Kathakali

Rich in color, make-up, costume, dance, drama and gesture, Kathakali is Kerala's unique gift to the world of performing arts. Developed in the 8th century, from 'Ramanattam' a dance drama created by Kottarakkara Thampuran, a great admirer and promoter of traditional art forms.

Kathakali is a dance drama with its theme drawn mainly from the great epics Ramayana and Mahabharatha. Ably assisted by vocal and percussion accompaniments ,the performer uses hand gestures or mudras to narrate the story. The body and facial movements are in perfect harmony in this visually spectacular but graceful dance form.
Kathakali shows are frequently conducted at Ernakulam and Pathanamthitta.

Ottan Thullal

Enacted in temples, this a highly popular mono–act comprising singing, acting and dancing by a colourfully dressed actor. He is however, assisted in the background by a musician, a drummer and a third person who beats the cymbals. In Ottan Thullal, the symbols and gestures are same as those of Kathakali. This early 18^th century folk art, developed by Kalakath Kunjan Nambiar has social satire as its main element.

Theyyam

spiritual art form glorifying the Mother goddess, Theyyam is performed in Kerala’s rural temples. This religious dance has various themes: it could be a fervent summons to the presiding deity, exorcism, or a worship of spirits, ancestors, spirits or heroes. Dramatic costumes and make- up add to the stunning effect of this folk art. This dance is always performed by men, even when the character is female. Theyyam is displayed in the Sree Muthappan Temple, Kannur.

Koodiyattam

Older than Kathakali, this dance is a theatrical presentation traditionally performed in temples as an offering to the presiding deity.

Chakyar Koothu

In this mono-act, the Chakyar enacts the roles of all the characters in the play to the accompaniment of instrumental music. The Chakyar play acts stories from the puranas constantly drawing parallels from contemporary life.

Mohiniyattom

This "Dance of the heavenly enchantress" is a graceful and sensuous dance form of Kerala. Originally performed by devadasis in Kerala temples this ancient dance form was revived in the 20^th century. Mohiniyattom today is a highly popular Indian classical dance form.

Kalarippayattu

Kalarippayattu, a 12^th century AD Kerala martial art is considered one of the world’s oldest and most complete forms of martial training existing today. The word literally means "combat training inside a military training ground(Kalari)". A major sociopolitical institution in medieval times, the credit for laying down a single system from the many forms that were practiced, goes to C.V.Narayanan Nair, himself a Kalari warrior. Kalari aims at the ultimate co-ordination of body and mind.

A student is initiated into the training usually at the age of seven/eight. Training consists of body control exercises, combating with wooden and later, metal weapons and finally, fighting with bare hands. That is not all, though. The best of them are taught the highly sophisticated Marma Prayogam- attacking the vulnerable points of the body. Massage is an important part of Kalari training. Kalari also has its own methods of treatment for injuries caused during training.

Many performing arts of Kerala, especially Kathakali, are not only influenced by Kalari methods of training but also by the body postures and foot work performed by these warriors.

Kalarippayattu is taught over several months, and people from other parts of the world are also allowed to learn this highly sophisticated combat art.