Thiruvathirakali or Kaikottikali is an really well-liked folk dance performed by the ladies of Kerala. It is a group dance and is mainly carried out on the occasion of Onam and Thiruvathira. Girls, equally youthful and outdated submerge themselves in the spirit of the occasion and dance with best ease and e ¢lan.
The Costume: Kaikottikali is viwed as a very sophisticated dance kind as the Lasya and the attractiveness element predominates. Despite the fact that an element of thandava (folk dance in Onam to ruin the universe) is included when guys also participate. The thandava dominant sort is witnessed in few parts of Malabar Region.
The Dance: Excellent co-ordination is depicted in the Kaikottikali as the live performers, usually 8 to ten in range, clap in unison. Performers shift in circles occasionally in clockwise and at times in anti-clockwise instructions, gracefully bending in lest side as they do so. Dancers fantastically co-ordinate their hand steps as they clapping upwards & downwards in tempo with the conquer & in tune with the rhyms they are singing.
Usually, the ladies shift in a circle all around an intricately decorated (flower rangoli) pookalam at the middle of which is positioned a nilavilakku (conventional brass lamp). One of the dancers in the first line start a line & the other people at the back again repeat it as chorus.
Stories depicted in Kaikottikali be obliged their birth to Kathakali, a professional dance type of Kerala. ‘Ragachaya’ of Kaikottikali derives its begining from Kathakali. Accordingly, the folk songs are based mostly on episodes such as Krishna-leela, Kuchelavritham, Shakunthalam and Dhruvacharithram. Higher emphasis is presented to the rhythmic steps than mudra.
Common ragas discovered in Kaikottikali songs incorporate Hussaini, Kamboji and Bhairavi. Though on numerous occasions songs deviate from old stories & make use of folk stories. At times, devotional songs are rendered in the prayer of Ganapati, Saraswati and Krishna. Unique songs are sung in praise of the King Mahabali as according to a well-known legend, the Onam festival enjoys the arrival of the ruler to the Kerala state.