Poorakkali Festival at Muchilott Bhagavathy Temple, Payyannur

The dance of Poorakkali is performed by men as part of the Poorakkali Festival in northern Kerala. This spring festival is chiefly associated with the worship of Kama, the god of love, and celebrates the spirit of love. The dance has several categories and begins with invocations to deities like Ganapati, Krishna and Saraswati; followed by obeisance to elemental forces. This video shows an extract from the Poorakkali dances performed at Muchilott Bhagavathy Temple at Payyannur as part of Pooram Festival of 2017. The performers dance the first and the most important category of Poorakkali called pooramala. Pooramala has eighteen modes of songs called nirams, all invoking Lord Vishnu, and ending in 'Narayana Hari Narayana'. They are played out one after the other.