Nritya

Indian dance forms have been extremely fascinating in most respects. The performance art from South India have elaborate and detailed costumes, specially the striking face-painting. While the performance part of the art is ofcourse breath-taking, the opulence of the spectacle is no less splendid. The towering head dresses, sparkling shoulder plates, wide colorful skirts and bright elaborate makeups make the performer stand out and very extravagantly noticeable.

A few such performance art forms are particularly popular but there are very many others which are less or hardly known. Kathakali is ofcourse one of the most loved and celebrated dance and while there are some which portray story telling and others which are particularly performed as a ritual. Most of these dance forms are passed down through generations. In some forms the performers are trained to sing live in their own voices while dancing, which makes it pretty intense and exacting.

This DIY series is a tribute to these exceptional performers. It is an attempt to wrap their extravagance on a small canvas that can hopefully rub off a hint of that magnificence on us as well.