The reason of the strike was never made very clear to me but it was nice to have a day of rest in between transit days. I woke late and made some tea with my immersion heater, a coil of metal that heats up when plugged into an electrical socket. There is a very specific protocol to using it so that you don’t burn the place down or melt the device but luckily the handle stinks and makes lots of noise during operation so I don’t forget that it is plugged in. After tea I decided to walk around to see the town in daylight and investigate lodging options then met Domi at twelve for lunch in a very posh hotel. We were drawn to the hotel for the advertised Italian Coffee. There was an item on the menu I couldn’t resist – Salad Nicoise and I am so happy that I did – it was served in a huge bowl topped with seared tuna and very delicious (I also happily report a few days later that I didn’t experience any problems in the days that followed). We allowed ourselves a two hour lunch then had a few tasks to take care of: money exchange, locating the hall where we would see Kathakali performed later that evening and shopping for Domi – I’ll shop here when I return.
Along the way I found the ideal guest house. It is actually a Home Stay, and the difference is exactly as the name describes: a home where there may be a separate entrance with rooms to let to travelers. Some Home Stays have cottages built on the back of the property and others on the roof. Ours is a side entrance, a comfy room with balcony, common area and kitchen and wireless internet. Domi exchanged money and then it was time for dance.
Kathakali is a traditional Keralan art form that incorporates drumming, chanting, eye and facial muscle movements, mudras (hand and arm gestures) and dance as a dramatization of a play. We were allowed to arrive before the performance to watch the application of makeup, all from natural sources. The face paint is the blend of coconut oil and different rocks to produce the colors of red, yellow and black. There is also a very vibrant green which is made from yellow and indigo. Some of the performers have additions to their faces made from paper and rice glue. Additionally they put some sort of seed on the inside of the eyelid to turn the sclera red. After makeup application there was a demonstration of eye and facial muscle movements which were simultaneously incredible and disturbing. The performer made his eyes go side to side very quickly to the beat of the drums. We learned later that they train on eye movements for four to six years. Finally there was a mudra demonstration so that we could understand some of the gestures in the performance.
I was surprised to learn that so little of the performance is full body movements and most of it is the repetition of an arm or facial movement of the performer. The performers did not vocalize anything other than yelling and the story was briefly narrated by the man who chanted. They perform different stories each night and there is a performance every day of the year!
Post show Domi and I shared a light meal and then said our good-byes. We tend to be very good at carrying on a conversation so I arrived back at my guest house a little later than planned and quickly packed my bag for my journey to Kumily on Wednesday.
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