This Award-Winning Photograph Captured the Power of a 1500-Year-Old Kerala Tradition

When Ramya Sriram reached the temple grounds in north Kerala, she knew it would be intense. Theyyam nights always are.

By the time the performance began, the space was packed. Drums echoed against the walls. Flames rose and dipped. People leaned in close, trying to hold their view as performers moved through the crowd in towering headgear and layered costume. It was loud, warm, and alive in a way that is hard to describe unless you have stood there yourself.

Ramya had come to document the performance, as she had done before. She moved carefully, aware of the crowd pressing from behind and the heat from the fire in front. In moments like these, you do not get to control the frame. You wait. You watch. You respond.

Somewhere between the surge of sound and the shifting light, she pressed the shutter. 

That photograph has now won international recognition at the Nat Geo India Worldwide Contest 2025, where it was ranked among the top images globally. The contest draws entries from photographers across countries, and being recognised there places her work on a stage far beyond the temple grounds where it began.

The image captures more than spectacle. It holds concentration, effort, and the responsibility of carrying a living tradition forward. You can see the closeness of the crowd. You can sense how little space there is to move. The frame carries both intensity and restraint, and that balance is what makes it powerful.

Thinking outside the frame

Theyyam is performed across north Kerala between October and May. For the communities that host it, this is part of the cultural calendar, prepared for with discipline and care. Performers undergo fasting and ritual preparation before stepping into elaborate costumes that can weigh several kilograms. Once the performance begins, the distance between performer and audience disappears. Everyone present becomes part of the moment.

Photographing that kind of space asks for patience and trust. There is no pause for better light. You work within what unfolds.

What makes this story even richer is that the same tradition has also been documented on film. Filmmaker Zafar Mehdi travelled to north Kerala to create a 22-minute documentary titled Dance of Gods, exploring the preparation and people behind the performance. His film was later selected for screening at the 15th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival, extending the conversation around Theyyam to new audiences.

Read about that journey from the ritual ground to the festive stage here. 

Photograph by Ramya Sriram

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