Its raining men, Kathakali, dance drama from Kerala

Its raining men....

Scenes from Kathakali, dance drama from Kerala

The very elaborate costume

Kathakali....dance drama from Kerala

Kathakali is the most well known dance drama from Kerala and it means "Story-Play" or more literally a story narrated in the form of play and is characterised by its elaborate makeup and costumes. 

The themes of Kathakali are religious, mostly mythological in nature and taken from the Mahabarat and the Ramayana the two epics in India, the text is generally Sanskritised Malayalam.
Kathakali is generally performed in villages by the light of lamps and as expected is a major social event, generally starting at dusk and progressing through out the night.  Kathakali is usually performed only by men.  Female characters are portrayed by men dressed in women's costume. 
What characterises Kathakali  from any other dance form is the very elaborate makeup, it is so elaborate that it is more like a mask than makeup in the usual sense. The materials that comprise the makeup are all locally available, the white from rice flour, the red from vermilion (a red earth such as cinnabar) and the black from soot.  The colours are not merely decoration, but are also a means of portraying characters.  For instance, red on the feet is used to symbolise evil character and evil intent.
The costumes too are distinctive and characteristic of Kathakal, they are very elaborate and very heavy. There are several kinds of costume and these can be characterised as follows, Sathwika (the hero), Kathi (the villain), Minukku (females), and Thatti. Each character is instantly recognisable by their characteristic makeup and costume.

MEC (Maria Elena Cuadra) providing a better future for women in Nicaragua

Cividep had a session of an interchange of Ideas; four women from Nicaragua who belonged to the Union MEC (Maria Elena Cuadra) came to Bangalore for interaction with the Garment and Textile Workers Union. The focus was of course the Rights of Women in the workplace as well as other problems dealing with different aspects of a Woman’s life.

This time I had a great deal of time to interact with the Nicaraguans on a personal basis. The four women were totally different from each other but their problems similar. One in particular, Teresa, astounded me, her grit and determination to get out of the slums, educate herself all this when she has four small children and one of those children was a child with special needs .

Nicaragua a Catholic country prohibits legalized abortion but allows Family planning by other methods. As they do not get proper education about these other Methods of Family Planning, their only recourse is Abortion which of course is prohibited. The slums are full of pregnant teenagers and orphans. On discussion with the Garment Workers here in Bangalore the Nicaraguans  realized how women who have the same life style as they do, the same wages as they have- did I ever know that Garment Workers work for around 2.5$ Dollars a day around 106.00 Rupees a day? -managed to have only 2 children because they planned their families so very carefully and hardly had any abortions.

They also realized that 61% of Garment Workers in Bangalore were single mothers bringing up their children single handed just like in Nicaragua, some of course have help from their extended families and those who did not, managed it somehow.

A concept in India called Self Help Groups (SHG) teaches Women a great deal about Finance. This is a simple process; a group of women consisting of maybe 20 or more members form a group. They then collect a sum of Rs.100/- per month from each member. An account is opened in a Bank and when required, Micro loans are given at a nominal rate of interest of 2%. This is very low as compared to the high interest rates at the banks.

Life for Women Garment Workers is difficult, long hours of work sometimes with no overtime, abuse from the employers, many a times sexual abuse. Hardly any leave and if you do not belong to any Union you can be asked to leave at any time.

Each group of women had their own surprises, the Nicaraguans were appalled at the concept of Dowry, they felt women were sold as objects to the highest bidder, a mere commodity. The poverty of the Nicaraguans appalled our Indian women; a staple diet of beans, rice and a small bit of cheese is all they can afford at the moment, food prices in Nicaragua are so high that meat of any type is a luxury and a very distant dream.

In Nicaragua women battled long and hard for Equal Wages for Men and Women, in this age of Globalisation with techies earning millions and not knowing what to do with their money are we aware that there are women like Teresa, Connie, Yashoda and Hema who budget so hard and have to think of every penny they spend?