Vibrant Pulikali Tigers at Onam Festival

Vibrant Pulikali (tiger dance) performers at the Onam festival in Kerala, wearing traditional tiger face masks with fierce eyes and whiskers, and full-body orange, black, and white tiger stripe paint across their torsos, arms, and legs. They wear minimal dhotis or loincloths with decorative waistbands. A lively street scene with a cheering crowd, temple arches, flower garlands, and coconut palm trees in the background. Drums (chenda, maddalam) pounding as dancers strike dynamic poses—leaping, twisting torsos, bent knees, arms raised—captured with motion blur to convey energy. Golden-hour sunlight bathes the performers, adding a luminous glow to the painted skin and masks. Rich, saturated colors, ultra-detailed textures on skin paint and fabric, cinematic wide shot with a shallow depth of field to separate dancers from a bustling festival backdrop.