Kathakali
Kathakali
It is a major form of Indian classical dance form.It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colorful make-up, costumes and face masks that the traditionally male actor-dancers wear.Kathakali primarily developed as a Hindu performance art in the Malayalam-speaking southwestern region of India (Kerala).This dance form is very famous all over India.
This dance is commonly famous in the Kerala region
It is believed that Kathakali originated from Krishnanattam a dance form dedicated to Lord Krishna life and activities which was created by Zamorin of calicut Sri Manavedan Raja during 1585-1658 AD. Once Kottarakkara Thampuran, the Raja of Kottarakkara who was attracted by Krishnanattam requested the Zamorin for the loan of a troupe of performers. Due to the political rivalry between the two, Zamorin did not allow this. So Kottarakkara Thampuran created another art form called Ramanattam. King of erstwhile Vettathu kingdom introduced modifications to Ramanattam and renamed it as Kathakali. Later, king of Kottayam kingdom took measures to popularize the art form.
According to Phillip Zarrilli, elements and aspects of Kathakali can be found in ancient Sanskrit texts such as the Natya Shastra. The Natya Shastra is attributed to sage Bharata, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE,but estimates vary between 500 BCE and 500 CE.
The most studied version of the Natya Shastra text consists of about 6000 verses structured into 36 chapters The text, states Natalia Lidova, describes the theory of Tāṇḍava dance (Shiva), the theory of rasa, of bhāva, expression, gestures, acting techniques, basic steps, standing postures – all of which are part of Indian classical dances including Kathakali. Dance and performance arts, states this ancient Hindu text, are a form of expression of spiritual ideas, virtues and the essence of scriptures.
The roots of Kathakali are unclear. Jones and Ryan state it is more than 500 years old. According to Phillip Zarrilli, Kathakali emerged as a distinct genre of performance art during the 16th and 17th centuries in a coastal population of south India that spoke Malayalam (now Kerala). The roots of Kathakali, states Mahinder Singh, are more ancient and some 1500 years old.
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Credits : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathakali
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Ishthashreya(India)