INDIA: Costume and accessories makers in southern state of Kerala witness a boom in business

Record ID: 1375975

  • Title: INDIA: Costume and accessories makers in southern state of Kerala witness a boom in business
  • Date: 17th February 2007
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF KAHTAKALI PERFORMANCE OLD MAN IN THE AUDIENCE OVERVIEW OF THE KATHAKALI PERFORMANCE
  • Embargoed: 4th March 2007 11:05
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Lifestyle
  • Reuters ID: LVA9JXUZPIYB2NJ8FQOGGQ7O6EGB
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: With southern India's classical dance-drama Kathakali becoming popular at home and abroad, its costumes too are becoming a sought-after commodity.
    As tourism to the southern Indian state Kerala booms, the costume makers of Kerala's traditional dance form Kathakali struggle to cope with huge orders.
    The state is home to many other performing art forms but the Kathakali is the best known to tourists as a a traditional dance-drama famous for its unique dress, style and history.
    So, as performances escalate in numbers, the demand for gears and accessories used by the performers is booming too.
    "As the tourism is booming in the state there is a very good demand for the costumes mainly used as decorative items, daily shows, sometimes the orders are so much that I have to work for day and night," said Nedumudi Madhusudana Panicker, a master craftsman.
    "Now even people have started making the headgears using fibre and plastic but we have demand only for the handmade and one in wood and now we are planning to do it in aluminium to make it lighter, which can be taken to other countries by tourists," said Kalamandalam Manesh, a performing artist and costume-crafting-artisan.
    The elaborate costumes are an integral part of famous dance drama which are still made by traditional artisans using locally available items like wood, paper and gold colour plated balls and stones.
    The full set of costume for Kathakali, right from its headgears to the foot bells costs around 45,000 Indian Rupees (approximately US Dollars 1,020) in the market and takes around three weeks to complete.
    Though many have started making it in non-traditional material like plastic and aluminium, traditionally made Kathakali paraphernalia are still mostly preferred by its connoisseurs.
    In Kathakali, costumes and accessories as well as perfect make-up as prescribed in texts, is a must for all performers.
    There is emphasis on the artistic make-up used by artists to symbolize the nature of the characters, an important feature of the dance.
    The make-up consists five main parts--Pacha, Kathi, Kari, Thaadi, Minukku (green, knife, black, beard or jaw, and polish)--the nature of the character determined the colours used.
    For instance green is used for noble males, green with red marks on the cheeks for characters with high birth with an evil streak, black for the forest dwellers and hunters, yellow for women and red for the extremely angry and evil characters.
    Traditionally, a Kathakali performance begins in the evening and continues through the night till the break of dawn, which is considered the hour when good conquers evil.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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