Kathakali ... Kathakali

Kerala was an awesome experience ... an experience enriched all the more by having like minded friends travelling with you .. More on Kerala coming up , but I wanted to document our Kathakali experience before my mind slowly erases the details in its cycles.... memory retention gyan ... for the ill informed :-)

Whilst we were in Munnar ,after a refreshingly awesome Ayurvedic Massage , we were booked for a Kathakali show in the evening .. I mean come on , we' d been to God's Own Country and no SUPER KADHAKALI .. our driver Unni would have never forgiven us.

We set off in the twilight which faded away into the night and mist of Munnar ...breathtaking ! Six of us silently praying for our lives ... well with our soo...per Unni navigating us through the winding roads of the Munnar Valley ,with zero visibility and no fog lights .. you would be in a moment of redemption too ..

He took us then to this ramshackle barn and spoke in the unique concoction of Malayalam and English , said "Kadakali Performance here" .. The looks on Ravi,Mandy and Vijay's Faces were worth the trip. Once the performance started , we were hooked completely ..

Kathakali is a spectacular art of story telling with elaborate and colorful costumes ,delicate nuances and gestures and deft,crisp movements in tune to the percussion beats and playback music of the Sutradhar (anchor). The story being narrated that day was Narakasuravadhnam .. the slaying of the Demon King Narakasura by Satyabhama , the wife of Lord Krishna . The narration was in Manipravalam ( a mix of Sanskrit and Malayalam). Well to be truthful ,it was all Greek and Latin and the music did not match my preconceived notions or knowledge of Narkasuravadhanam .And the female protagonist would turn into some witch and leap on the spectators in the front row .. I am sure a few people skipped some heart beats ... But nonetheless, it was a splendid experience.

Posting a few pics , do catch it the next time you are in Kerala , but would strongly recommend a translated copy of the story being enacted, else you will come away as confused as us .. Appreciative of the visual treat but feeling cheated of the essence .

Keep smiling ,