Preparing to be “Pacha” It takes a long time to get into character for a traditional Kathakali performance. At the Great K V Kathakali Center in Fort Kochi, Kerala, much of the preparation takes place on stage, so visitors can watch some of the complex process.
It was hot. And dark. And chaotically noisy.
And, I loved every minute of it!
To a non-Indian, a Kathakali dance performance can best be described as a Punch and Judy show on steroids.
One of India’s many forms of regional classical dance, Kathakali is unique to Kerala on India’s southwestern Malabar Coast. After spending a magically quiet time on the Kerala Backwaters with a small group, experiencing the evening Kathakali performance in Fort Kochi was a complete contrast!
The name comes from the Malayalam words katha (കഥ), meaning a story, conversation, or traditional tale, and kaḷi (കളി) meaning a performance or play. As with other Indian dance forms, the story-telling dance-drama involves complex stylised movements and hand gestures, as well as intricate eye- and facial-expressions, all of which take years to master.
Kathakali performances developed out of temple and folk arts, and date back to early Hindu texts. With traditional themes from folk stories, religious legends, and the Hindu epics, the narratives all centre around the eternal fight between good and evil.
Traditionally, the shows started at dusk and continued through until dawn, or even ran over several nights, starting at dusk each day. Modern productions are shorter: the one I attended at the Great K V Kathakali Center in Fort Kochi, Kerala, was a one-hour introductory performance, aimed at visitors. Before the actual show – from about 5pm – the artists applied their own and each other’s makeup on stage, so you could watch some of the lengthy and exacting process involved in getting ready. Then, a narrator/host had one of the performers demonstrate the eye, face, hand and body movements intended to convey specific meanings – all to a cacophony of cymbals and drums.
On this particular night, the performance itself was “Kiratham”: a popular piece written by Irattakkulangara Rama Warrier, who is believed to have lived in the first half of the 18th century. Broadly, it involves a fight between Arjunan (Arjuna), a prince and expert archer, and the Lord Shiva, one of the principal Gods of the Universe. Other characters include Parvathi, Shiva’s consort/wife; and King Duryodhana and his emissary Mookasura, who has taken the form of a wild boar. Shiva disguises himself as a forest-dwelling hunter, the boar is killed, fights ensue, arrows turn into flowers, and a bow is destroyed. It is all very noisy and confusing, but in the end, everyone is forgiven and lives happily …
So, never mind the story – come meet the performers:
The Theatre Seating in the two-story Great K.V Kathakali Center theatre is assigned, but I took the opportunity to wander around before the actual performance.
Concentration On the stage, the performers – traditionally all males – get into their stylised makeup.
Green Paint Pacha (green) characters are usually pious, gentle, and noble. This face will eventually become Parvathi, Shiva’s consort.
Paste and Paint The Chutti worn by some characters is a white raised structure around the jawline to enhance facial contours and reflect low lighting. They were originally made from rice powder paste, but are now built from paper.
Yellow Paint and Black Eyeliner The makeup goes on one layer at a time.
Accoutrements Some places now rely on acrylic paints, while traditional makeup uses coconut oil as a base, with powdered stones to make the yellow, green, and reds; lime and rice flour for the white; and gingelly oil to make the black.
Perfecting Arjunan’s Chutti
Painting White over the Black Although black is often used to represent evil and wickedness, in this case the character is Shiva, in his forest-dweller disguise.
Sacred Floor Decorations Our host/narrator stamps rice flour or chalk in front of the stage. In South India, you see new patterns on people’s doorsteps every morning: they bring prosperity and protect the home.
Pretty in Green
Demonstrating Eye Movements The facial expressions and eye movements are quite dramatic – I got dizzy watching this man point his eyes in all directions!
Demonstrating Postures Every movement is accompanied by tambour drums and clanging cymbals.
Arjunan the Archer The actual play starts with Arjunan, a great archer, who apparently suffers from excessive ego.
Arjunan Dancers wear metal tips on the fingers of their left hands to make the hand gestures more visible.
Performance Arjunan climbs onto a box – perhaps to demonstrate his pride.
Shiva and Parvathi Parvathi, looking very mischievous, persuades Shiva to act against Arjunan.
The Disguise To catch Arjunan, Shiva and Parvathi disguise themselves as forest dwellers.
Forest Dwellers
Shiva, Parvathi and Arjunan Once they meet Arjunan, a disguised boar is killed and Arjunan fights with Shiva, not knowing who he is.
Parvathi It all gets very confusing: Parvathi turns arrows into flowers and persuades Shiva to forgive Arjunan.
Conference In the end, all is forgiven …
Repentant … and Arjunan is granted a magic arrow, to be used for Good.
Truly, I was lost most of the time! Even with the narration, much of what I was seeing made no sense.
