Ranga Shankara AHA!'s Little Cloud Series 2 - Kapila Venu (Kutiyattam)

'Eklavya' A story to remind of us who we were, and to think about who we are now and to decide who we should become. A story of a dream, of unjust discrimination, of pain, of determination and of hope. This is the story of Eklavya, the tribal prince. One of the most widely-renowned Kutiyattam exponents, Kapila Venu is the disciple of the legendary Guru Ammanur Madhava Chakyar, also having learnt from his senior disciple Usha Nangiar. Born into a family of artistes, she was initiated into the arts at the age of 7, trained in Mohiniattam by her mother Nirmala Paniker and mentored by her father, Gopalan Nair Venu, also a famed Kutiyattam exponent, in the art form. She spent many years studying and working under dancer Min Tanaka in Japan and has received several prestigious awards for her excellence in the arts. She is currently the director of Natanakairali Research and Performing Centre for Traditional Arts, in addition to being a visiting faculty member at the National School of Drama and Intercultural Theatre Institute (Singapore). Ranga Shankara AHA!'s "Little Cloud", the storytelling programme is back with Series 2, and this time, 17 storytellers come together to perform 20 stories for children aged 4 and above. These stories are a delightful mix of 6 languages (Kannada, English, Tamil, Hindi, Marathi and Sign Language) and 3 classical Indian traditions (Yakshagana, Kutiyattam and Gondhal). To make things even more special, storytellers from Austria, Switzerland and USA share their stories too. "Our first series of Little Cloud going digital had a very heartwarming response - children and grown-ups enjoyed it equally. With stories in Yakshagana, Kutiyattam, Gondhal and Sign Language, and five storytellers from abroad bringing their stories, Little Cloud is slowly becoming a treasure chest of great stories from around the world," says Arundhati Nag, the Artistic Advisor of Ranga Shankara. Ranga Shankara AHA!'s Little Cloud Series 1 is available on Ranga Shankara's YouTube channel and Facebook page. Stories are also published on the websites of Govt of Karnataka's Department of Public Library and Department of Primary and Secondary Education, a testimony to their relevance and popularity. For enquiries on Ranga Shankara's AHA! - [email protected]. To reach the artiste: Facebook:   / natanakairali1975     / kapilakutiyattam   #RangaShankaraAHA #LittleCloud #StorytellingforChildren #15YearsofRangaShankara