A typical program includes the following elements:

• traditional Indian welcome with flowers, rose water, sandal paste and karkandu (sugar candy)

• witnessing the make-up process while Dr. Hanne M. de Bruin-Rajagopal introduces you to Kattaikkuttu, its social status, performances and rituals

• live Kattaikkuttu demonstration

• opportunity to have a photo-op with the artists in full costume

• (optional) a traditional, vegetarian South Indian lunch prepared with the produce from our organic farm

• (optional) a guided tour of the farm

A performance starts with a puja (worship or prayer) followed by the make-up. This intricate process, which can take up more than one hour, is the beginning of the transformation of an actor from self into character. The transformation continues when the actor comes onstage behind a hand-held curtain to introduce himself through a series of songs. It culminates when the curtain is whisked away, allowing the spectator to see the character for the first time in his full glory.

A typical visit as part of a touristic program requires about 2 hours to allow guests to relish the program and the ambiance. The Visitors Program is uniquely fit for travel organizations catering to guests interested in India’s rich performance culture, education and social reality. Through this Program you allow your customers a unique, immersive experience into a part of Indian culture and life that is real and non-touristic and that usually remains out of bounds.

We cater to individual guests and groups and have worked with international travel experts, such as Peirce & Leslie and Studiosus, as well as with a number of Indian travel organizations.