Indian Artist and Art Critic Set to Bring Kathakali to Life at Rice University’s Hudspeth Auditorium

“A Window to the World of Kathakali” featuring two programs is set for Oct. 19 at Hudspeth Auditorium in Rice’s Anderson-Clarke Center.

The event will feature a public lecture and demonstration highlighting the intricate mudras (hand gestures) and movements of India’s Kathakali and a public performance offering an abbreviated experience of the classical dance-theater tradition.

“Houstonians are privileged to have access to world-class practitioners of numerous Indian classical arts and dance traditions like Bharatanatyam and Kathak,” said Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan, assistant professor of English at Rice. “But Kathakali is something we don’t often see — perhaps because unabbreviated performances that retell epics like the Mahabharata and Ramayana can go on for many hours. It is a real treat to be able to bring the esteemed Kathakali artist Kalamandalam Manoj Kumar along with renowned art critic V. Kaladharan to Rice to share this tradition.”

Kathakali, which literally means “story play,” is a highly evolved dance-theater tradition that originated in Kerala in South India in the 17th century. It is an amalgam of dance, drama and music with elaborate ornamentation and heavily stylized makeup and costuming.

The lecture will be 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. and the performance will be 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Doors will open for the performance at 6 p.m., and a reception will follow the event.

This event was made possible through support from the Chao Center for Asian Studies, the School of Humanities and the Department of English.