THRISSUR: They come from different backgrounds. Though there were objections from within their families, these girls wanted to pursue an art form they love the most - kathakali. As the kathakali group performance began at Sacred Heart HSS at the kalolsavam venue on Friday, Isha Afrin from Palakkad and Angel Theresa Varghese from Kannur were busy, wearing the ‘Chutti’ (make--up) for the performance, after rigorous training under their Guru Kalamandalam Venkitaraman.
Isha, a Class X student of Bharata Matha HSS in Palakkad, used to watch kathakali performances of her seniors during the school arts festival. Drawing inspiration from those performances, Isha started watching it on social media platforms and developed an admiration for the art form. When Isha expressed her wish to learn kathakali, the first thing she had to surmount was stiff opposition from all quarters. Yet, her mother Jerin Noushad, an award-winning theatre actress, and father Noushad, a circle inspector with the police, extended full support to her.
“It was not easy to understand the literature, the mudras (signs) and the nitty gritty of the stage performance. But the enthusiasm pushed me ahead and I made it possible,” Isha shared as she was waiting for the ‘Chutti’ on her face to dry up before wearing ‘Kacha’, the costume base.
For Angel, the love for kathakali happened after seeing the performances of various maestros on TV and other platforms. “We were doubtful when she said she wanted to learn kathakali. After Class X, she wanted to pursue further studies in Kalamandalam as well. Such is her love for the art form,” her mother Shyni said.
“I have always been fond of Krishnavesham and wanted to do it some day. It is not easy to perform a character like Sree Krishna with such grace, for an amateur like me. But, my Guru had trust in me,” Angel said, adding that she took extra effort to understand the nuances of the character before enacting it ahead of the stage performance.
“Kathakali as an art form unites all of us. Art transcends barriers and it is evident from the response of the spectators,” Venkitaraman said.