But the colour and costuming alone made it worthwhile.
Although I was happy to get back out to the relative quiet of an Indian street, I booked myself a seat at another performance another evening.
The Blues in Pink The Thredbo Blues Festival in Kosciuszko National Park, Australia, always features some of my favourite artists, like Leesa Gentz – who we see here belting out an original from Hussy Hicks.
Fresh air, mountain walks, and music – it doesn’t get much better than January in Thredbo!
This year marked the 30th iteration of the Thredbo Blues Festival: three days of quality music in Thredbo Village:Australia’s highest alpine resort (albeit not very high!), known for its skiing in winter and hiking and mountain biking in summer.
Although I haven’t made it to all 30 festivals (by a long shot!), I have attended a few (see: Thredbo Blues), and always really look forward to attending. This year, I was lucky enough to have a couple of friends join me, and we enjoyed the mountain as much as the music. With 23 bands and multiple venues to choose from, we got plenty of exercise negotiating the extensive site.
Photographically, this festival is always a challenge: cramped spaces make for difficult angles and the lighting shoots off in all the wrong directions! One minute I’m in bright sunlight and the next minute I’m in a darkened bar. For me, that is part of the fun: trying to come up with new perspectives on often-difficult subjects.
Let me know what you think!
Owen Campbell Trio The festival always kicks off on the Friday afternoon with an open-air performance in the Village Square.
Owen Campbell It might still be summer, but the weather can be cold here in the mountains. I first saw Owen Campbell here – many, many years ago.
Guitarist
Darren Jack Indoors, the window shades against the sun make it feel like late night …
In the Schuss Bar … as Darren Jack pounds out his powerhouse guitar and vocals.
Hussy Hicks We have a dinner-show in the Cascades Restaurant.
Julz Parker I make sure to catch Hussy Hicks any time I can!
Leesa Gentz
The Bondi Cigars in the Kosciuszko Room As far as I could tell, it was an all-Australian line up this year, with many of the performers doubling up to help each other out.
James Southwell Shane Pacey, the usual frontman for the Bondi Cigars, is struggling with a double hip replacement; James Southwell who also performed as a solo act, stepped in.
Leanne Paris Downstairs in the Keller Bar …
Mal Eastick … a full band has the crowd on their feet.
Music The music continued well into the night – but we had to go home to bed for the early start the next day.
Foreday Riders We were back bright and early Saturday. Brothers Jeff King (guitar) and Ron King (harmonica/vocals) formed this band in 1967. I first saw them at the Basement in Sydney back in the 1980s.
Robert Susz I also remember the Mighty Reapers from the 1980s. On Saturday morning, they were playing in the ThredboVillage Square.
On the Chairlift We had a lunch-date in Australia’s highest restaurant; unfortunately, we rode into cloud at the top of the Kosciuszko Express Chairlift and so didn’t get much of a view on the way up the mountain!
Rory Ellis This is another of my favourite performers, and I was happy to introduce his growling-deep vocals and wonderful story-telling to my friends.
Rocky Trail Down the Ramshead Although I could have taken the chair back down the mountain, I always opt to walk the four kilometre (2.5 mile) track.
Into the Woods Fortunately, the weather cleared while we were enjoying our lunch performance.
The Colours of the Snow Gum I’m quite sure this trail gets steeper and rougher every year!
Ghost Gums
Grass Trigger Plant – Stylidium Graminifolium Many of the plants here are endemic to Australia.
Blue Flax Lily Grass – Dianella Tasmanica
The Colours of the Bush The silver snow daisies (Celmisia tomentella) finished early this year; I was lucky to find one late-bloomer.
Brown Caterpillar – Heteronympha Solandri
Genevieve Chadwick Back in the Schuss Bar, Julz Parker is helping Genevieve Chadwick on guitar.
Bass Player in Blue We headed back to the Cascades Restaurant for another dinner performance; this time it was the Bondi Cigars, with Alan Britton on bass and Frank Corby on drums.
Roshani Rhythm, soul, and folk blues performer Roshani opened Sunday with a wonderful rendition of Amazing Grace.
Julz Parker We took the gondola up to Merritts for some blues in the sunshine with Hussy Hicks.
Hussy Hicks Minnie Marks swaped out her drum kit for a turn on lead guitar.
Bek Jensen Duo How many times have I walked up and down those (and other) stairs this weekend?
Frank Sultana Blues Band These Delta-inspired tunes were a treat!
Drum Solo Adrian Herbert rounded out Frank Sultana’s set.
Old Standards In the Lounge Bar, the King brothers take us through the blues classics.
Ron King on Harmonica
Steve Edmonds Also fronting his own band during the festival, Steve filled in for Shane Pacey in the Foreday lineup.
