This traditional Kerala theater---literally "story play"---dramatizes the Hindu epics of good battling evil through drumming, chanting, singing and a highly stylized form of acting. Kathakali goes back at least to the 16th century.
With other tourists, we arrved an hour and a half before the performance to watch the actors sit on the stage and apply their fantastical make-up, created out of coconut oil and local minerals. Then the emcee/singer explained the hand and eye movements as one actor demonstrated them. The one-hour play we saw was about an arrogant archer whose ego makes him treat others badly. The god Krishna disguises himself as a demon---the one with the black face and sprouting nose in Joe's pictures---and defeats the egotist in battle. Then he reveals his true identity, and the impudent archer is chastened.
With the drums, the chanting, the make-up and costumes, the incense, the oil lamps, and the subtlety and grace of the acting, it's yet another example of Indian sensory overload. In this case, it is enchanting.
With other tourists, we arrved an hour and a half before the performance to watch the actors sit on the stage and apply their fantastical make-up, created out of coconut oil and local minerals. Then the emcee/singer explained the hand and eye movements as one actor demonstrated them. The one-hour play we saw was about an arrogant archer whose ego makes him treat others badly. The god Krishna disguises himself as a demon---the one with the black face and sprouting nose in Joe's pictures---and defeats the egotist in battle. Then he reveals his true identity, and the impudent archer is chastened.
With the drums, the chanting, the make-up and costumes, the incense, the oil lamps, and the subtlety and grace of the acting, it's yet another example of Indian sensory overload. In this case, it is enchanting.
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