Kathakali

Kathakali preformer

Kathakali, the traditional Dance of Kerala (originating in the 17th century) was preformed for us on Friday night here at the hotel.  A certain number of lucky guests got invited to cocktails and snacks.  It always a meet and greet for the managers too.  This is now the 4th or 5th one we've been to and a certain manager who isn't walking around the hotel a lot has introduced himself to us each and every time. - and gives Jason his card every time.  Most of them know us by now, but this guy just can't seem to get ahold of the idea that we've been here for over 3 months already and we've met, numerous times.  It's actually comical now. 

This was the first time we had a dance preformed for us and although it was just over 30 mins long, it was entertaining.  The dance tells an entire story and the word Kathakali literally means "story-play".  It is known for the actors elaborate makeup and costumes.  The dancers are almost always male - even males will dress in dresses to portray women - although awhile ago, we did have a female dancer preforming outside.  She might have been doing a different dance though as her face wasn't painted.

Of course we had to pose.

The actors rely heavily on hand motions, called mudra, to act out the storyline as they do not talk.  They usually have bells on their ankles to accent the music.  This actor was very entertaining and would point to someone sitting a certain way or taking pictures.  He came over to Jason a few times because he just had his hands on his lap.  Apparently that was a sign of boredom!  (he wasn't bored though, just politely sitting) Their elaborate makeup is more like a mask and consists of natural materials.  White is made from rice flour, red from vermilion, black is from soot and all the colors help portray the character.  Using red makeup on the actors feet is used to symbolize evil intent.

And to wrap the evening up (or actually it was just getting started) - the UOP guys:

Peter, John, Jason, Swapnil, Endanna, Krishnan, and Nitin

  Peace!