Nangiarkoothu (Kamsa Vadham)

The DVD on Nangiarkoothu from Invis Multimedia has Margi Sathi performing Kamsa Vadham or the killing of Kamsa the ruler of Mathura, who is the maternal uncle of Lord Krishna. This is an eventful episode from the famed fables of Lord Krishna. Her performance beautifully displays the grandeur of this 1500-year-old art form. She is accompanied by Margi Ramanunni on Mizhav, Margi Subramanian Potti on Edakka, Margi Mohanan on Thimila and Margi Usha on Kuzhithalam.

Nangiarkoothu, an offshoot of Kutiyattam, is a solo performance with an antiquity of 1500 years. Nangiarkoothu is the sole domain of female artistes known as Nangiars, the female members of the Chakiyar community. The stories for the performance are taken from the text Sree Krishna Charitam, depicting the life of Lord Krishna. During the performance the actress presents the longwinded stories of Lord Krishna through hand gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to the accompaniment of the resonant Mizhavu.

Margi Sathi

Margi Sathi, one of the finest exponents of Nangiarkoothu has over three decades of experience in performing the timeless art form of Nangiarkoothu and Kutiyattam. Currently she is working as the faculty for Kutiyattam at the Kerala Kalamandalam. She had also worked as a senior faculty member of Margi, Thiruvananthapuram; a premier centre for preserving the traditional classical art forms of Kerala. She had also authored the attaprakaram (stage presentation manual) for Sreeramacharitham Nangiarkoothu.