Kathakali - traditional dance-drama of Kerala

Kathakali is a traditional dance-drama of Kerala. There is no set or settings to give any idea to the audience about of the place where the action is supposed to take place. There will be a Bhagavathar or musician, who will sing the dialogues for the actors. Chenda, Maddalam and Chengila are used as accompaniments to the music.

The actors express themselves through facial expressions and established ‘mudras’ -- gestures or signs using the hands. The moods and sentiments - catagorised as navarasas - are expressed by the face, especially the eyes, and compatible body language. The general background and the situations are expressed in slokas or four lined verses in Sanskrit by the bhagavathar.

To a limited extent, the bhagavathar is equivalent to vidushaka of Sanskrit theatre or chorus of the Greek theatre, when he explains the general situation in slokas, the actors have no role to play while slokas are sung. Characters are flat and elaborate costumes are given to each type of character.

Elaborate head gears and costumes, and very thick, suggestive make-ups are used in Kadhakali. But no mask as in Greek theatre is used. In contrast to tragedy and other traditional classic theatre of the world, even war is presented on the stage. To enjoy Kadhakali well, one should have thorough knowledge of the story being presented. Suspense has no place in Kathakali.

But how the actor interprets the dialogue sung by the bhagavathar, is what really captures the attention of the conoissure. A master-artiste, within the limitations of the story and musical dialogue, will entertain and enthral the audience. But one has to sit as close to the actor as possible, if he is to really enjoy Kadhakali, since the ‘navarasas’ expressed by facial actions and mudras really matter.