Margi, Thiruvananthapuram
Story Dated: Tuesday, November 29, 2005 22:1 hrs IST
Location: Less than 2 km from the Thiruvananthapuram railway station.
Visiting hours: Friday evening.
Attraction: Performances of Kathakali and other art forms of Kerala in an ethnic atmosphere.
Here one can also watch Kathakali artistes in the process of making up their face. Margi is one of the ideal destinations for art lovers.
One can watch the performance of some of the major art forms of Kerala like Kootiyattam, Nangyarkoothu, Chakyarkoothu, Paatakom (all temple art forms) and Kathakali in an ethnic atmosphere.
Nangyarkoothu and Chakkiarkoothu are female and male (respectively) versions of the satiric solo.
Margi has its activities at two places in Thiruvananthapuram, the first at Valiyasala (Margi Valiyasala) where Kootiyattam, Nangyarkoothu, Chakyarkoothu and Paatakom are performed and aspiring artists trained; the other near East Fort (Margi Fort) which is devoted exclusively to Kathakali.
The institution was founded in 1970 by noted theatre enthusiast of the time the late D. Appukuttan Nair.
He was also the architect of the Koothambalam at Kalamandalam at Cheruthuruthy in Kerala and Rukmini Arundale's dance school complex at Adayar in Chennai, the capital of the neigbhouring state of Tamilnadu.
