Madurai Veeran’s story in Nangiarkoothu style for the first time

Koodiyattam exponent Kapila Venu traces the Tamil hero’s life in her recent performance

‘Madurai Veeran Kathai’, staged by Kapila Venu at the recently revived Kottichetham auditorium of Natanakairali, in Irinjalakuda. | Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy: Kapila Venu

Koodiyattam cannot alienate itself from Tamil or Tamizhagam, though it is a Sanskrit theatre tradition popular in Kerala. It is believed that while Chakyars, the traditional performers of this art form, belong to Tamil Nadu, stories from the State have never been used in Koodiyattam.

Viewed against this backdrop, Kapila Venu’s latest choreography in Nangiarkoothu (an off-shoot of Koodiyattam performed only by women) – ‘Madurai Veeran Kathai’ – is a pathbreaker. The one-and-a-half-hour performance was presented by Kapila at the recently revived Kottichetham auditorium of Natanakairali in Irinjalakkuda.

A warrior turned family deity

Madurai Veeran (warrior of Madurai) is a folk deity popular in Southern Tamil Nadu. The prefix to his name is because of his association with Madurai. He is venerated as the protector of the people of the city. There are also many folk songs, ballads and plays that describe his bravery.

Veeran was born into a royal family but was abandoned. Subsequently, he was adopted by a couple from the Arunthathiyar community. Growing up among them, he eventually became a guard in the court of Bommanna Nayakan. His fame brought him to Madurai, where King Thirumalai Nayakar sought his assistance to protect the city from bandits.

During his stay in Madurai, Veeran sees the royal dancer Vellaiyammal and falls in love. Vellaiyammal too gets drawn to him due to his striking personality and proficiency in various arts.

One night, Veeran disguises himself and meets Vellaiyammal and the two plan to elope. However, he gets accused of treason and is subjected to severe punishment and his limbs are amputated. Vellaiyammal, who witnesses this, decides to end her life. But by offering prayers to Madurai Meenakshi, Veeran recovers and gets back his limbs. But eventually Veeran, who believes it is god’s will that he must die, beheads himself. After this, Thirumalai Nayakar built a temple for Veeran, who is now worshipped by many communities in Tamil Nadu.

Kapila’s histronics and the nuances of Nangiarkoothu was brought to the fore in her depiction of Madurai Veeran. | Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy: Kapila Venu

Histrionics skills

Kapila has choreographed her performance with an aim to highlight the major episodes that served to bring out her histrionic skills and techniques unique to Nangiarkoothu. Her netrabhinaya was praiseworthy.

The sequence where Veeran is accorded a heroic welcome in Madurai deserved special mention. Also, her enactment of playing the nagaswaram, thavil, parai and the pambai was impressive. The presence of two mizhavus and edakka added an edge to the performance.

Kapila, daughter of abhinaya exponent G. Venu, brought out the subtleties of each character. Her face was like a canvas of emotions. The charis (gaits), peculiar to Koodiyattam, were employed more in the fight sequences.

Through the usage of three couplets from Thirukural, which play a significant role in this thematic production, Tamil seems to have become a part of the Nangiarkoothu repertoire.

Kapila Venu’s ‘Madurai Veeran Kathai’ performed for the first time in Nangiarkoothu style. | Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy: Kapila Venu

Kalamandalam Rajeev and Kalamandalam Hariharan played the mizhavu and Kalanilayam Unnikrishnan, the edakka.