The district of Thiruvananthapuram, the heart of God’s Own Country, is always bursting with life, colour and the scent of South Indian delicacies wafting from shops. There are many treasures to be found in this bustling city, and one such treasure is the Margi theatre – a jewel embracing the traditions originating from eons past.

The Margi theatre showcases with pride and elegance the different traditional artforms of Kerala, from the ever expressive act of Kathakali to the graceful sways of Kutiyattam. The organisation has been, for over three decades, working hard to preserve these rich glimpses of culture by teaching students various art forms. They have two centres for the same – the first being located Valiyasala (Margi – Valiyasala) where Kutiyattam, Nangiarkoothu, Chakyarkoothu and Patakam (all temple art forms) performances are taught as well as staged for those willing to experience the charm of the arts and the second being located near East Fort (Margi – Fort) dedicated exclusively to Kathakali.

History 
The Margi theatre organisation was founded by the renowned theatre enthusiast D. Appukuttan Nair in the year of 1970. Initially, Mohiniyattam, Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Kutiyattam, Chakyarkoothu, Vedic Music, etc., were the performances staged, in the organisation’s early days.

In 1974, another centre was established with the aim of training and creating experts in the art of Kathakali. This was the first ever Kathakali institute in Thiruvananthapuram. Back then, the training was adopted to be in a traditional ‘Gurukul’ style, as was the education system in Ancient India, where the experienced Gurus, that is, the teachers and the eager students or disciples would all stay under the same roof and spend years perfecting their learnings together. Mankulam Vishnu Namboodiri, a skilled Kathakali maestro, was the first ever Guru of this esteemed institution.

The year of 1981 brought with it the beginning of a Kutiyattam facility, designed to follow the rigorous ‘Gurukul’ system also, as per tradition. Ammannur Madhava Chakyar, Moozhikkulam Kochukuttan Chakyar and Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan Nambiar joined as a part of this initiative, specialising in different elements of the art. They started by accepting three students as their first disciples in the institution.

Till the decade of 1990 to 2000, no female students had ever been recorded in history as ardent performers of the art. This changed when two students, Sathi and Usha, had been accepted and studied the art well, becoming the first female students of the Margi Theatre.

The Margi Theatre’s journey has been always reaching towards the highest of heights, achieving milestone after milestone in its quest of preserving the traditional artforms of Kerala, reminiscent of the glorious past and magnificent culture of not just Kerala, but India as a whole. Today, the institution is deemed as the best of the best, gifting to the generations exceptional artists, dancers and performers, who draw in the people by the masses, entrancing the passing gaze with their delightful stories from the past.

Tourist Attractions
Tourists are enticed by the opportunity to themselves experience the performances of the Margi Theatre, in the artforms they are interested to witness the beauty of. The expressive dancers and performers execute with elegance with the ethnic backdrops and stage setups to refine one’s experience. It is almost as if the audience has been transported to the past, where the proud royals enjoyed thoroughly the stories the performers acted out. Their faces morph to embrace the emotions of each character without a syllable being spoken, and that is, perhaps, a talent rare and enjoyable, putting the finishing touches to the exhilarating theatre experience. Tourists will also have a chance to see the ethereal makeup of the dancers from Kathakali, as the colours upon their face complete their regal costumes and the magic of these art forms can be experienced to the fullest.