Nathan Cavaleri This was one act I had to catch before heading home: I last saw Nathan as a young teen, on stage with the inimitable B B King!
There was a lot more music, but we were flagging.
I headed back down the mountain with a song in my heart.
Exploring the Cannery Even in the rain, the North Pacific Cannery on the Skeena River in British Columbia, Canada, is a charming place to explore.
It was raining.
But, it was early June – so still part of a wet spring – and I was only a 15 minute drive away from Prince Rupert, the rainiest city in Canada.
So, wet weather was to be expected.
I was staying in Prince Rupert while on a road trip around British Columbia (BC). The day before, I had treated myself to a boat trip into grizzly bear territory (see: Khutzeymateen Provincial Park). That evening, I had a booking for the evening ferry to Haida Gwaii (Watch this space!), so I needed a short, local excursion.
The North Pacific Cannery museum fit the bill perfectly!
Originally built in 1889, the site was restored after the North Coast Marine Museum Society was formed in 1979. Today it is the oldest surviving salmon cannery in BC and a designated national historic site.
Even today, this site feels remote. Back when the cannery was opened, it must have felt even more so! But, the huge seasonal salmon runs through these west-coast waters were ready to be tapped. In the days before refrigerated boats, the harvest had to be quickly processed near to the actual fishing grounds, and a number of self-contained cannery-communities – accessible only by rail or water – were built to house the workers required.
The North Pacific Cannery was the longest running of these operations, canning salmon through to 1968. Over time, it witnessed a lot of changes in the processing methodology. In the days before mechanisation, everything was done by hand: even the cans were made by Chinese tinsmiths! Some of the tools and machines from across the years are on display in the main cannery building. The administration offices and some of the residences are also open to wander through.
The catchphrase of the Museum is “History with a View”, and the site is indeed in the most magnificent setting, with clear waters and dramatic mountains all around. The high point for me, however, was Mama’s Mess House Cafe where I enjoyed a delicious lunch of historically inspired cuisine.
Join me for a rainy walk through some unique and original BC architecture:
The North Pacific Cannery National Historic Site From the parking lot, I already get a taste of the historical wooden buildings rising out of the waters of the Skeena River. Access to railways in the early 1900s changed the fortunes of many of these early enterprises.
Dock Ruins I love the tumble-down nature of a lot of the surrounds here; I much prefer this to a site that is overly-renovated, to the point where you have no sense of the age!
A Lunch in the Mess Corbin’s salmon chowder and Al’s butter biscuits made for a wonderful lunch and respite from the rain.
Al and Corbin The two young cooks agreed to pose for me before closing up shop.
The Skeena River from the North Pacific Cannery
Cannery Buildings The red shingle roofs make a nice contrast to the expanse of green forest.
Window in a Staff Cottage The cosy worker’s cottages were segregated by ethnic group – as were the jobs.
A Living Room Much of the First Nation- and Chinese-worker housing was removed when the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway came through. Most of the Japanese-occupied buildings have been lost through obsolescence and neglect …
Still Life Found : a Tea Set and a Hurricane Lamp … but a few sample items have been put on display for illustrative purposes.
Bath House Japanese workers insisted on something resembling a traditional bath house.
An Old Kitchen
The House Next Door Wood is plentiful in these parts; flat ground is not so easy to come by. Houses on pylons over the water are not uncommon.
Wet Wooden Walkway The advantage of the rain (!!) is that it makes for wonderful reflections and shine. (iPhone12Pro)
History Lessons The site saw a lot of changes over its almost 90 years of continuous salmon production and fish processing.
“I See People!”
In the Rain
Textures in the Rust Most things are labeled with their purpose; I’m more interested in the patterns and shapes!
Cannery Machinery Over time, the process of canning salmon became much more mechanised.
Conveyer Belt This mechanisation lead, of course, to a loss of jobs.
Wheels and Gears I can’t remember what this is for – time travel, perhaps?
A Wet Wharf
More Lines and Angles Not all of the buildings are open to the public, but it was still lovely wandering across the wooden walkways.
Pylons in the Rain The walkways lead off in all directions.
Barn Swallow – Hirundo Rustica A little swallow was the only wildlife I saw that day!
It really was a lovely way to spend a few hours, and revisit some of British Columbia’s rich historical heritage.
The Next Generation At the family-run Platia Taverna and Cooking School on Naxos, we had hands-on practice making traditional Greek dishes under the watchful eyes of local cooks – all in an enviable setting.
One of the many joys of travel is the food – and the excuse to sample new cuisines.
I especially love participating in locally based cooking classes: not because I have any intention of replicating the recipes at home, but because I love photographing the colours and textures (eg: Weekly Wanders Cooking Class). I enjoy hearing about the local ingredients and the rationale behind putting them together in particular ways – and I relish eating the results.
