THE COLOURS OF INDIA
BY BHAVANYA LAXMEE
THE INDIAN TRADITIONS
TAMIL NADU
Arts and dance
Tamils have a large number of folk dances. These are performed for every possible occasion, to celebrate the arrival of seasons, birth of a child, weddings and festivals. Tamil dance is closely intertwined with the Tamil theatrical tradition.
A Bharatanatyam dancer.
Film industry
Main article: Tamil cinema
Tamil Nadu is also home to the Tamil film industry, often colloquially referred to as 'Kollywood'. It is known for being the Second largest film industry in terms of revenue and worldwide distribution, in India after Bollywood.[82] It is based at Kodambakkam in Chennai city.
Cuisine
Main article: Tamil cuisine
Tamil cuisine is typical of south Indian cuisine, in that rice and rice-derived dishes form the major portion of a diet (see rice and curry). There are regional sub-varieties namely Chettinadu, Kongunadu, Madurai, Tirunelveli varieties etc.
KERALA
Performing arts
Dance
Kerala Nadanam ( കേരള നടനം ) (Kerala Dance) is a new style of dance that is now recognised as a distinct art form evolved from Kathakali, a form of Indian dance-drama. The Indian dancer Guru Gopinath ( ഗുരു ഗോപിനാഥ് ) a well-trained Kathakali artist and his wife Thankamani Gopinath who was the first student of Mohiniyattam in Kerala Kalamandalam developed a unique structure for teaching and performing classical dance forms of India whose origins are from Kathakali. Solo, duets, dance dramas and traditional folk dances were the material they chose.
Guru Gopinath and Thankamani's dance programs found traditional pieces existing side by side with those modified to present a variety of themes. Their style relied heavily on the angika abhinaya (body movements and gestures) andsatvika abhinaya (facial expressions) from Kathakali. The major stance of Kathakali was changed by Gopinath to a more convenient pose that could rest well with the tribhanga concept.