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Margi Vijayakumar:_ Maestro in drag

Poothana, the ogress was sent to poison infant Krishna. She assumes the form of a beautiful maiden plays with him, and gains his confidence. She then picks him up and suckles him at her poisoned breast. The child turns the tables on her. Once she realizes that she had been done for Poothana reveals her real hideous form and desperately tries to tear the baby away from her breast but in vain. She writhes in pain till her breath is sucked our.

It was impossible to enact Poothana Moksham sans the doll that represented Krishna. Or so it was thought until Margi Vijayakumar staged a performance at the Natyagramam at Thonnaikkal.

Connoisseurs were astounded. The effect he conjured without the doll was stunning, to say the least. The evocation of the rasa is the key to his success, for he effectively makes the audience feel the presence of Krishna.

Other artistes consider this abandonment a sacrilege. My performance has invited much criticism. BUT I LIKE TO PURSUE this style says Margi Vijayakumar who had always excelled in female roles.

He was initiated into the world of Kathakali through the Kathakali School set up in Thonnakkal by Thonnakkal Peethambaran, his father’s student. Later he chanced upon an ad by Margi, and in 1975, he joined there. Mankulam Vishnu Nampoothiri and Enchakad Ramachandran Pillai were his masters then. He cherishes the fact that he coluld learn under Kalamandalam Krishnan kutti Nair whi joined Margi in 1980. Now he has established a Natyagram in Thonnakkal to create awareness, among the people regarding the performing arts of Kerala.

Initially he was not keen on sthree veshams. It later dawned on me that only very few can enact female roles. The physical make of the artiste should fit in with the female costumes and make up” he says.

The basic color is a sort of pale beige. The eyes are outlined in black and eyebrows emphasized with graceful curves. The lips are given lovely shape in red. Cheeks are adorned with a wavy line of white dots. These are repeated on the forehead and chin. FINELY powdered mica dust imparts a soft glow to the skin. Once the artiste is accustomed to this type of roles, it is tough to portray male characters. If you concentrate on both none would reach perfection. The disadvantage of sticking on to female minukku is that after a certain period you cannot continue. Age is a major factor. However I am not all inclined to do male characters as of now.

Vijayakumar says that portraying Urvashi is the most challenging. It has a strict frame work and the artiste has to evoke controlled emotions. The foot work and the tempo of the music are very slow. Silmilarly Lalitha in Kirmeera Vadham is a split personality. According to him female characters have less significance. When a female appears on stage with male she stands as a mere onlooker. “While I perform I always express facial gestures to his dialogues” he said.
There is a school of thought that the female characters should be executed only by female artistes so that they can bring female emotions correctly. But this is precisely the challenge Vijayakumar has taken up. JUNE 25, 2005 INDIAN EXPRESS