Kapila Venu
Kapila Venu | |
|---|---|
 Kapila Venu | |
| Born | 3 February 1982 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Koodiyattam, Nangiar koothu dancer |
| Awards | Kumar Gandharva Samman Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar |
Kapila Venu is a Koodiyattam and Nangiar Koothu artist from Kerala, India. She received many awards including the Kumar Gandharva Samman by the government of Madhya Pradesh and Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar from the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Biography
[edit]Kapila venu was born on February 3, 1982, at Kothamangalam in Kerala.[1] She is the only daughter of Venu G, a Koodiyattam artist and director of the Irinjalakuda Natana Kairali, and Nirmala Panicker, an artist and researcher of Mohiniyattam.[2][3] Kapila spent her childhood at two places: the Lawrence School, Lovedale, where her mother taught, and the 'Natana Kairali', founded by her father in Irinjalakuda, Thrissur district, for the promotion of ancient Kerala arts.[4]
At Irinjalakuda, at the age of seven, Kapila started learning basics of Koodiyattam under Usha Nangiar, and then detailed training under Ammannur Madhava Chakyar, for nearly 10 years in the gurukula tradition.[5] Later, her father Venu G and mother Nirmala Panicker became her gurus.[6] It was her father's advice, supervision and discipline that helped her refine the skills she had learned under Ammannur and make her a performer.[6] At the art school founded by her father, Natana Kairali, she trained under gurus like Kavungal Chathunni Panicker, Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair, and Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair.[1] She studied Mohiniyattam under her mother Nirmala Panicker.[7][6] Kalaripayattu was taught by Balan Gurukkal.[6] She also studied under Japanese dancer Min Tanaka for six years.[6] Later, she has performed in two of his choreographies, Rite of the Forest (2005) and Thottangal (2007).[8]
Career
[edit]
Kapila has performed mostly in Europe and Japan, including performances in Sweden, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.[2] Kapila was only six and a half years old when she performed a Kootiyattam role on a stage in England.[2] She was only 17 when she performed a full-length Kootiyattam role in Sweden.[2] She is also a non-traditional performer of Nangiar koothu.[9][10] She was also a part of a multi-year eight-part project titled The Set Up, directed by dancer-choreographer duo Wally Cardona and Jennifer Lacey, at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Art Center in New York.[11][12] She also participated in the World Theatre Project led by Peter Oskarson.[13]
Kapila choreographed and performed Koodiyattam in the film 'Meghadoot', written and directed by Rahat Mahajan.[6] She is the first to perform the story of Tamil folk hero Madurai Veeran in the Nangyar koothu style.[14] In her dance performance titled Parvati Viraham (Parvati's longing), Kapila Venu integrates her feminist politics into this traditional art.[15]
Kapila, the director of the Natanakairali Research and Performing Centre for Traditional Arts, is also a visiting faculty at the National School of Drama and the Intercultural Theatre Institute in Singapore.[16]
Awards and honors
[edit]Kapila has received the Kumar Gandharva Award by the government of Madhya Pradesh.[3][17] She has also received the Yuva Kalabharti Award from Bharat Kalachar in Chennai, the Sanskriti Award from the Sanskriti Pratishthan in Delhi, and the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar from the Sangeet Natak Akademi.[2][18][19]
Works on her
[edit]Kapila a documentary film directed by Sanju Surendran explores the life and work of Kapila Venu.[8] It won the National Award for Best Cultural Film at the 62nd National Film Awards.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Kapila Venu" (PDF). Sangeet Natak Akademi.
- ^ a b c d e "ആട്ടക്കഥ - articles,features - Mathrubhumi Eves". archive.ph. Mathrubhumi. 9 August 2013.
- ^ a b "കുമാർ ഗന്ധർവ പുരസ്കാരം കപില വേണുവിന്". ManoramaOnline. Malayala Manorama.
- ^ "The glow, well reflected - The New Indian Express". web.archive.org. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
- ^ Paul, G. S. (2017-04-29). "Kumar Gandharva awardee Kapila Venu is one of the youngest Koodiyattam artistes in India". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
- ^ a b c d e f എന്.കെ, അക്ഷയ (9 April 2024). "കലയുടെ ഭാഷ സാര്വത്രികം". Samakalika Malayalam (in Malayalam).
- ^ "Kapila Venu - Artist Profile - G5A". g5afoundation.org.
- ^ a b c "In Conversation with Akram Khan and Kapila Venu - Esplanade". www.esplanade.com.
- ^ Krithika, R. (19 February 2019). "An interview with well-known Koodiyattam artiste Kapila Venu". The Hindu.
- ^ Nair, Malini (30 December 2017). "Kapila Venu is giving a new meaning to the old dance form, Nangiarkoothu". The Hindu.
- ^ Nair, Malini (21 June 2017). "Kapila Venu: A Master of Restraint". Open The Magazine.
- ^ Scherr, Apollinaire (27 June 2016). "The Set Up: Kapila Venu, New York — review". Financial Times.
- ^ archive, From our online (2017-04-01). "Kumar Gandharva Award for Koodiyattam exponent Kapila Venu". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
- ^ Paul, G. S. (29 March 2024). "Madurai Veeran's story in Nangiarkoothu style for the first time". The Hindu.
- ^ Sahai, Shrinkhla (20 June 2019). "Kapila Venu's "Parvati Viraham": Ungendering Kutiyattam". The Hindu.
- ^ "A life less ordinary". The Hindu. 24 January 2013.
- ^ Paul, G. S. (29 April 2017). "Kumar Gandharva awardee Kapila Venu is one of the youngest Koodiyattam artistes in India". The Hindu.
- ^ "Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar". web.archive.org.
- ^ Nov 24; Ali, 2010-Syed Asim. "Manipur poet among five Sanskriti Award winners". The Asian Age. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
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