Completing the Koothu

Though I have several pictures, I'll restrict myself to these three... After all a blog's just a blog.

Baddie Duryodana in b/w

BAddie in Colour!

Getting ready: Rajapart Ragadurai!

More boat

Boat making. A better picture.

How to catch a crab and other tales...

Since Tuesday last, I've added theory of two skills to my repository of "Things I can Do." I can catch a crab without it biting my digits off and I can make a fibre boat.

Remember, I do not know if I can actually DO these things but I rest in the complacence that I have knowlege that will guide when push comes to shove! Maybe one of these days I have to catch crabs for a living or maybe build fibre boats! You can never undermine life's big surprises.

Boat yard owners in Kancheepuram, Marakkanam and Cuddalore taught me how to do the boat thingie and I kind of grasped it once I learnt to beat the allergy caused by flying glass-fibre dust. Atccchhhooo...

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The guy who taught me how to catch crabs.

Three boys on a boat! :) In Cuddalore.

Part of the boat making process. This guy is applying resin to the mould.

Koothu venue

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Originally uploaded by errum.

The Koothu Venue: Punjarasanthangal village in Kancheepuram district. Looks grand, doesnt it.

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Originally uploaded by errum.

A better picture: Kalamandalam Prabhakaran as Bhima.

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Originally uploaded by errum.

Kalamandalam Prabhakaran- doing a hanuman now!

Koothu tales

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Originally uploaded by errum.

I have been intending to tell the exciting time I had at Koothu Fest 2005, for a long time, but I guess I got worn out writing the story for the paper. It should appear on the Sunday Magazine, dtd. March 20.
Here are some pics. I'm downloading others soon, but let's say this is like a dry run or a teaser campaign!
There are shots of other performers, but the man that caught my attention was kalamandalam prabhakaran, rendering Ottan Thullal - a kind of burlesque theatre that descended from the more famous Chakkiyar Koothu. A solo, Kalyana Saugandhigam, was about an hour- and-a-half long and Prabhakaran played three roles: Hanuman, Bhima and Draupadi, slipping into each role with the practised ease only a connossieur can achieve. I sat spell bound right through.