Kathakali performer dressed as 'Bhima' performing on stage.
Kathakali is a highly stylized classical Indian dance-drama noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion. It originated in the country's present day state of Kerala during the 17th century and has developed over the years with improved looks, refined gestures and added themes besides more ornate singing and precise drumming. As a part of modernising, propagating, promoting and popularizing Kathakali, the International Centre for Kathakali at New Delhi has taken up a continuing project since 1980 of producing new plays based on not only traditional and mythological stories, but also historical stories, European classics and Shakespeare's plays. Recently they produced Kathakali plays based on Shakespeare's Othello and Greek-Roman mythology of Psyche and Cupid. Kathakali is considered to be a combination of five elements of fine art: 1) Expressions - Emphasis on facial expressions 2) Dance - emphasis on rhythm and movement of hands, legs and body. 3) Enactment - Nrithyam, the element of drama with emphasis on "mudras", which are hand gestures 4) Song/vocal accompaniment (Geetha) 5) Instrument accompaniment (Vadyam) Even though the lyrics/literature would qualify as another independent element called Sahithyam, it is considered as a component of Geetha or music, as it plays only a supplementary role to Nritham, Nrithyam and Natyam.
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Keywords: art, asia, bhima, colorful, dance, drama, epic, form, hanuman, india, indian, kalyana, kathakali, kerala, mahabharata, malayalam, panchali, saugandhigam, south, traditional
