Kapila Venu is a renowned Koodiyattam practitioner and one of the foremost disciples of the legendary Koodiyattam maestro, Guru Ammannur Madhava Chakyar. Being a practitioner of an ancient ritual theatre, she strives to maintain the technical purity and essence of the art form whilst making space for innovation and creativity.

Sita Parityagam is specifically a ‘Nangiar Koothu’ performance – a solo narrative performance style of the female performer of Koodiyattam traditionally known as Nangiar. Sita Parityagam, is based on the story of Lord Rama and Sita as depicted in Maha Kavi Kalidasa’s Raghuvamsha. It is about the ordeal they go through because of her abduction by Ravana and the consequent controversies. The crux of the composition is the struggle of Sita – the pain she goes through after learning about Rama’s abandonment of her and her final journey when she returns to her mother – beautifully explained through ‘netra’ abhinaya (eye expressions) and ‘hasta’ abhinaya (hand gestures) by Kapila Venu.