This is another dance form similar to the Koothu in its technical content. But here the dance element is almost given up and the narration is done through an alternating prose and song sequences, the gestures being retained. A new literary form called Champu, which accommodated more and more of Malayalam idiom and vocabulary was used as text for Patakom. Literally means dissertation, Patakom is performed by Nambiyars even outside temple precincts.

The dancer has a red head-dress and on the wrist a red silk. There are garlands around the neck and sandal paste lines across the forehead.

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