A midnight memory from 20 years ago flickers into focus.
Koyyuru, a small village near Belthangady taluk in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district, is clothed in darkness. Even the forest enveloping it loses all shape and colour-a verdant green-not wanting to give itself away. Sleep, too, flees. Anticipation is in the air. The rhythmic notes of the clarinet and the beating of drums spice it up.
The only light comes from the amber mantles of petromax lanterns, and in its dancing glow emerges the yellow visage of Panjurli daiva. The demigod has descended, taking a human form. He dances fiercely as part of a ritualistic art form called Bhootada Kola. The performance takes place during the Nemotsava, an annual event in coastal Karnataka where spirits and demigods like the much-dreaded and revered Panjurli are invoked.
This story is from the January 07, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the January 07, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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