Description
Beginning at dusk, people are drawn to a Kathakali performance by the rhythmic beating of drums. As the audience gathers around a barely demarcated stage, the drums reach a crescendo and then fall silent. Lit by a single brass lamp, the dancers offer a Thodayam or devotional dance behind a hand-held curtain. This is followed by the Penappad, verses from the Gita Govinda and Melleppadam. Only then does the actual performance begin. The musicians and dancers weave tales, from the vast storehouse of Hindu mythology.