Kathakali

Kathakali

The quintessential form

Kathakali(literally,story play),the spectacular classical dance drama of Kerala based on the guidelines laid by Sage Bharatha's Natya Sastra,the ancient treatise on dance drama,is over 500 years old.This elaborate art form integrates dance,music,poetry and histrionics.And combines both the thandava(powerful energetic dance,as that of Shiva)and Lasya(gentle graceful dance,as that of Parvathi)elements.

The essence of Kathakali

Abhinaya(expression)is the heart of Kathakali,especially aharya abhinaya.Make-up is used not merely to enable spectacular to visualize the character's appearance but also to indicate the nature and personality of the charectror beign represented.Netrabhinaya (abhinaya through the eyes)is important in Kathakali and chundapoovu or Solanum pubesscuce is applied to the eyes to redden and draw attention to them.

Different hues,different personae

There is in Kathakali a recognized convention regarding Vesham which includes make-up and costume.Vesham is classified in to four,viz.,thecha vesham(painted make-up),thaadi vesham(beard make-up),kari vesham(black make-up)and minukku vesham(polished make up).Thecha is again subdivided in to pacha vesham(green),which represent morally excellent characters and kathi vesham(knife)representing evil characters.Thaadi too has its subdivisions-vella(white),chuvanna(red)and karutha(black)-each color standing for a certain type of character.Kari vesham represents she-demons and minukku represents gentleness and spiritual qualities.

Where emotions flow from the hands and face

Women generally do not act and the female characters are played by men.Actors do not speak or sing,but enact dialogic sections called padams through mudras(hand gestures)and facial expressions.There are 24 mudras in kathakali which express the nine rasas or emotions viz.,serenity,wonder,kindness,love,valor,fear,contempt,loathing and anger.

The backdrop

The stage for kathakali is bare,except for a lamp with drummers and singers standing on either side.Music is in the sopanam style which is the classical mode of singing in Kerala with two vocalists who sing to the accompaniment of a chengila(gong),elathalam(small symbals),chenda and maddalam(drums)The themes of this awe-inspiring art are taken from India's rich and colorful mythology.