Kathakali

Kathakali originated from Ramanattom (Raman; attom(enactment) and Krishnanattom (Krishnan; attom(enactment). History has it that Raja (ruler) of Kottarakkara (a province in Kerala) sculpted Ramanattom when the Zamorin (then ruler of Kozhikode, another province in Kerala) refused to allow a performance of Krishnanattom in the former’s palace. Subsequently, Kottayam Thampuran (ruler of Kottayam, another province in Kerala) composed several plays on Mahabharata thereby making these distinct from stories based on Ramanattom. Thus, Kathakali was born.

Kathakali shares a lot of similarities to both Ramanattom and Krishnanattom. But it also incorporated several outside elements, which is thought to have contributed to its popularity. In particular, the increasing use of Malayalam, which is the local language (albeit as a mix of Sanskrit and Malayalam, called Manipravaalam) made it more popular among the masses. During its evolution, Kathakali also imbibed elements from folk and martial arts which existed at the time in Kerala. Characters with vividly painted faces and elaborate costumes re-enact stories from the Hindu epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana. Kathakali is featured in the award-winning Indo-French-German produced film Vaanaprastham dierected by shji n karun and acted by mohanlal.

Kathakali has traditionally been performed in Hindu temples, but nowadays it may also be seen in theatres At early ages of Kathakkaly,it was in an uncivilised form. later a great artist named Kapplingattu Nampothiry introdused all those changes that we see today.At the beginning there was no such makaps for 'veshams'. kapplingatt introdused them,and also before his time the songs were sang by the performing artist it was he who placed different persons for song.

Elements of Fine Art

Kathakali is considered to be a combination of five elements of fine art:

* Expressions (Natyam, the component with emphasis on facial expressions)
* Dance (Nritham, the component of dance with emphasis on rhythm and movement of hands, legs and body)
* Enactment (Nrithyam, the element of drama with emphasis on "mudras", which are hand gestures)
* Song/vocal accompaniment (Geetha)
* Instrument accompaniment (Vadyam)

Even though the lyrics/literature would qualify as another independent element called "Sahithyam", it is considered as a component of Geetha, as it plays only a supplementary role to Nritham, Nrithyam and Natyam.