I had a tough time sleeping last night. Something I ate the prior day hasn't settled well with my stomach. Considering this I change my itinerary and stay in the homestay one more night to wait it out. By 1 PM, I'm feeling better and getting hungry. Risking it, I take a rickshaw to the last historical site I've yet to visit, Mattancherry Palace. After receiving an interesting history lesson of the Royal Indian family and grabbing a fresh but bland lunch, I head back to the homestay to freshen up before attending a cultural presentation of the Keralan's local dance, Kathikali. Having fully recovered from the bout with my stomach, I begin to really look forward to attending. Like all ethnic groups all over the world, the people of this region are trying to preserve a dying art form, in this case their dance form. In this day and age where everything is slowly being homogenized, preserving one's identity is a really noble undertaking.
The Kathakali dance performance was fun and very unique. Indicative of this type of dance is the complex use of 9 facial expressions, 24 hand gestures, and of course the footwork. The background music was an interplay of traditional and modern which didn't quite make it authentic, but did provide an upbeat tempo.
After the performance and another so so dinner, Sam (who happened to book the same show) and I made our way back to our favorite haunt, "Cochin Fort Restaurant" where we had ice cold "teas" in their respective bottles. We talked the night away with a Vancouver couple, Bob and Vicky who we met at Saj Homes.
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