In getting ready to start today’s blog post I realized I forgot to post the photos and share the cultural performance at the Thekkady Kathakali Centre I attended the night before.
Therefore, I will start with that. Kathakali, a local art form, is one of the oldest theatre forms in the world and it is a combination of dance and drama which enacts Hindu epics. This show reminded me of Chinese opera.
In Kathakali there is an elaborate and structured make up and costume code, so part of the show was to see one of the characters put on his costume. Quite fascinating to see how the base was newspapers folded and layered to create the ‘skirt’. The colors of the face make up are specific to the character’s personality. For example, the faces of noble male characters, such as virtuous kings, are predominantly green but if they have a red slash on the face it means they have an evil streak. Women and ascetics have lustrous, yellowish faces.
The technique of Kathakali includes a highly developed language of gesture and eye movement, through which the artist can convey whole sentences and stories. Music is limited to a few instruments, and while the real traditional show would last all night, we were presented with a shorted version of the story where good triumphs over evil (of course).
The finished product:
After this, the other character came out and demonstrated the various acting techniques, from eye movements to hand gestures and footwork.
Then the actual show began and even though the performance is very stylized, when the king killed the woman, I jumped from the emotional impact.
At the end of the show we were able to be photographed with the two actors and see up close how exhausting even such a short performance was..
OK, now on to Day 5 ‘officially’. Today was a lovely day. There was only one official event, a tribal dance show in the evening. I had a traditional massage which was disappointing, as it wasn’t a good masseuse – that happens, but it still felt good to get the kinks from all the sitting in a car taken care of.
I started the day sitting on the hotel roof reading my book and taking photos of the lovely flowers.
Next was a quiet stroll around the neighborhood, seeing monkeys (of course) as well as one monkey who chased a female and did his business, interrupted because I walked by which gave the female a chance to get away!
The late afternoon show was at the Ecotourism center. This is a show that is reviving the forgotten culture and folklore of the Mannan and Paliyan tribes. The youth of these groups performed six dances, with themes such as a prayer to wake up the mountain god, hunting, thanks to a good harvest, and joy. For the final dance volunteers were invited to participate which of course I did! The nice man sitting next to me took my phone and taped me!
Dinner proved the common perception that for the best meals when traveling you go to the hole-in-the-wall joint recommended by the driver or tour guide. My tandori chicken was cooked to the spice level I asked for, the bread fresh and divine.
Thus ended a quiet, interesting and restful day!