Her performance stood out from the rest at the Ottamthullal competition in the higher secondary school (girls) category at the Kerala State School Arts Festival here on Tuesday as she rendered in her movements and accompanying song the satiric ingredient that is integral to the genre.
Keerthana Pradeep of Silver Hills HSS, Kozhikode, who won the first prize in Ottamthullal, drew attention because she narrated a story that was not among the favourite themes of the others.
If the numbers performed by the participants in the competition is anything to go by, ‘Santhana Gopalam’ was the most popular among young artistes.
While the entire Ottamthullal section in the category largely reflected the sombre mood of the story of Santhana Gopalam, Keerthana Pradeep’s was an exception as she performed a part of ‘Rukmini Swayamvaram.’
She performed that part of the story where Balarama expresses his distress and concern when he found Krishna missing.
Meha M. of Shenoy Smaraka HSS, Payyannur, who secured the second prize, also chose a story that is not common – ‘Baka vadham’ (murder of Baka).
According to Ottamthullal performers the standard of performance in the festivals have improved over the years as the genre continues to remain popular as a combination of dance, songs and rhythm.
“Santhana Gopalam is popular among the young performers because it offers performers to render a combination of grief, humour and anger,” said Kalamandalam Geethanandan, Ottamthullal performer.
He also favoured separate competitions in the three sub-genres of the Thullal, namely, Ottamthullal, Sheethankanthullal, and Parayanthullal to promote the art form.
The Ottamthullal competition in the HSS category also saw the performance of Parayanthullal, which is rare.
Devika S.P. of Kadakkal Government HSS, Kollam, staged Parayanthullal, which, according to her mother and teacher Drishya Gopinath, is first ever in the State School Arts festival.
Though the genre offered a lot of scope for satirical content, there was hardly any performance in the category that satirised social and political issues.
