The zest of girls to act like men of valour was on full display at St. Michael’s HSS here on Thursday as two dozen teams competed in Chavittu Nadakam event for high school students. Nearly 90 per cent of the performers were girls.
“It’s nothing surprising. Today’s girls are keen to learn and quick to understand,” said leading trainers Kuttappan Asan aka C.R. Simon and Thampi Payyampilli. Both of them trained several teams which vied for a win in the colourful musical drama that originated among Latin Christians along the southern coast of Kerala.
Annamma Ouseph, 10th standard student of St. Antony’s GHS, Alappuzha, did not hide her excitement: “I feel proud and happy to don the role of a soldier,” she said enacting a warrior in Charlemagne’s army.
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The keenness of the participants was evident in their patient wait in make-up for hours on end for their turn to perform. The valorous stories of European kings and queens, particularly Charlemagne and Brijeena, were presented with detailed gestures and well-defined body movements.
The typical stomping of the Chavittu Nadakam would have had more appeal if the stage had a wooden floor. However, the crowd appreciated the European stories told in Chenthamizhu with elaborate costumes.
Artiste and teacher Padmaja Muraleedharan stood out among the crowd by bringing a team of GHSS, Kottayi. “They are a poor group of kids with little patronage,” she said about the government school team she brought.
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