By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Surya S Nair and Chandra S Nair, siblings born and raised in Delhi, say they always had an identity crisis and it was kathakali that brought them close to their motherland. The artist sisters were in the city to perform ‘Kalyanasougandhikam’ kathakali at Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan the other day. The duo began to learn the art 10 years ago. “We used to speak broken Malayalam mixed with English and Hindi. Everything changed once we started taking kathakali lessons. We learnt Malayalam and a bit of Sanskrit along with the art form,” said Surya. Surya was 12 and Chandra was 10 when they started taking lessons from Kalamandalam Amaljith and then Thiruvattar Jagadeesan. Reminiscing her first performance aka ‘arangettam’, Surya says: “It took more than 40 minutes to get ready. I had to remain silent until they finished the makeup. It taught me patience.” On the challenges she faced, Surya says kathakali is a male-dominated art. “But the teachers at International Centre for Kathakali (ICK) had a great role in nurturing us. They encouraged us to perform,” says Surya who was selected the best student of ICK in 2018. The art has gifted her some valuable memories too. “After performing the role of ‘Hanuman’ in ‘Kalyanasougandhikam’ last year, Sadanam Balakrishnan sir appreciated me and it motivated me to perform difficult male characters,” she adds. The sisters take pride in being able to stand out in the Delhi crowd. “We were appreciated by the people for learning kathakali though we were not the residents of Kerala. It is a source of inspiration,” said Chandra. According to Chandra, many tend to forget their culture due to the influence of western culture. One reason why the younger generation is not able to follow the art is the lack of knowledge of Indian literature. “In Delhi, we celebrate festivals, including Onam, with enthusiasm in a traditional way. But, the same enthusiasm is not seen here,” said Chandra. Surya is currently pursuing MA in philosophy and Chandra is pursuing her bachelors in the same subject at Delhi University. Future plans? “We are planning to perform more together. Also, we would like to perform on relevant issues but without degrading the art,” said Surya.

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