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THE ARTS
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Southern India has a wide range of arts on offer and the
different states often have their own individual art forms.
These include the dance forms of Bharatanatyam and
Mohiniyattam, the ritual performances of Kathakali and
Theyyam, Carnatic music and mural painting. Many of the
larger hotels and resorts offer live performances. The
performing arts of Kerala are taught at the academy (the
Kerala Kalamandalam) at Cheruthuruthi and visitors are
welcome.
India is justly famous for its crafts and textiles and many
people buy fabrics while on holiday in south India. There
are many shops where you can buy Indian fabrics and if you
want the clothes made in Indian there are plenty of tailors
around. The large department stores have a wide range and
there is also a chain of shops called Fabindia (with
branches across south India) where you can chose wonderful
hand made fabrics as well as ready made Indian clothes and
household items. Some hotels (eg Coconut Lagoon and
Kumarakom Lake Resort) have local people carrying out
traditional crafts (eg basket weaving or pottery) within the
grounds and their products can be purchased.
Just south of Chennai is Dakshina Chitra, a non-profit
community project of the Madras Craft Foundation. Dakshina
Chitra is open daily (except Tuesdays) from 10am to 6pm and
within the grounds visitors will find replica buildings of
typical houses of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh as well as crafts people practicing their art and
plenty of opportunities to buy items.
For sculpture you need to visit Mahabalipuram. The sculpture
from this area is famous and the pieces (often huge Hindu
deities) are transported all over India.
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