Everywhere I went in Greece, the food was wonderful: every mouthful was bursting with fresh wholesomeness. So, I was really pleased to see that the small group I was travelling with in the Cyclades was going to have a cooking class at the Platia Restaurant in Galini Village on the island of Naxos.
In addition to making several dishes under the very-watchful eyes of three Greek women, we visited the family farm to see where some of the ingredients were sourced. The whole setting was idyllic, and the lunch – accompanied by home-made ouzo – was mouth-watering.
Join me for a freshly-cooked meal in Greece:
Everything is Ready When we arrived, shortly before 11am, everything was laid out neatly in the bright and airy restaurant space.
Utensils and the Garden Outside the large windows, the garden is fresh and inviting.
Sisters in the Kitchen The older cooks keep a very watchful eye on everything!
Implements Ready Gleaming like surgical instruments, the tools for preparing the vegetables are organised.
Demonstrating Technique The cooks show the participants how to core the capsicum in preparation for stuffing. (iPhone12Pro)
Chopping Herbs Meanwhile, herbs are chopped finely for the Tzatziki dip. (iPhone12Pro)
Still Life Found : Baskets of Vegetables (iPhone12Pro)
Home-Made Tomato Paste Rich tomato sauce is added to a cooked rice mixture. (iPhone12Pro)
Stuffing Capsicum The herbed rice and tomato mixture is stuffed into the cleaned capsicums before baking. (iPhone12Pro)
Stuffing the Vegetables We all spend some time stuffing the capsicums, eggplants, and other vegetables. (Not My Image)
Oiling the Vegetables … and they are drizzled with olive oil before going into a roasting oven. (iPhone12Pro)
Stuffed Vegetables Once the capsicum are stuffed, the caps are replaced, …
Frying Meatballs Next, it is time to mix, shape, and fry the meatballs. (iPhone12Pro)
A Natural Smile
Bicycle in the Yard The sun is high on the courtyard, …
A Clean Airy Space … and back inside, the room has been magically put back to rights!
To the Farm While our vegetables roast, we take a short trip to the nearby farm property. (iPhone12Pro)
Farmer in his Orchard The owner leads us into his property.
Past the Hives
Quince – Cydonia Oblonga
Farmer Our guide points out some of the fruit that is ripening, …
Citron – Citrus Medica … including some which is less familiar to us.
Pomegranate – Punica Granatum
Farmer and his Old Pump As old as this pump is, it still supplies water in times of need.
Still Life Found : Old Machinery
Lunch We are back at the restaurant in time for our meal to come out of the oven. (iPhone12Pro)
Almost Sunrise I was on a hill in the Sahara sands at Erg Chebb in Morocco to watch the sun rise over the horizon. (iPhone15Pro)
A new day is full of promise.
As is the New Year.
In theory, we can start again fresh. In practice of course, the dawn is just a continuation of time.
Still, climbing up a sand dune in Erg Chebb in Morocco, not far from the Algerian border, filled me with hope.
I had walked into the dunes the evening before to enjoy the sunset (see: A Night in the Sahara Desert), and set my alarm early to repeat the climb in the murky darkness of morning before the sun was up. I was travelling with a small group, and had spent the night at the Golden Camp, near the town of Merzouga at the very north-western edge of the Sahara Desert. We were surrounded by hills of rippling sand and blanketed by stars.
Join me for a very short walk in the sands of the Sahara.
Predawn in the Dunes Another desert camp, much like ours, comes into view in the early morning light.
Waiting for Sunrise It was quiet, and I only saw one other person against the undulating vastness of the Sahara.
Predawn Dunes Colour creeps into the sky.
Dawn The morning colours over the landscape change quickly.
Orange Sky
Sunrise (iPhone15Pro)
Camels on the Horizon The camels that transport visitors in and out of the desert camps are ready for their first trip.
Three Camels
A Camel In spite of the nasty reputation that camels have …
Camel Portrait … I love their gentle-looking faces.
Bedouin Handler and his Camels A cameleer in his colourful garb readies his team. (iPhone15Pro)
Nature’s Artworks: Waves in the Sand (iPhone15Pro)
Rolling Sands As I make my way back to my tent, I take one last look. (iPhone15Pro)
The new day was well underway: time to prepare to leave the Sahara behind, and look forward to new frontiers.
As this year unfolds, I wish you and yours all the best.
- Performing the Ganga Aarti from Dasaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi
- Buddha Head from Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar
- Harry Clarke Window from Dingle, Ireland
- Novice Monk Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, Myanmar
Packets of 10 for $AU50.
Or - pick any photo from my Flickr or Wanders blog photos.
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