A strip of land the size of Switzerland holds classical theatre, dance-drama, martial arts and some of the most complex percussion anywhere. Start with കൂടിയാട്ടം, Sanskrit theatre with around two thousand years of unbroken performance, and the solo storyteller licensed to mock anyone in the audience. Then കഥകളി: the colour-coded face make-up, the silent actors, the hand-gesture vocabulary of മുദ്ര and the nine emotional flavours, set beside Aristotle and beside Noh, Kabuki and Peking opera. The class closes with Mohiniyattam, Kalaripayattu, the great drum ensembles and the words to talk about any performance. Words and phrases in this class: കൂടിയാട്ടം (koodiyaattam) – Koodiyattam, Sanskrit theatre കഥകളി (kathakali) – Kathakali, story-play ചുട്ടി (chutti) – stylised Kathakali face make-up മുദ്ര (mudra) – hand gesture നവരസം (navarasam) – the nine emotional flavours മോഹിനിയാട്ടം (mohiniyaattam) – dance of the enchantress കളരിപ്പയറ്റ് (kalarippayattu) – Kerala's martial art ചെണ്ട (chenda) – cylindrical drum played with sticks പഞ്ചവാദ്യം (panchavaadyam) – five-instrument ensemble കലാകാരൻ (kalaakaaran) – artist നൃത്തം (nruththam) – dance അരങ്ങ് (arangu) – the stage താളം (thaalam) – rhythm ഇന്ന് കഥകളി ഉണ്ടോ? (innu kathakali undo?) – is there Kathakali today? In this class: • Koodiyattam, the oldest continuously performed theatre tradition • Reading Kathakali: face colours, mudras and the nine rasas • Kathakali beside Noh, Kabuki and Peking opera: one problem, separate solutions • Mohiniyattam, Kalaripayattu, the drums, and arts vocabulary Quizzes below. Dr. Reshmi R Nair — SpeakMalayalam.