The other important traditional dance drama is Kathakali which has its roots in Kerala. It had been a very popular dance form in the mid-seventeenth century,drawing influences from a variety of other performance traditions. Traditionally, men played all roles, but women train and perform in contemporary troupes. The main content of their performances is taken from our epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavata Purana. These are performed on the temple grounds, as well as in private and public areas. They conveyed the essence of the stories through dance, singing, hand gestures,  facial expressions, and eye movements. This performance aspect is developed through years of extensive training. Costumes and makeup play an important role in this dance form, as they identify characters, and bring focus to expressive areas of the body creating another worldliness appropriate to other characters and stories and providing extravagant spectacle against a minimal set.