At the back of the stage on the left as seen from the audience stand the two drummers. One plays the 'chenda', a cylindrical drum held vertically and for the most part played with the sticks, the other plays the 'maddalam', held horizontally and played with hands.

The orchestra is completed with two singers who stand on the right of the stage. The leader plays a gong and his assistant a pair of cymbals. The singers tell the story of the play, verse by verse, in Sanskritized Malayalam which the actors interpret word for word through their mudras and facial expressions, after which there is period of pure dance called kalasam, when part of the first verse is repeated. After this the next verses are sung, and in this way the whole story of the play is told.