It was a treat to watch Usha Nangiar narrate the story of Poothana with minimal mudras and eloquent facial expressions. Usha, an exponent of Koodiyattam and Nangiarkoothu, performed ‘Poothana Moksham' Nangiarkoothu at Vylopilly Samskarika Kendram, Ernakulam, recently.
Her recital was complemented by the brilliant mizhavu recital by V.K.K. Hariharan and team.
The gist of the story is about how Kamsa sends Poothana, a demoness, to Ambady to kill all new born babies, including infant Krishna. Poothana disguises herself as a beautiful woman and sets off on her mission.
Once Poothana reaches Ambady, she is captivated by scenes of daily life she sees there. Usha came up with descriptive narrations of the scenes Poothana sees in Ambady.
However, she soon remembers her task and starts her mission of killing the babies. But then there is a conflict between her mission and her maternal instincts, which was evocatively portrayed by Usha. Finally, Pothana is killed by Krishna.
Evocative narration
During the narration, Usha transformed into various characters on stage. Thus she became the gopikas, the babies, musicians… without losing the thread of the story.
Hariharan was supported by Kalamandalam Rajeev on the mizhavu and Kalanilayam Unnikrishnan on the edakka.
The performance was organised by Bank Employees' Arts Movement, Ernakulam, and Vylopilly Samskarika Kendram.
