Kathakali

Kathakali is the most well known  dance drama form of kerala. The word Kathakali literally means "Story Play". It is well known for its make up and costumes. The costumes of Kathakali makes this art form colourful. The theam of Kathakali are generally religious in nature. They typically deals with Mahabaratha , Ramayana and from Puranas also. This is generally performed in text. A Kathakali performer starts the play at dusk and go through out the night. Kathakali is usually performed by men. Female characters are played by men. In recent years women had started to become Kathakali dancers. Kathakali has long tradition. The makeup of Kathakali is very elaborate and the costumes are very large and heavy. There are several kinds of costumes in Kathakali for hero, villian, females etc. Each character is identified by its costume and makeup. The makeup is very elaborate. The materials used in makeup is all locally available. The make up red on the feet is used to symbolise evil character and evil intent.

                                              The music of Kathakali is one of the most important notable feature.It has some similarity to the larger body of South Indian Classical Music. Generally instruments such as Shuddha Madalam, Chenda, Thalam, Idakka are used while performing Kathakali. Kathakali has a great impact to the tradition of Kerala.