Padayani

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Padayani or padeni colloquial speech, is one of the most colourful and spectacular ritual art associated with the festivals of certain temples in southern Kerala, south India. It is usually seen in Alappuzha, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts. The word padayani literally means military formations or rows of army, but in this folk art we have mainly a series of divine and semi-divine impersonations wearing huge masks or kolams of different shapes, colours and desingns painted on the stalks of arecanut fronds.