Dancing for goddess Bhadrakali!

Padayani is a ritual art form of dance performed during the annual Ritualistic festival of Padayani in Kerala. This dance is dedicated to Goddess Bhadrakali the most popular form of Devi in Kerala, considered as auspicious and fortunate by the people. The theatrical performance of Padayani is based on the triumph of Bhadrakali over the demon Daruka (Daarikan) and other evil characters. This dance is also associated mans relationship with nature -- the land and climate. In summary, The Padayani form of dance is intertwined with the Shiva and Shakti cult.
Padayani is performed in the Kerala Central Districts of Alappuzha (coastal), Pathanamthitta (Mountains) and Southern Kerala. The dance includes various aesthetics of life such as humour, colour, history, therapy and an advocacy of mutual co-existence. Padayani Dance could go on for Twenty- Eight Days straight.

This dance was born in Kerala, Known as God's Own Country. It lies between the Lakshadweep sea and the Western Ghats. Kerala has a humid equatorial tropic climate. The eastern Kerala province consists of high mountains, gorges and deep-cut valleys directly to the west of the Western Ghats' rain shadow. The highest peak is Anamudi at an elevated at 2,695 meters. At the west of the mountains lie the midland plains comprising central Kerala, dominated by rolling hills and valleys.

Kerala's western coastal belt is somewhat flat, and is criss-crossed by a network of interconnected brackish canals, lakes, estuaries, and rivers known as the Kerala Backwaters. Around 8% of India's waterways lengthwise are found in Kerala. The most significant of Kerala's forty-four rivers include the Periyar (244 km), the Bharathapuzha (209 km), the Pamba (176 km), the Chaliyar (169 km), the Kadalundipuzha River (130 km), the Valapattanam (129 km) and the Achankovil (128 km). As Kerala's rivers are small and lack deltas, they are more prone to environmental factors.

During summer, Kerala is prone to gale force winds, storm surges, cyclone-related torrential downpours, occasional droughts, and rises in sea level. The mean daily temperatures range from 19.8 °C to 36.7 °C and mean annual temperatures range from 25.0--27.5 °C in the coastal lowlands to 20.0--22.5 °C in the eastern highlands.


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