We were up at 5 a.m. this morning completing packing for our departure at 6.45 for the airport and our 8.55 a.m. GoAir flight to Kochi (Cochin), The bus was crammed with all our big bags but, being Saturday, the roads were light with traffic and our trip to the airport was smooth. Check in was straightforward although our bags exceeded the weight limits and we had to pay INR 3,000 in excess baggage fees. Boarding was easy and the flight was smooth. We stopped for about half an hour in Ahmedabad, remaining on the plane during the stopover. Then the remainder of the flight was about two hours and we arrived in Kochi at about 1 p.m.
In Kochi, we transferred again to a bus, similarly crammed with luggage and proceeded through the town to the hotel. There were immediate and marked differences to our surroundings in the southern city in the State of Kerala from what we had seen in the northern cities, Traffic was more manageable, the surroundings were greener and lusher than before, there seemed to be a bit more order in things. A general air of greater prosperity seemed to prevail. However, the first thing that hit us was the temperature which was in the 90’s F, (30’s C), far different from the cooler temperatures in the north where they had been in the 70’s F (low 20’s C) and even cooler in the mornings
We arrived at the Le Meridien hotel and started our check in. There were computer problems and thus we had to wait for our rooms and took this chance to have a sandwich in lieu of lunch. We were assigned our rooms and after depositing the luggage we took off again in the bus to see the fishing area and the way in which the nets were disposed. We proved too late for this so proceeded onward to the Kerala Kathakali Center. This is a center dedicated to preserving the rich culture and arts of Kerala. Here, we arrived at about 5.30 p.m. to witness the elaborate make-up routine of the all-male cast of the Kathakali performance. The make-up and costumes are elaborate in the extreme.
At 6 p.m., our announcer, who was also the singer, informed us of the origins and nuances of this style of dance/theater. It involves no speech but very expressive facial and hand/arm gestures. The facial expression consists of rapid and exaggerated eye movements, facial ‘twitches’ and broad and graceful, for the most part, arm and hand gestures. A lexicon of the various gestures was demonstrated, such as fear, anger, love, go, come back, etc. This preceded the actual performance which concerned a powerful man and a woman (of course). The story was contained in a sheet we were given at the outset and I will go into that in a later post after this one.
The performance which we could interpret by means of recalling the various gestures was very dramatic and did not end happily. It was accompanied by atonal singing, redolent of fado or flamenco, as well as drumming and the sounds of the small hand accordion like instrument.
At the end of the performance, the announcer related the many activities which are held at the center including yoga, music, dance, meditation and other cultural events.
From here we went to the Fort House Hotel where there is an open-air sea-food restaurant. Here we had a great meal for which the bill came to a mere $20 for the two of us.
Then it was back to the hotel and some much-needed sleep.
In Kochi, we transferred again to a bus, similarly crammed with luggage and proceeded through the town to the hotel. There were immediate and marked differences to our surroundings in the southern city in the State of Kerala from what we had seen in the northern cities, Traffic was more manageable, the surroundings were greener and lusher than before, there seemed to be a bit more order in things. A general air of greater prosperity seemed to prevail. However, the first thing that hit us was the temperature which was in the 90’s F, (30’s C), far different from the cooler temperatures in the north where they had been in the 70’s F (low 20’s C) and even cooler in the mornings
We arrived at the Le Meridien hotel and started our check in. There were computer problems and thus we had to wait for our rooms and took this chance to have a sandwich in lieu of lunch. We were assigned our rooms and after depositing the luggage we took off again in the bus to see the fishing area and the way in which the nets were disposed. We proved too late for this so proceeded onward to the Kerala Kathakali Center. This is a center dedicated to preserving the rich culture and arts of Kerala. Here, we arrived at about 5.30 p.m. to witness the elaborate make-up routine of the all-male cast of the Kathakali performance. The make-up and costumes are elaborate in the extreme.
At 6 p.m., our announcer, who was also the singer, informed us of the origins and nuances of this style of dance/theater. It involves no speech but very expressive facial and hand/arm gestures. The facial expression consists of rapid and exaggerated eye movements, facial ‘twitches’ and broad and graceful, for the most part, arm and hand gestures. A lexicon of the various gestures was demonstrated, such as fear, anger, love, go, come back, etc. This preceded the actual performance which concerned a powerful man and a woman (of course). The story was contained in a sheet we were given at the outset and I will go into that in a later post after this one.
The performance which we could interpret by means of recalling the various gestures was very dramatic and did not end happily. It was accompanied by atonal singing, redolent of fado or flamenco, as well as drumming and the sounds of the small hand accordion like instrument.
At the end of the performance, the announcer related the many activities which are held at the center including yoga, music, dance, meditation and other cultural events.
From here we went to the Fort House Hotel where there is an open-air sea-food restaurant. Here we had a great meal for which the bill came to a mere $20 for the two of us.
Then it was back to the hotel and some much-needed sleep.
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