Wayanad collector sets files aside, dons Damayanthi’s role

The audiences were all in praise for the maiden Kathakali performance of the district collector.
Wayanad District Collector A Geetha (Centre) as Damayanthi in Nalacharitham Onnam Divasam kathakali performed at Valliyoorkavu temple at Mananthavady in Wayanad on Saturday night
Wayanad District Collector A Geetha (Centre) as Damayanthi in Nalacharitham Onnam Divasam kathakali performed at Valliyoorkavu temple at Mananthavady in Wayanad on Saturday night

KALPETTA: On Saturday, the people of Mananthavady in Wayanad were thrilled as their dear district collector became ‘Damayanthi’ on stage at the famous Valliyoorkavu temple. District Collector A Geetha, along with district planning officer Subhadra Nair and Rathi Sudheer, enacted the ‘Nalacharitham Onnam Divasam’ Kathakali, the chapter in which Damayanthi and her friends enter the garden.Both Subhadra and Rathi appeared as Damayanthi’s maids. The trio has been training under Kottakkal Unnikrishnan for the event.

Geetha managed to find time amid her busy work schedule for the Kathakali training sessions held mostly online at night and extended till early morning for a few days. She had taken the official permission to perform on stage.

“I had learnt and performed Bharatanatyam on many stages. Kathakali is an art for which I have a deep passion. However, I could never pursue it seriously. Now, an opportunity came and I decided to give it a try,” said Geetha.

The audiences were all in praise for the maiden Kathakali performance of the district collector. Earlier, Geetha had casually performed a classical dance before the inmates of the government shelter home in Wayanad last November when she visited the place to bless the occasion of the marriage of an inmate.

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