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Kathakali…

Kathakali is a classical dance-form from Kerala and sadly enough, it’s one that is understood and/or appreciated by very few people. The reason may stem from the fact that Kathakali does not even lend itself to easy appreciation. Unless you follow Malayalam or Sanskrit, there is no way that the music can make any sense to you. As for the hand gestures(mudras), the lesser said the better. It is tough to understand/appreciate Kathakali. Unless of course, you get turned on by the sound of drums. Or the sight of magnificent costumes. Or superb facial emoting. Oh, it’s like a drug that gets into your system… I have spent long and sleepless nights in mosquito-ridden school grounds watching Duryodhana Vadham and Santhanagopalam. I have totally fallen in love with the romance in Nalacharitham. I have shed tears watching Sudama and Krishna’s emotional reunion after long years of separation. It’s so enchanting, the music, the drums, the passion, the intensity, the emotions…

I’ve been incredibly lucky to have two artistic parents who encouraged Geetu and me to learn Kathakali. We were even luckier because we got to train under one of the finest teachers of Kathakali. I’ve never had a better teacher than him, dance, music, school, whatever. We performed, we danced, we were great in those years. The memory of the stage, the face paint, the rice-flour make-up, the metres and metres of cloth we wound around our thin waists, the sheer exhaustion, the sweat… lingers on. In one of the last performances, I played the role of Dusshaasana in Duryodhana Vadham which is technically speaking, the story of the killing of Dusshaasana. Chitra played the role of Bheema who finally kills Dusshaasana. As the last scene unfolded, the fatigue got to both of us. We managed to end the scene gracefully with a lot of cuts and *nicks*. It was magical… inexpressible.

Duryodhana Vadham is to be performed this Saturday in Atlanta. It will be one helluva nostalgic performance. Btw, this is the same costume that I had donned for playing the part of Dusshaasana. Tough to believe, hmmm?

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