Chakyar koothu

[citation needed] Sometimes, however, it is also a traditional equivalent of the modern stand-up comedy act, incorporating commentary on current socio-political events (and personal comments directed at the members of the audience).

It is a solo performance, by a narrator in a distinctive headgear and black moustache with his torso smeared with sandalwood paste and red dots all over the body.

[citation needed] The Chakyar narrates the story based on the Sanskrit style of "Champu Prabandha" - a mixture of prose (gadya) and poetry (shloka).

It was Natyacharya- meaning a great teacher and practitioner of natyam (dramaturgy), a title accorded in his honour- Padma Shri Māni Mādhava Chākyār, a virtuoso of this art, who took Koothu and Kudiyattam outside the temples to the common people.

The story goes that his guru, Rama Varma Parikshith Thampuran wrote a Sanskrit champu prabandha called Prahlādacharita and requested some senior artists to study and perform it, but they found it impossible to do.