ENDURANCE- THE INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE ‘ KATHAKALI’

Kathakali is a legendry of Indian classical dance which is basically a short story based drama performance. The endurance depicted by the artists is praiseful. Last year me and my husband visited Kerala, a state of South India, famous for scenic beauty and heritage. There we both behold the elegance of this classical dance and have seen the tough grind of the artiste. Kathakali is an Indian dance drama where the dancers or artists require a plenty of time to get this graceful makeover. This ethic dance has detailed gestures which expresses the endurance of the artists and musicians. The language of the songs used for Kathakali is Manipravalam.

 

Kathakali performance starts in night and lasts till early morning. It is performed in front of the huge lamp named as Kalivilakku (kali meaning dance; vilakku meaning lamp) with its thick wick sunk till the neck in coconut oil. Portrayal of a Kathakali play by actors accomplish in the presence of music (geetha) and instruments (vadya). The instruments used are chenda, maddalam and edakka. A distinctive feature of this art form is that the actors never speak but use expressions, hand gestures, and rhythmic dancing rather than a dialogue (but for a couple of rare characters).