We had a great Tuesday in Vaikom, south from Cochin. It took us 2 and 1/2 hour taxi drive to get there from Amritapuri. Our friends Sunil & Laxmi had invited us to an evening representation of Kathakali at the Valanjamballam temple in Vaikom.
We had the great experience to follow the artists during their preparations, which means normally 2 hours of face-painting and dressing in these enormous costumes of the traditional dance.
The story was of the Mahabharata when the Pandavas and the Kauravas were playing dice and the Pandavas lost everything even their wife Draupadi which was the mistreated by the brother of Duryodhana, the king of the Kauravas. Krishna was the ambassador of the Pandava-brothers and helped Draupadi, when Dushasana, the king's brother tried to undress her and could not take away the shawl, which Krishna had lengthened unlimited. So finally Draupadi wanted this bad guy dead and wash her hair with his blood to overcome this insult. The job had to be done by Bhima, the great fighter, who finally killed Dushada and cleaned Draupadi's hair with his blood. But then Krishna had to calm down Bhisma, who had become like a wild animal by his deadly fight.
It happened that our friend Sunil was playing the role of Bhima and we could him watch painting his face and dressing, which was really impressive. See the pictures for self-explanatory commentary.
We were enchanted by the performance also by the singers and the great drummers involved in the play. Thanks a lot for the invitation. I forgot. Our friend Peter was also there. He had come 2 days before to see Sunil and Laxmi, who's performance he had admired on Xmas eve in Amritapuri.
Last but not least we went in the morning to the well known Mahadeva Temple in Vaikom. This Shiva temple is a very old and a very large one. In the main shrine rests a Shiva Linga said to come down from the Treta Yuga and is one of the 3 main places for Shiva devotees around that area.
You cannot see a lot of it, because it is almost in the dark with some candles around and some priests making all the time puja and offerings to it while a group of drummers mare playing in the venue. You have only some minutes to stay there and then people change again. Some women sobbing and praying loud OM Namah Shivaya or people stay there with folded hands and in silent meditation. I'm thinking of the living Shiva-Shakti in Amritapuri and realize that maybe a whole different area has begun without us knowing it.
We had the great experience to follow the artists during their preparations, which means normally 2 hours of face-painting and dressing in these enormous costumes of the traditional dance.
The story was of the Mahabharata when the Pandavas and the Kauravas were playing dice and the Pandavas lost everything even their wife Draupadi which was the mistreated by the brother of Duryodhana, the king of the Kauravas. Krishna was the ambassador of the Pandava-brothers and helped Draupadi, when Dushasana, the king's brother tried to undress her and could not take away the shawl, which Krishna had lengthened unlimited. So finally Draupadi wanted this bad guy dead and wash her hair with his blood to overcome this insult. The job had to be done by Bhima, the great fighter, who finally killed Dushada and cleaned Draupadi's hair with his blood. But then Krishna had to calm down Bhisma, who had become like a wild animal by his deadly fight.
It happened that our friend Sunil was playing the role of Bhima and we could him watch painting his face and dressing, which was really impressive. See the pictures for self-explanatory commentary.
We were enchanted by the performance also by the singers and the great drummers involved in the play. Thanks a lot for the invitation. I forgot. Our friend Peter was also there. He had come 2 days before to see Sunil and Laxmi, who's performance he had admired on Xmas eve in Amritapuri.
Last but not least we went in the morning to the well known Mahadeva Temple in Vaikom. This Shiva temple is a very old and a very large one. In the main shrine rests a Shiva Linga said to come down from the Treta Yuga and is one of the 3 main places for Shiva devotees around that area.
You cannot see a lot of it, because it is almost in the dark with some candles around and some priests making all the time puja and offerings to it while a group of drummers mare playing in the venue. You have only some minutes to stay there and then people change again. Some women sobbing and praying loud OM Namah Shivaya or people stay there with folded hands and in silent meditation. I'm thinking of the living Shiva-Shakti in Amritapuri and realize that maybe a whole different area has begun without us knowing it.
Playing with the dices...
Bhima in full posture
Draupadi...
The admirers ….
During Painting ….
The fascinated crowd…
Thank you for this post. It has been a pleasure to invite you and let you discover the world we are living in. You are always welcome, take care. Pallippuram Sunil and Paris Laxmi, om Namah Shivaya
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