A colorful pre-school seen as we leave Madurai. Looks like it could be a pre-school in the US. Wonder if they got permission from Disney, Hanna Barbera and other for use of their images? Yeah, likely not.
Today we are headed up to Periyar, leaving the state of Tamil Nadu and going into the state of Kerala. We spent most of the day on the road, arriving in late afternoon. Much of the drive was very pretty as we are driving up into the Western Ghats, a mountain range that runs from the state of Gujarat (northwest state on India) all the way to the most southern tip of the subcontinent (about 990 miles). The Ghats parallel the west coast of India.
Parts of the Ghats are UNESCO World Heritage sites and is considered one of the world's ten “hottest biodiversity hotspots”.
The area is a lot greener with lots of trees along the road...not something we have seen much of in other parts of India.
A field of marigolds.
And the drive through the foothills and into the mountains was lovely. Views from the road as we climb into the hills. Overlooking the plains from which we just came.
Along the way we ran into a political rally. It is election season in India so there are flags and posters out in force. In addition, we have been stopped at a number of checkpoints where they check that we are not carrying large amounts of cash to buy votes. Helps that we are tourists…usually it is a very short stop, but we have seen some cars that looked like they were going through everything.
Our hotel is up in the mountains on a rundown road with a particularly bad spot that goes directly over a bare rock portion of the mountain. Apparently, the officials won’t allow them to do any paving or smoothing of the rock.
Our room is lovely with stone walls...
and a balcony with views overlooking the plains.
In late afternoon we went into town to see a performance of the Kathakali Theater. Kathakali is a traditional form of classical Indian dance and is practiced primarily in this region. It is a very complex art form and relies heavily on facial expressions. Dancers can require up to 10 years of work and practice to master the artform. We arrived early to watch one of the two dancers apply makeup.
He used a small stick to apply the heavy makeup.
Then we watched as he dressed in costume with a helper. The “skirt” is massively stiff…sticking nearly straight out from his body Very interesting as they wrapped a rope around his waist and he slowly rotated as they folded the super stiff “things” over the rope .
They then draped a skirt over it. Intricate process to make a fascinating costume.
Wrapping a long belt around the waist.
All the accoutrements around the waist.
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Video of Actor being Dressed
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Then another dancer, a male dressed as the female part (traditionally Kathakali is performed only by men), came out and demonstrated facial expressions. A narrator would name the emotion and the actor would perform the expression. It was amazing what he could do with his face and eyes. Eyes bobbing and rolling. Eyebrows dancing, Cheeks and chin trembling (at a speed that seemed impossible). Absolute complete control of every facial muscle.
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Video of Dancer
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Then he pulled audience members up to the stage to have them try to mimic his expressions. Not very successfully.
Then it was on to the performance. Neither of us remember the plot but it involved some coquettish behavior on the part of the female and an eventual stabbing.
It was a very unusual artform that we have not seen anywhere else. Most interesting. And we were glad to be able to see the preparations.
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