French Kathakali Artists Performs At UDS - Kovalam

A 14-member team of musicians, dancers and circus artists from France are attending an intensive Kathakali workshop in Trivandrum. With the support of the French Government, a French cultural organisation, Bheeshama Art and Culture and the Satsangam International Centre for Art and Culture are conducting this programme. Kalamandalam Prasad, Kavalam Satheesh Kumar, Ajith Kumar and Maryse Noiseux are training this team from France. Incidentally, Maryse Noiseux also runs the Satsangam Centre, which was founded by the Kathakali Maestro, Kudamaloor Karunakaran Nair.

As part of their programme this team has staged shows in Trivandrum. Recently they were invited by Uday Samudra (UDS) - Kovalam Resort to perform. "UDS and me personally love the rich culture of India and we always make sure to have 'a well set stage' at Uday Samudra for all the cultural arts of Kerala and India. It is pretty obvious that the cultures of India are unbeaten in the world of arts where many artists from other countries show interest in learning our cultural arts," says Raja Gopaal Iyer, corporate director, UDS, Kovalam. "It is really a novelty in the world of arts that the revered French artists are learning Kathakali in Kerala. As a lover of arts, UDS felt that it is our duty and privilege to express our high appreciation to them by inviting them to perform at UDS.

This is also sign of our attitude of honouring foreign artists and the sign of expressing our gratitude towards the artists of Kerala." He further added, "UDS does spend time on promoting the Culture and Heritage of Kerala and we sell smile-services."