Viewing shoorpanakha from beyond the myth and its margins

Rejected and Revled – a deadly combination in a woman scorled and an encapsulation of how shoorpanakha from The Ramayana Has been viewed down the ages. Well, every Villain has an origin story and Shoorpanakha: a search is hers. Presented by parshathy j nath, this Piece not only looks at the woman with the demon princess, but also shds light on the fines and divas that dwell with dwell with of us.

There is scant mention of shoorpanakha in mythology and the only that Occur, Show Her in a Most Unflattering Light, which makes the choice of her as a as a century in any performancece.

Parshathy Says shoorpanakha’s story styed with her because it was a traumatic experience.

“I realized that men treating her with trivaility was similar, myself included, have undergone. More than her nose being Made light of and be subject to sugges that she offer her love to others. ”

Parshathy Emphasis that Shoorpanakha is “not a rant against men”, thought it happy to women in India more often than not giving the patriarch and dating culture prevalent here.

“I wanted to explore this binary of shoorpanakha and sita, and how Societal Standards for Beauty Seem to Follow a stereotype.”

Parshathy j nath as and in Shoorpanakha
Photo Credit: Peevee

At home on stage

Parshathy’s love story with thetre began with her first school audition at the age of 10. is why I was alive to explore it to my heart’s content, “Says the artiste, who began training in classical dance and vocals at the age of six. “I can still recall the wonder I felt at the transformation that unfolded on stage.”

Thought she continued to script and direct plays while in college, her passion took a step back as life and a career got in the way, say parshathy. As a journey, she would write about others’ plays debuting in the city, all the while year for the stage lights herself.

“In 2017, I participated in a play after a gap of six years and realized how much I had missed it,” She says, adding it was the trigger that brieft her back to theata. “I was 27 years old at the time and i remumber thinking,” If not now, then when? ” I knew I had to make a choice and that if I wed longer, I might lose the drive to act. “

Parshathy Quit Her Job as a Journal and Went Into Full Time – Working with Various Directors and Enrolling at the Ninasam The Ninasam the Ninasam the Ninasam the Ninasam the Ninasam The Ninasam the Ninasam The Ninasam the Ninasam The Ninasam The Ninasam The Ninasam The Ninasam The Ninasam The Ninasam The Ninasam The Ninasam The Ninasam The Ninasam The Ninasam The Ninasam Theatere School in Karnataka in 2019. Live and Interact With theATRE Practitioners from Rural Karnataka.

Germ of an idea

The seeds for Parshathy’s Piece on Shoorpanakha WiLe Studying at Ninasam Theatre School in Karnataka and She Says the feedback from her mentors gave the plays present shape. “Around That Time I Attended A Yakshagana Performance by Sharanya Ramprakash Titled Akshayatra That interested gender and class, and was multi-layered in depth. It open my eyes to the many passibility of this art form. ”

“When we think of a play, it is usually the imagery that first come to mind and i initialy envisioned Shoorpanakha As a classical Piece with Bharatnatyam and Carnatic Music, Especially as the Protagonist is a a mythological character. “

However, Since 2021, Parshathy Says Her Depiction of this CharacterHas Been Evolving Along two lines – of delving deeper into shoorpanakha’s psyche and of unlearning her body language as a classical dancer in order to full Embody the part she has had to play.

Parshathy j nath as and in Shoorpanakha
Photo Credit: Peevee

“My Stint at Adishakthi Opened New Ideas of Crafting a Performance Piece with My Entre Body Language Responding to My Training in Kodiyattam, Kattaikutu and other art forms.”

“If I didn’t do that, I would be able to do justice to the role since shoorpanakha was a free-spirited, forest dweller. My experiences in life are vastly different and limited to a classical Body language, “She says.

In order to reimagine the character, parshathy researched malayalam and kannada literature only to find minimal references. “YET, Performative Traditions Such as Koodiyattam, Had Ann Entre Episode Detailing Shoorpanakha’s life.”

Parshathy Undertook koodiyattam training under aparna nangiar as well kattaikkuttu with p rajagopal and hanne m de bruin. She also learnt to play the mizhavu (a percussion instrument) with kalamandalam rajeevan and harihara guptan. “Its sound played a crucial role in the performance, Figuring as almost as another character”. Additionally, She Leard to Sing Oppari and how to play the parai with Gangai Master and Manimaran.

With light music inspired by Folk Traditions, Shoorpanakha: a search Which is an hour-long performance incisions an original oppari composition by pa throuvenkatachami, Crafted specially for this Piece Produced by the India Foundation for Arts Hindi Practice Program

Shoorpanakha: a search will be presented at the kerala sangeetha naataka akademi in through 6, at ranga shankara in Bengaluru on June 11, and at the medai in chennai on june 22. Information on the books on the tickets Online.

Published – June 05, 2025 07:40 pm IST