A Divine Nostalgia by ARTICPOL

Theyyam is an extremely beautiful ritualistic artform of Northern Kerala, India. With its detailed body art it is inexplicably charming. It's divine. It's powerful. It's a saga of mysterious stories of the past. Those of valour, heroism, war, devotion, love...

Theyyam fills the heart with nostalgia... Those childhood days when we used to gather with friends to watch this out of the world performance.

Majestically decorated figures. Some inducing fear. Some hilarious. Some adventurous. Some amazing... We as kids would spent our nights and days there.

These performances would occur in the summer at sacred Kavus and Kotams. These are shrines of the Gods. People would crowd to watch them with awe, respect and devotion.

Tumultuous sounds of the unique drums (Chenda) and the fireworks would keep us mesmerized..

The sound.. The crackers... The sun... the people... The twilight... The flashing embers... The summer breeze...