April 3, 2011
After our multiple ferry, tuk tuk, and long walks in the sweltering heat, we did not want to go see traditional dance. India heat can just plain wear you out. We just wanted our beer, a pool, and food brought to us. But, Ken (yes, KEN!) pushed us to go to the Kathakali Traditional Indian Kerala dance performance that night. He was right, of course, and he reasoned that he didn’t want the day to simply be about shopping.
Before Kathakali dance performances start, there is an elaborate makeup application which is often said to be more interesting than the performance. All male and female roles are performed by men, so they must get a whole lotta makeup on to look in female character. Oh, how colorful these characters are! Abraham watch rapt as makeup was applied on stage, standing in as close as he could. Then he returned to his seat and collapsed into sleep, for the rest of the night, sleeping straight through the performance, as did Alice then Griffin.
Truth is they didn’t miss much drama that would have kept them up. The dancing was minimal. Half the show was a “demonstration” of the sign language used in the non-spoken word performance, before the actual performance. But, the dance sure was colorful, outré, and over the top, with the story being narrated by a singing Hindu priest. The story went something like this – a young maiden falls in love with a young man. They almost marry then the maiden turns into a she-demon from hell, trying to drag him to hell. He slays her, first cutting her nose and breasts off, returning her to hell.
Click HERE to see the performance, and its effect on the kids.
I mostly remember returning home to our hotel, relieved to collapse into my bed after carrying Boom all the way home.
