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Great Dance Forms you can enjoy live
in Kerala
Dance and Kerala
have a great bonding. Kerala’s beauty and culture are well expressed through the
various dance forms here which you can enjoy during your Kerala tour packages.
Though there are many places where you can see and enjoy the landscapes, Kerala
opens up a new arena of culture and performing arts too. There are
beautiful locations in Kerala are just perfect for a family holiday as well as
honeymoon trips. You will find vivid landscapes in Kerala, ranging from the
Rocky Mountains to soothing backwaters. We can also visit the long seashores and
misty hill stations on our Kerala tourism packages. If you can spare a week in
Kerala, you will be able to see the beautiful locales as well as enjoy the
traditions of the state to some extent. Keralites also enjoy stage shows and
theater which is called drama here.
Art Forms in Kerala
Kerala is a land
blessed with many art forms and each one unique enough. Many of them are popular
and others are constricted to a community or society. Temple art forms are
another major part in that. For each religious group, there will be different
dance forms. The costumes and make-up is noted for the categories like
Kathakali, Mohiniyattom etc. Let's make a glimpse to the important art dance
forms in Kerala which you can enjoy in your Kerala trip.
Kathakali
If you are
visiting Kerala on tours, you must watch a live performance of Kathakali, to
complete the tour experience. Probably one of the most ancient and most
developed dance forms in the south India, Kathakali has more of Mudras and
facial expressions than steps to perform. It is a very difficult art to learn
and perform and usually requires more than 5 to 8 years to learn it properly.
The makeup is done using organic vegetable colors and that itself takes hours
before the performance. Both the artist and the makeup assistant spend hours
completing the makeup and dressing and the performance usually lasts overnight.
Kathakali usually describes episodes from mythical stories like Ramayana and
Mahabharata. Earlier only male artists used to perform, this being a temple art
and requiring tremendous physical and mental stamina. Now many female artists
are also performing well and getting recognized the world over. Live
Kathakali performances can be opted for during your Kerala packages. Many
foreign tourists are fascinated by the colors and the passionate performances
and they even join the Kalamandalam to learn it from the Gurus.
Mohiniyattom
This is our
version of the classical dance. Mohini means the beautiful lady who attracts and
the dance form usually revolves around romance. This is a gentle dance performed
by a lady, though now men are also learning and performing this dance form.
Facial expressions, particularly eyes, and hand mudras are more used for the
performance. The dancer is dressed beautifully in a Kerala saree which is worn
in a different style that allows free movements. You can enjoy a live
performance of Mohiniyattom during yourKerala holiday packages
in your resort or even on the houseboat. Since it does not involve heavy
movements, the artist will have no issues performing in a slow-moving or
anchored boat. Otherwise, you can watch the performances in temple festivals,
stages such as at Kalamandalam, Guruvayoor, and Fine Arts halls spread
throughout the state and during the cultural festivals.
Chakyar Koothu
This is
essentially not a dance form but it is an entertaining performance to watch out
for. Usually performed as a temple art, Chakyar Koothu is probably the oldest
form of standup comedy which was popular down south! The Chakyar had all the
rights to ridicule whatever wrongs he could see, even on the local ruler. It was
more of sarcasm that you would hear in his act. While he tells a mythical story,
he will connect it with the local issues or sometimes even the audience and make
fun of it. The entire audience starts laughing out while he continues his story
as if nothing happened. You can enjoy this during your Kerala trip if you
understand Malayalam.
Ottam Thullal
The story goes
that Kunjan Nambiar, who is considered one of the 3 legendary poets of Malayalam
language, fell asleep during a Chakyar Koothu performance and he was ridiculed
by the Chakyar for the same. Nambiar got angry at this and developed his own
rival form which came to be known as Ottamthullal. In Chakyar Koothu, the
performer usually sits on a high stool and performs. In Ottamthullal, the
performer keeps running and jumping while he performs and probably that got it
the name Ottamthullam meaning running and jumping! This follows a similar
satirical touch on current affairs and links it to the mythical stories based on
which the performance is planned. You can enjoy this performance on your
Kerala tour packages from Mumbai if you understand the language.
Thiruvaathirakkali
This is a group
dance performed usually at households by the family members. As the name
suggests, women perform this dance in a circle around the sacred lamp on the day
of Thiruvathira singing melodious songs. It is also known as Kaikottikkali.
Kaikottal means clapping, so the dance has some clapping movements which form
the rhythm and swift movements around the lamp. Women of all ages perform this
dance on auspicious occasions like Onam, Thiruvathira and Vishu. They wear
Kerala set-mundu which makes sure that they can move their hands and legs freely
to dance. If you happen to be enjoying your Kerala tour during these
auspicious occasions, you can enjoy a live performance of thiruvathirakkali.
Koodiyattom
Essentially a
temple art form, Koodiyattom is also as complicated, if not more complicated, as
Kathakali. It is almost 2000 years old dance form and is probably the first and
major reminder of the ancient Sanskrit drama. It is a combination of Kathakali
and Chakyar Koothu, but a more serious form. Koodiyattom is essentially
performed over 12 hours to 150 hours spanning many nights. It has 3 parts, the
first part is when the Chakyar sings a verse and also performs, then he uses his
facial expressions to convey the background story and bring the audience to the
story’s mood. The 3rd part involved the Nangyar and other artists as
required for the story, perform their parts to actually tell the story which is
the Koodiyaattom. You can enjoy a shortened version of if during your Kerala
tour packages from Delhi. Since the verse is in Sanskrit, you may be able to
understand. Even otherwise the acting will be quite elaborate which will easily
make you get into the story.
Theyyam
Theyyam is
essentially a temple ritual rather than a dance form. During this ritual, men
dressed as the fierce Bhagavathi are possessed by her and she starts giving
instructions on various matters to her disciples. If you visit the Malabar
regions during your Kerala Travel, Theyyam is more prevalent there.
Chavittu Naadakam
Though this is
essentially a dance drama, which can be mold into a dance form. As the name
suggests, it is a form of stamping drama. The Christians wanted their own form
of dance to depict their God’s stories just as the other dance forms told Hindu
mythological stories. If you are visiting the Muziris Heritage areas during your
Kerala honeymoon packages, you can enjoy it at Gothuruthu from where this
dance form was initially orchestrated. The name comes as the artists stamps on
the stage while performing the drama.
Now you know that
Munnar, Thekkady and Wayanad are not only the popular destinations for
honeymoon packages in Kerala. Tourists, who are artistically inclined, would
enjoy the dance performances that accompany the tour in the popular
destinations. For the others, temple grounds, performance stages, and cultural
festivals remain the major locations where they can enjoy live performances of
these art forms that are all very difficult to learn. There are other
less-popular and not so developed dances like Kurathiyattom, folk
dance and dramas performed by artists during the temple festivals and
cultural feasts. Most of the dance forms can be enjoyed during your honeymoon
packages in the resorts you stay if you request for the same in advance. For
foreigners, special performances are arranged so that they will take back
beautiful memories of our good old days.
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