A young woman turns into a stone after her husband curses her because she was seen making love to another man, who had sneaked into her house disguised as her husband. The woman lies in the forest as a stone waiting to be redeemed from the curse. Most of us know this much-familiar story of Ahalya and sage Gautama.
But senior Koodiyattam artiste Usha Nangiar has come with a unique interpretation of this mythological story. According to Usha, “When Gautama curses her, he says, Ahalya will suffer for four seasons alone and hungry. It means she isn’t just a stone but a woman caught in one.
” Usha has created the other Panchakanyas — Draupadi, Sita, Mandodari and Tara — with the same sensitivity. She wrote fresh attaprakarams (acting manual) adhering to Koodiyattam conventions for these characters. At the Panchakanya Koodiyattam Mahotsavam, to be held till June 18, Usha, along with young exponents Kapila Venu and Aparna Nangiar, will present her interpretations.
Kapila Venu| Photo Credit:The Hindu Archives A dearth of strong female characters in Nangiarkoothu (the solo woman performance form of Koodiyattam) led Usha to reimagine these five heroines. She would see her male counterparts perform complex characters, and yearned to play layered roles that demanded the actor to engage in sookshmabhinaya (subtle acting). In the 1980s, when Usha was learning, women performers were seen as mere storytellers in Nangiarkoothu.
But when one looks at the history of the art form, you f.
