Kathakali in Pictures

The Origins

Kathakali, a renowned dance form from the state of Kerala is an art form which has evolved from many social and religious theatrical forms which existed in the Southern region in ancient times. It is a group dance where dancers enact various roles of characters which are traditionally based on themes from Hindu mythology and the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Pic Credit: trilok rangan

The colours and characters

The most eye-catching factor of the Kathakali dance is the appearance of the dancers due to an extensive and elaborate makeup. 

Pic credit: Trilok Rangan

Characters

Characters are categorized according to their nature and accordingly colours are used to depict those characters. 

Pic Credit: Manoj Damodaran

The looks say it all

So noble characters like Lord Rama or good kings will have a green colour. Royal characters who have an evil streak in them like demon king Ravana, are also given green colour but with slashes of red on the cheeks.

Dressing up the Hunter

Extremely angry or excessively evil characters wear predominantly red make-up and a flowing red beard. Forest dwellers are represented with black colours. Women and ascetics have yellow faces.

Lot of training and hard work

One more interesting aspect of Kathakali is that all the roles are enacted by men. Women don't act here. Kathakali relies on a highly nuanced form of hand, body and facial gestures that convey stories. Flexibility and fitness are a must so a Kathakali dancer undergoes a strenous course of training and body massage sessions for attaining a degree of perfection.

Pic Credit: Big Dubya

Visual Delight

The dancers rely on big colourful head dresses and exaggerated facial expressions made possible by extended use of lime on the face. This helps to impart a level of other worldliness to the characters they are playing and transport audiences to the realm of fantasy.

Pic Credit: Aleksandr Zykov

Music in kathakali

Music plays an integral role in any dance and it is the same for Kathakalli. The orchestra of Kathakali includes two drums known as chenda and maddalam, along with cymbals and another percussion insturment , the ela taalam. The singing in Kathakali is called Sopaanam.

Pic credit:  icultist

modern demands

A traditional Kathakali performance begins in the evening and continues throughout the night and ends at dawn when good finally conquers evil but nowadays to meet the demands and changing tastes of the urban audience, the entire performance can be also conducted indoors in the comfort of an auditorium within a span of few hours. Besides Kathakali, check out what more you can do in Kerala here.

Pic credit: tommy