Thiruvananthapuram: Three students at Government Central High School, Attakulangara, were going to use Kathakali mudras to welcome CPM veteran V. S. Achuthanandan – a perfect chance to flaunt what they learnt in past nine months.
But one of them, Sreejith J., missed the chance, by a whisker. He was late by minutes as Mr Achuthanandan was welcomed in by his friends Abhijith S. and Arjun Gopal.
Interestingly, the eleven-year-old did not look upset.In fact, he considers himself to be in the good books of Lady Luck, as he got a school where he is being taught Kathakali by none other than the maestro Nelliyode Vasudevan Namboodiri.
“Our Kathakali Acharyan tells us stories from Ramayana and Mahabharatha. I love the story of little Arjun taking an aim,” he says. He joined the school last year when it was on the cusp of change. The year before, the school was deemed ‘uneconomical’ but in 2015, with concerted efforts of School Samrakshana Samithi, PTA and other well-wishers, almost a hundred students joined.
In September, Nelliyode who used to teach Kathakali here years ago returned for another stint. He was lucky to be chosen again. He also loves the school for its many big trees. These weave a thick shade over a large area for them. They play football in the afternoon when the rest of the city would be huddled under office fans.
