Gods and Demons come alive in mesmerizing Kathakali performance at Milton Keynes Denbigh School Arts Theatre

MILTON KEYNES Oct 23: A very erudite audience were taken to a surreal experience of vibrant and colourful art from the land they call Gods own Country on Saturday in Milton Keynes.

A touring company of highly skilled artistes from Kerala, a southern Indian state, skilfully brought to life stories from ancient epics such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana under the expert guidance of Kalamandalam Vijayakumar and Kalamandalam Barbara Vijayakumar. The intricate dance movements, vibrant costumes, and traditional music mesmerized the audience, transporting them to a world of ancient tales and legends.

The attentive audience of all ages including small children were spell bound for nearly two hours engrossed in the rich tapestry of the Gods and the Demons.

The characters wore very elaborate, colourful and complex attire and a very intricate and detailed makeup called “Chutti “. Chutti or make up of the artists is a skilful process which take hours and done with natural ingredients like rice paste and has remained the same for centuries.

The performance and the story telling involved hand gestures and very powerful and expressive eye and facial movements.

Milton Keynes Arts and Heritage Alliance Chair Mandy Legg along with her, husband Cllr Mick Legg were among the audience and she commented “it was wonderful to be so completely immersed in the world of Kathakali”

For the vast majority of the audience this was their first experience of watching Kathakali and this was further helped by excellent synopsis and narration in English and the introduction by Barbara and Vijayakumar.

Barbara highlighted the vibrant nature of the city and its growing importance in coming years not only as a booming City but also a key place in the art landscape of the Country.

This performance was facilitated by “Bhumi” an initiative formed by a group of art loving Professionals to promote World/South Asian Arts and Culture in the UK

Artists were honoured and mementos were presented to them by Bhumi. Mark International, Life Line Protect and Malabar Gold & Diamonds were the title sponsors powered by Paul John Solicitors and Talk and Tikka.