform Parayan Thullal, so that it inspires more people to take up these forms of Thullal,” said Devika.
Compared to Ottan Thullal, Parayan Thullal has a slow narrative style for singing, a simple makeup and has very little dance element.