Men in southern India swap their shirts for saris at a spring festival

Описание: (31 Mar 2007)
+++night shots+++
1. Tilt down from temple entrance to people milling about
2. Various of decorated stalls
3. Mid shot board saying 'Make up'
4. Mid shot hairdresser combing a man's hair
5. Close-up hairdresser adjusting a wig on a man
6. Mid shot make-up being applied to two men
7. Close-up eyeliner being applied to a man
8. Wide of make up artists at work
9. Various of Gireesh Kumar being helped with a sari
10. Mid shot hairdresser putting flowers on Gireesh's wig; wife in the background
11. Close of Gireesh's made up face
12. Gireesh's wife Sajitha putting earrings on him
13. Various of Sajitha helping him with necklace
14. Close of Gireesh's face
15. Tilt-up from Sajitha adjusting Gireesh's sari to Gireesh looking down
16. SOUNDBITE: (Malayalam) Gireesh Kumar, Devotee:
"It is my belief that if one dresses as a woman and wishes for something, it comes true. When I dress up like a woman, I can feel the power of the Goddess in my body."
17. SOUNDBITE: (Malayalam) Sajitha, Gireesh Kumar's wife:
"Last year, I had prayed for a house and property which was fulfilled. So, this year, my husband is offering the 'chamayavilakku' (lamp) to the Goddess."
18. SOUNDBITE (Malayalam) Sarojam, Gireesh Kumar's mother:
"I can see the divine power of the Goddess in my son as he wears this dress. Everything has turned out as expected. My son has to get a good job, he has to have a house and some property... these were my prayers."
19. Wide of temple
20. Wide of temple wall decorated with lamps
21. Various of men dressed as women passing in front of the deity paying respects
22. Close of a devotee's hands picking coins tracks to him dropping them into a donation box
23. Wide of devotee dropping coins
24. Mid shot of man dressed like a Goddess
25. Close of devotee praying
26. Wide of the deity
27. SOUNDBITE: (Malayalam) N Rajagopalan Potti, Priest:
"In ancient times, the cowherd boys would venture into the forest. There, upon seeing the deity's idol, they wished to organise a festival to please the Goddess. So, they made a toy horse with tender coconut, dressed up as women and took lamps. That tradition continues to this day."
28. SOUNDBITE (English): Anthonious Veseliadis, Greek Historian:
"Inspiration is... that after three thousand years, somebody of my country show something that is lost there. And I was happy to be... two years ago, I was dressed, because in Greece, when you had to visit a mother Goddess, it was only allowed for women or men had to dress, as here, as women to be able to see the mother Goddess. It is respect to the feminine."
29. Wide of decorative lights at the temple complex
30. Reflection of lights on water
31. Wide of men dressed as women holding lamps
32. Mid shot of man wearing spectacles dressed as woman holding lamp
33. Close of lamp burning
34. Mid shot of men dressed as women holding lamps with decorative lights in the background
LEAD IN:
Last weekend was a special date in the calendar for thousands of men in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Men, dressed up as women, carrying traditional lamps, thronged the Kottankulangara Devi temple in Kollam district as part of the annual spring festival.
STORYLINE
The preparations for the one night of festivities were elaborate. Stalls offering make-up and dressing services had sprung up in the vicinity of the temple.
Make-up, wigs and traditional finery transformed the men into attractive 'women'.
As night fell, the men lit lamps mounted on long wooden rods, unique to this region of Kerala.
Veseliadis plans to shoot a documentary based on the festival.

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