Art And Culture Of Kerala
For ages, the rich and vibrant culture of Kerala has intrigued people worldwide. The songs and dances of the people, their ballads, their rituals and their intellectual pursuits. Truly, the real treasures of Kerala lay in the cultural heritage of its people. Kerala has its own typical art forms which reflect the life and outlook of the people.
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From the renowned Kathakali, considered to be the complete art form as it synthesizes all that is best in the fields of drama, music and dance, to the folk dances which are reflection of the rhythmic impulses of a sensitive people. Recently, the UNESCO brought to light, a less known art form - Koodiyattom - and declared it as one among the 'Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It is for the first time in the history of UNESCO that select art forms across the world have been given this recognition as part of its effort to safeguard expressions of oral heritage and traditional culture which are in danger of disappearing due to the effects of globalization. Given here are the descriptions of various classical folk and martial art forms of Kerala.
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Kathakali (literally, story play), the spectacular classical dance drama of Kerala based on the guidelines laid by Sage Bharatha's Natya Sastra, the ancient treatise on dance and drama, is over 500 years old.
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This elaborate art form integrates dance, music, poetry and histrionics. And combines both the thandava (powerful energetic dance, as that of Shiva) and lasya (gentle graceful dance, as that of Parvathi) elements.