An art form swings across the gender barrier

All-woman team performs Tholpavakkoothu, a first in history

Tholpavakkoothu, one of the oldest shadow-based temple art forms in the country, used to be a male domain until recently. Now, a woman member of a Tholpavakkoothu family has produced an all-woman Tholpavakkoothu show, the first ever.

Rajitha Ramachandra Pulavar, who led the performance at the District Panchayat Hall here on Christmas day, aptly titled the show Penpavakkoothu, meaning women’s Tholpavakkoothu. It took centuries for a woman to perform a Tholpavakkoothu, breaking the conventions set by generations. Rajitha says she was prompted to learn the art form when her father Ramachandra Pulavar, a leading exponent of Tholpavakkoothu, was criticised for allowing a European woman to sit on the steps of the Koothambalam while performing a show some years ago.

“Ever since that incident, I was determined to learn and perform the art form. It is no longer a man’s domain,” said Rajitha, who joined her father whenever he travelled abroad.