In Kathakali, which make-up type is worn by proud anti-hero characters such as Ravana?
- A.Pacha
- B.Kathi
- C.Minukku
- D.Kari
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Kathi. The word means knife, and the make-up is marked by an upturned knife-shaped line drawn on a green base, worn by characters who are brave and powerful but arrogant, of whom Ravana and Duryodhana are the standard examples. Identifying the vesham from the description of the face is a favourite question on Kathakali.
Option A, pacha, is the plain green face of wholly noble heroes such as Rama, Krishna and Arjuna, and is the type most often shown in photographs. Option C, minukku, meaning polished, is the soft and lightly tinted make-up of gentle women, sages and brahmins. Option D, kari, meaning black, is the make-up of demonesses and forest characters. Learn the five together, since papers set them as a matching list: pacha, kathi, thadi, kari and minukku.
Read the full article: Classical Dances of India: Eight Forms, States and Gurus
Practice Questions
View allBharatanatyam is the classical dance form of which Indian state?
- A.Kerala
- B.Tamil Nadu
- C.Karnataka
- D.Andhra Pradesh
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Bharatanatyam grew in the temples of Tamil Nadu, where it was performed by devadasis under the older name sadir or dasiattam, and it was brought to the concert stage in the twentieth century by E. Krishna Iyer and Rukmini Devi Arundale, who founded Kalakshetra at Madras in 1936.
Read the full explanation →Which classical dance form of Kerala is a dance-drama performed with elaborately painted faces and towering headgear?
- A.Mohiniyattam
- B.Kathakali
- C.Kuchipudi
- D.Odissi
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The name means story-play, and the form stages episodes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Its characters are identified by make-up types, chiefly pacha for noble heroes, kathi for proud anti-heroes such as Ravana, thadi for fierce figures, kari for demonesses and minukku for gentle women and sages.
Read the full explanation →The Natya Shastra, the foundational text of Indian classical dance and drama, is attributed to which author?
- A.Nandikeshvara
- B.Bharata Muni
- C.Abhinavagupta
- D.Jayadeva
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The Natya Shastra is the Sanskrit treatise that lays down the grammar every classical form follows, dividing performance into nritta, nritya and natya, naming the four kinds of abhinaya, and describing the rasas.
Read the full explanation →In which year was Sattriya recognised as a classical dance form by the Sangeet Natak Akademi?
- A.1958
- B.1980
- C.2000
- D.2010
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Sattriya of Assam was the eighth and last form to enter the Akademi list, and that single date is the fact papers ask most often about it.
Read the full explanation →The tarangam, in which the dancer performs on the rim of a brass plate, is an item of which classical dance?
- A.Odissi
- B.Kuchipudi
- C.Manipuri
- D.Kathak
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In the tarangam the dancer balances on the raised rim of a brass plate and moves it in rhythm, often with a pot of water carried on the head, which demonstrates the control over balance for which the Andhra form is famous.
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