Puli Kali, the dance of tigers, is one of the popular folk dance forms of Kerala performed during Onam. It is a recreational art form where trained artists dance to the tunes of drums entertaining the crowd. However, the 200-year-old artform has been dominated by men artistes since the start. But, seems that the scenario is changing and women are breaking the gender barrier. Kerala MP, Shashi Tharoor recently shared a viral video on Twitter where a woman artist is seen doing Puli Kali on the streets of Kerala. The video was recorded during the recently concluded Onam celebrations in the state. From Arth to Queen, How Bollywood Has Evolved To Have More Women-Centric Movies.

Sharing the video on Twitter, Shashi Tharoor wrote, "Going viral in Kerala — a woman dancing the Puli Kali at the Onam celebrations (normally a male preserve as you see at the start) has captured the hearts of many Malayalees!" Participants paint themselves as tigers and hunters and danced to the beats of instruments like udukku and takil. Those who dress up as tigers in Puli Kali are called Puli which means tiger in Malayalam. They paint their face and body to look like the big cats and wear tiger masks.

Video of Woman Doing Puli Kali During Onam Celebrations in Kerala:

The 'tigers' dance as 'hunters' tries to get hold of them. Hundreds of people gather on roads to watch the dance form. In 2016, a group of women in Kerala created history by participating in Puli Kali which was held in front of Vadakkunnatha Siva temple as part of the Onam festivities. Wearing the symbolic tiger skin they had danced along with over 500 male counterparts.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 16, 2019 03:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).