The Story Behind: Vishnumurthy Thottam

I have countless posts on Theyyams here, but none on the ‘Thottam Pattu’…

Each Theyyam performance is preceded by it’s Thottam, where the theyyam artist, with minimal make up, recites the story of theyyam.

Vishnumurthy theyyam is one of the most important and common theyyam performed as it’s based on lord Vishnu’s fourth avatar (incarnation), Narasimha.

The performance is so intense that, we get the true intensity of violence as the story unfolds.

The story is enacted on the following day without any recitation but with the rhythmic drum beats manipulating each step of the theyyam …

Theyyam: The divine dance from gods own country

Let me Reblog my post on “theyyam” which was published in “Life In Russia” yesterday here,

Life in Russia

Do you ever get a feeling when you see an amazing picture, maybe a bit of Deja vu, maybe some goosebumps for some unknown reason, that you’ve been there before or the photos you are looking at come from some other worldly place. I knew when I first saw Sreejith’s work that he has an amazing eye. Very few photographers are able to catch the moment with such realism and yet with a bit of mystery. I am so honored to present his work and blog here on “Life in Russia”. You can find more of his work here: Santiago the Shepherd

The Gods in Action

Have you ever got a chance to see gods in action?

They descent to earth, dance to the drum beats and talks to you…

It’s sheer magic that unfolds right in front of your eyes when you are watching a “theyyam” dancer performs.

For…

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