Artistes from Kerala present Kathakali at an event in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, July 8: The Kerala Tourism today organised a cultural event here with an aim to increase tourist inflow from Odisha.

The traditions and culture of God’s Own Country (as Kerala is popularly known) were presented at a private hotel in Jayadev Vihar here.

The cultural soiree began with Kathakali, the most famous classical art form of the south Indian state.

Dressed in elaborate costume, Kalamandalam Shivadas, a 47-year-old artiste, enthralled everyone with his expressions. His green painted face bearing a white beard-like border displayed the nine emotions known as nava ras.

“It takes at least three hours to get ready. We mostly enacted stories from Hindu mythology,” said the dancer, who has been performing for around three decades.

The next to follow was a group act of Mohiniattam, another well-known classical dance form of Kerala. Known as the dance of enchantress, it manifests the ethereal charm of feminine. The agile movements of the danseuses were applauded by all present.

Later came a blatant show of bravery. Performing the martial dance form Kalaripayattu, a duo with sharp steel swords launched an assault on each other. Though they looked blood thirsty, their steps were well synchronised even when intimidating their opponent. The sound produced from the clatter of their swords and shields was more music than noise. They went on to showcase their acrobatic skills. The dancers not only showed courage, but also balance. An artiste played with fire, literally performing Thiriuzhichal, a ritual to please the fire god. He took a fired up torch and rubbed it all over his body.

Glimpses of many ritualistic art forms such as Theyyam, Padayani and Poothan were also shown in an hour-long event.

The event concluded with all the 14 artistes coming together and displaying their characteristic steps in a group act. All artistes belonged to Kathakali School based in Kerala. Short films on Kerala’s panoramic beauty were also screened on the occasion.

The Kerala Tourism had invited 150-odd tour operators and interested travellers to showcase them the beauty of the state.

“Kerala has a sizeable Odia populace. We want more Odia tourists coming to our state. At present, around 5,000 visitors from Odisha visit our state every year. We want to increase the number manifold through such promotional endeavours,” said Muraleedharan. P, tourist information officer of the Kerala department of tourism.