India: Annual mask dance festival intrigues locals

Locals thronged Thrissur district of Indias southern Kerala state on Sunday to catch a glimpse of the spectacular mask dances, an annual event during the harvest festival, ‘Onam’.During the ten-day festival of Onam, several cultural events are organised and one of the most prominent attractions of the festival is the popular ‘Kumattikali’ or the tribals’ mask dance, inspired from the tales of Hindu mythology.In the earlier centuries, folklores narrate of Kummattikalli performers travelling from house to house, entertaining people and collecting gifts like jaggery, rice and cash.The folk dancers, dressed in beautiful costumes, wear heavily painted colourful wooden masks depicting visages of various mythological characters like Krishna, Narada, Tirath and Darika.