Ritual art forms are a blend of faith and myth. The crux of it lies in the gripping performances, often beyond the understanding of our sense of perception. As a person who tend to lose himself in story-telling, it was quite natural of me to find the ritual art form of ‘ Theyyam’ astonishing. The experience of watching it in person came true only after many struggles, and it was even tricky to capture the exhilarating performance through the eyes of a camera.
Theyyam, an ritual art form, prominently preformed in Northern Kerala, are of 400 different kind; "Kandanar Kelan" among them, is widely popular especially for the fire run of Kelan. It has always been in my plan to watch it and capture such a hauntingly amazing traditional art form. Perhaps the myth behind it is the another factor for evoking such an enthusiasm.
The swift movements of Kandanar Kelan, the burning fire, all made it more challenging to capture 'Theyyam' on camera. I am proudly presenting "THE KANDANAR KELAN".