Spanning over three months, ‘Yakshi’ was a meticulous undertaking that involved a deep dive into folkore as well as the presumed period wherein the folkore would have taken place – a time when kings still ruled the land, around about when the gracious dance form of Mohiniyattam first started grappling at its origins within the temple courts and the palatial courtyards of Kerala. The story at hand is a strenuous and vicious one – a tale of caution – most Malayalam folklores are, in fact! ‘Yakshi’ forebodingly warns its reader about falsehoods, deceit, lust, greed etc whilst painting a colourful story meddled with disasters – the wandering idle mind, rash decisions and a lack of empathy. The disturbing story at hand is crafted carefully using many a fine detail observed in case studies conducted at Kerala History Museum, Kerala Folklore Museum, Hill Palace and Mattancherry Palace in addition to a character study of Mohiniyattam dancers, their attire, jewelry, and expressions - from age-old jewelry, murals, royal palanquins, old laps of various kinds to the forgotten Malayalam numerical system - a fair amount of culturally authentic elements have been funneled into this creation! Having been subjected to many an interpretation of ‘Yakshi’ throughout my life, I wanted to offer a purely authentic journey of the culture that this folklore celebrates along with playful introductions and in some cases, revival of various elements from Kerala of yesteryears.