Costume Drama

I already knew who I wanted to be. Of all the characters in the Mahabharata, I related to the mighty Arjuna maybe because of his relationship with Krishna. Besides, Kathakali usually has men in female vesham dress, the reverse is a rare occurrence. In fact, only one woman has ever taken up Kathakali as a profession.

I reach the dance school at 8.45 am. My guruji takes me to the well-ventilated aniyara, where the three-hour process is done. Menon lights an oil lamp, I offer him the guru dakshina betel leaf, supari and a one rupee coin, touch his feet and sit down on a straw mat, awaiting the makeover to beat all makeovers.

But I8217;m a little concerned about my skin. Seeing my worried face, Radha reassures me: 8216;8216;Don8217;t worry, the colours are natural and won8217;t damage your skin. Kathakali dancers have glowing faces.8217;8217;

To my left, there are greasy pastes of yellow, red, and green. 8216;8216;The colours are natural stones ground and made into a paste with coconut oil,8217;8217; says Menon.

Unmindful of my 153-cm stature and irritating contact lenses, it begins. A V-shaped yellow tilak, the trademark of an enlightened soul, is drawn on my forehead with the stem of a coconut leaf. My face is outlined in green, a generous amount of kohl borders my eyes, a spread of greasy red and powdery vermillion for luscious lips. After the rest of my face is filled in with green, I lie down, my head near Menon8217;s lap. 8216;8216;This is the most difficult part of the make-up,8217;8217; he says picking up the two-piece chutti a paper-made border to outline my face. 8216;8216;It frames the face so that expressions are enhanced,8217;8217; says Radha.

It is during this procedure that artistes are assigned characters, guruji tells me as he applies gum on the chutti to fix it around my jawline. 8216;8216;In the aniyara, artistes are supposed to address each other by the name of their characters. They speak out their lines and enact,8217;8217; says Menon. A conversation in Sanskritised Malayalam is definitely not bound to be about the weather.

8216;8216;Is it true that girls used to fall in love with Kathakali characters?8217;8217; I enquire. 8216;8216;In the old days, it was the only form of entertainment, especially in villages where Kathakali was performed almost daily in temples. So, infatuations were bound to happen,8217;8217; says Radha. Thankfully, I8217;m not leaving the Menons8217; studio; not much chance of anyone falling in love with my gender-bender.

But love isn8217;t the only thing that gets caught in the voluminous skirts of a Kathakali character. There8217;s also politics. For example, if an artiste who wants to play Ravana is asked to be Narada by the guru, then he will not give Ravana a chance to speak his lines. If Ravana says, 8216;Narada, do you know how I got this boon from Shiva?8217;, instead of saying 8216;No8217; and allowing the mahisasura to narrate the story, the jealous Narada will cut him off and say, 8216;Of course I know it!8217; According to Radha, sometimes artistes even get carried away by their characters. 8216;8216;We8217;ve heard of a Bhima actually killing Dusshasana in a fit of uncontrollable anger. That8217;s what Kathakali does to you.8217;8217;

8216;8216;Your round face is ideal for Kathakali,8217;8217; remarks the master, as I admire myself in a hand mirror. Make-up done, my dressing session begins with the thaandipathippu, two fluffy bangle-like pieces of cloth tied to each ankle to strengthen the feet.

Now the difficult part. Menon begins tying the kachha a long strip of cloth around my waist. Eleven turns and 12 saris later, I feel 10 kg heavier. As if that wasn8217;t enough, he tucks in the pattu vaalu velvet tail; it8217;s an ornament to either side of the waist and the otta naakku one tongue, an accessorised strip of velvette into the front. One tonnage of fabric later I realise that Kathakali is about more than just the face. 8216;8216;Dancers have to be extremely fit since movements are strenuous,8217;8217; says the master.

And the toilette isn8217;t over yet. There8217;s a bright-red choli-like top; ornaments on the wrists, shoulders, arms and ears; a chest plate resembling an elephant8217;s headdress; and a hefty crown. I see myself in the mirror and fall head over heels in love with the reflection. Though my appearance begs for a few weeks at a slimming centre, I8217;m beautiful. 8216;8216;God, had you made me taller by just 27 cms, I8217;d have been a towering Arjuna!8217;8217;

Armed with a bow and arrow, I try getting up but end up falling back with a thud. 8216;8216;Krishnaaaa,8217;8217; 8216;Arjuna8217; calls out, as he finally manages to get on his feet. A proud 8216;Arjuna8217; then twitches his eyebrows, widens his eyes and gives a winning smile. 8216;8216;Perfect!8217;8217; reacts Menon. 8216;8216;You could still learn Kathakali. I8217;ll teach you everything,8217;8217; he assures me, 8220;I8217;ll never send you out of class.8217;8217;

Hey Mrs Khazanchi, did you hear that?