Making a strong presence of women in the male-dominated Pulikkali festival, 13 ‘tigresses’ pranced though the streets of Thrissur city on Thursday.
About 20 women drummers accompanied to pep up their spirit.
Four women Pulikkali performers rewrote the history of 200-year-old Pulikali last year by breaking the gender barriers. Resonance of their resounding roar drew more women for performance this year.
The women performers under the banner of WINGS (Women’s Integration and Growth through Sports) are performing for the Kottappuram Desham team this time.
“By participating in Pulikkali we are not only carving out a space for women in Pulikkali performance but also among the audience,” says N.A. Vinaya, an ASI at the Kerala Police Academy and the brain behind WINGS.
“If women used to dismiss Pulikkali as a crude belly dance of pot-bellied men earlier, they are coming in large numbers to watch the performance now. The body language of women has even given Pulikkali an added aesthetic appeal. Their presence transformed the folk art, hitherto considered as crude belly dance, into a beautiful art form,” she said.
The WINGS team has given a request to Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar, who visited their Chamayam display, to disqualify Pulikkali teams without women performers.
“Women’s participation should be made mandatory in public celebrations. No function should keep away women,” Ms. Vinaya said.
