A defiant Kathakali, with eyes blazing
Here's the first of my stories on Kerala. It appeared on Oct 15 in the NST:
A Kathakali performance in Kerala, India sounds just grand. A pity all that stomping around in majestic headgear and elaborate makeup is just not drawing in the crowds, observes the writer.
SO who’s up for a little traditional Indian performance? With that, our guide led us down a little alleyway and up some stairs which opened up into a small classroom of sorts with a raised stage at one end.
The rundown nature of the place hardly befits the grand-sounding name that’s the Cochin Cultural Centre in Kerala, India. It may not look like much but never mind – it’s the performance that matters.
There to partake of what is known as a Kathakali performance, our group of 10 took our seats amongst a handful of foreign tourists. It’s a shame that this classical dance drama unique to Kerala hardly appealed to the locals anymore but I guess that’s progress.
I tried to maintain as open a mind as possible. What does it entail? My guide book tells me it’s a unique combination of literature, music, painting, acting and dance, with the dancer in a Kathakali performance taking on various roles based on themes from Hindu mythology.
Often referred to as “the stately dance of Kerala”, Kathakali literally means “story-play” and involves elaborate make-up and costumes.
With a tradition dating back more than four centuries, it is a highly stylish art, with some reviewers calling it “a deeply moving, immensely cathartic aesthetic experience”.
The makeup, grand costume, complicated hand gestures, exaggerated eye movements and feet stomping got my attention for all of 10 minutes before the monotony and the exasperation of not being able to comprehend anything of what the actor is trying to portray started to frustrate me no end.
But that’s hardly anyone’s fault. The themes are usually from Hindu epics and purana, with characters representing existence in the worlds of Gods, demons and humans. So unless you are a scholar or enthusiast of such epics, much of what is depicted will be lost on you, and quickly too!
Enthusiasts, however, beg to differ. “Once you master the art of viewing Kathakali, it’s very painful missing one, especially if the veterans are acting,”gushed one fan.
Kathakali makeup (using natural pigments like manayola) is a slow metamorphosis — of mortals into immortal deities and demons. A lengthy affair, the process takes two to three hours to complete.
We caught the end bit of the process just before the performance proper, apparently a not-to-be-missed part of any show. After another 10 minutes of that, and since hardly much had metamorphosised before my eyes, my mind started to wander, distracted perhaps by the thought that dinner will be very late that night. Well, the guide did warn us that some performances can last up to 12 hours!
But as the headgear was finally fixed on the actor’s head, he did become larger than life. I was transfixed when he jumped on stage and stomped around for a bit. His eyes blazed and his emotions lurched from one extreme to the next, expressing such volatile feelings as anger, sadness, love and frustration at will.
Much of what was communicated was through his eyes, which flicked up and down, right to left or just glared at the audience. A myriad of hand gestures added to the effect. Good thing there was an interpreter, for some expressions did look the same to me. Strangely, I started to empathise with his emotional outburst, and even marvelled for a while his ability to switch from one facial expression to the next.
Given his already fierce demeanour from all the makeup, costume and headgear, his most dominant expression must surely be anger. Well, looking at the near empty hall, this Kerala cultural icon has something to be angry about, doesn’t he?
The writer’s trip to Kerala, India, was sponsored by Sri Lankan Airlines and Kerala Tourism. The airline flies daily to Colombo from Kuala Lumpur, with regular connecting flights to Cochin. For more information, log on to www.srilankan.aero, call 03-2144-2139 or fax
03-2144-3278.
A Kathakali performance in Kerala, India sounds just grand. A pity all that stomping around in majestic headgear and elaborate makeup is just not drawing in the crowds, observes the writer.
SO who’s up for a little traditional Indian performance? With that, our guide led us down a little alleyway and up some stairs which opened up into a small classroom of sorts with a raised stage at one end.
The rundown nature of the place hardly befits the grand-sounding name that’s the Cochin Cultural Centre in Kerala, India. It may not look like much but never mind – it’s the performance that matters.
There to partake of what is known as a Kathakali performance, our group of 10 took our seats amongst a handful of foreign tourists. It’s a shame that this classical dance drama unique to Kerala hardly appealed to the locals anymore but I guess that’s progress.
I tried to maintain as open a mind as possible. What does it entail? My guide book tells me it’s a unique combination of literature, music, painting, acting and dance, with the dancer in a Kathakali performance taking on various roles based on themes from Hindu mythology.
Often referred to as “the stately dance of Kerala”, Kathakali literally means “story-play” and involves elaborate make-up and costumes.
With a tradition dating back more than four centuries, it is a highly stylish art, with some reviewers calling it “a deeply moving, immensely cathartic aesthetic experience”.
The makeup, grand costume, complicated hand gestures, exaggerated eye movements and feet stomping got my attention for all of 10 minutes before the monotony and the exasperation of not being able to comprehend anything of what the actor is trying to portray started to frustrate me no end.
But that’s hardly anyone’s fault. The themes are usually from Hindu epics and purana, with characters representing existence in the worlds of Gods, demons and humans. So unless you are a scholar or enthusiast of such epics, much of what is depicted will be lost on you, and quickly too!
Enthusiasts, however, beg to differ. “Once you master the art of viewing Kathakali, it’s very painful missing one, especially if the veterans are acting,”gushed one fan.
Kathakali makeup (using natural pigments like manayola) is a slow metamorphosis — of mortals into immortal deities and demons. A lengthy affair, the process takes two to three hours to complete.
We caught the end bit of the process just before the performance proper, apparently a not-to-be-missed part of any show. After another 10 minutes of that, and since hardly much had metamorphosised before my eyes, my mind started to wander, distracted perhaps by the thought that dinner will be very late that night. Well, the guide did warn us that some performances can last up to 12 hours!
But as the headgear was finally fixed on the actor’s head, he did become larger than life. I was transfixed when he jumped on stage and stomped around for a bit. His eyes blazed and his emotions lurched from one extreme to the next, expressing such volatile feelings as anger, sadness, love and frustration at will.
Much of what was communicated was through his eyes, which flicked up and down, right to left or just glared at the audience. A myriad of hand gestures added to the effect. Good thing there was an interpreter, for some expressions did look the same to me. Strangely, I started to empathise with his emotional outburst, and even marvelled for a while his ability to switch from one facial expression to the next.
Given his already fierce demeanour from all the makeup, costume and headgear, his most dominant expression must surely be anger. Well, looking at the near empty hall, this Kerala cultural icon has something to be angry about, doesn’t he?
The writer’s trip to Kerala, India, was sponsored by Sri Lankan Airlines and Kerala Tourism. The airline flies daily to Colombo from Kuala Lumpur, with regular connecting flights to Cochin. For more information, log on to www.srilankan.aero, call 03-2144-2139 or fax
03-2144-3278.
posted by fonglah at 4:20 PM
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