Nattika - Life in Slow-mo

Want to be where it's lights out at 9 pm indoors and 6 pm outdoors then the place to be is Nattika beach.

It's a place where the crabs outnumber people on its 3 km white sandy stretch

You can take a walk on the beach and visit a 300 year old mosque, the second most ancient in the world where Jumu'ah prayers are offered or take a peek at deep sea fishing

If you're looking for spa/ayurveda resorts that are top-notch and far from the madding crowds you'll find them in Nattika. There's the Nattika beach resort and Kadapurram beach resor but be warned the resorts here offer only Rs.350/- buffet and no a la carte menus so it's a bit steep for budget tourists and the tariffs are with an eye on foreign clientele


If you're looking for whooping it up and crowds, wait till end of the year Nattika Beach Fest which unfolds from 25-12-2012 to 30-12-2012 as part of the Oruma celebrations complete with caparisoned elephants and cultural programmes by famous artistes


The best way to take in Nattika is to drive down there from Athirapally Waterfalls...the combo of waterfall and beach trek is worth the 1 hour drive


Going to Nattika


You can ask houseboat cruise operators who have Nattika as a pit stop

Or drive down 30 km from Thrissur town

Rainsport - Snake Boat Racing

Kerala is one of those rare states that still uses boats the way they were used in ancient times. For travel, for trade, for competitions and festivals. Boats are an integral part of the lifestyle given its vast network of rivers and backwaters and lakes, sea and estuary….Besides the popular houseboats or kettuvalam there are the snake boats or chundan valams.

When kings of Allapuzha (Allepey) fought riverine battles in boats, one king decided he needed a boat to outdo other boats in the canals and the snake boat was created. No other king could quite get the ingenious design and the snake boat became something of a treasure to be jealously guarded. What was it about the design that made it all conquering?

A Snake Boat or Chundan is the indigenous version of the canoe. It’s a long hulled – stretching from 100 to 138 feet and steep sterned boat rearing up at one end upto 20 feet much like a snake's hood. Its maximum capacity is a whopping 100 rowers. In battles, therefore it upped the capacity of oarsmen who could be sent in lesser number of boats to do battle in the narrow canals. Their length meant they could overpower the smaller boats.

Monsoon

Much like a peacock that comes out to dance in the rains, the snake boats take pride of place in villages of Kerala during the monsoons. Boats snake their way down rivers and lakes in impromptu and organised racing contests. Then village rowers pit themselves against neighbouring village rowers. During festivals, there will be a platform in the midst of the boat for 8 singers who will chant songs representing the 8 directions that the Gods guard.

Coming Up – the First Boat Race of the Season

The Champakulam Moollam Boat Race is held in July. It marks the occasion when the idol of Lord Krishna was placed in the shrine of Ambalapuzza and during the journey there was a stop over at Champakulam. Even today the Champakulam Moollam boat race is preceded by countless boats, parasols aloft floating down the river just as they did aeons ago to escort the idol of Lord Krishna to its temple destination. And then the race begins, 100 rowers to a boat and a raucous crowd standing on the river Pampa cheering them on...Watch the race here....

Date of Champakulam Moollam Boat Race - July 3, 2012
 

Take A De-tour to Live Performance

The Santiniketan of the South

The poet Vallathol Narayana Menon met Rabindranath Tagore in Santiniketan, West Bengal. Santiniketan thrived under Tagore’s vision as an open air, liberal centre for learning arts adopting the traditional Guru-Shishya template of ancient India. Vallathol returned to his native Kerala determined to create a similar confluence of cultural education. In 1930, with the support of his associate Manakkulam Mudhunta Raja, his creation Kerala Kalamandalam rose on the banks of the river Nila in the village of Cheruthuruthy, 32 km north of Thrissur town.

Today, Vallathol’s dream is a top-notch deemed University offering residency courses in the classical performing arts.

Training is imparted in

Kuttuyatam

Mohiniyattam

Kathakali including Kalari Regular and Thekkan

Kathakali percussion – Chenda and Maddalam

Panchavadyam (5 percussion and wind instruments).

Thullal

Gallery of the Performing Arts

Fiber Statues of Kathakali characters and other arts, mural paintings are showcased. There’s a costume room with the paraphernalia of performances from head gears to wooden weapons to costumes to masks

Museum

The Vallathol Museum is a tribute to the poet’s stellar body of work

A Window into Kalamandalam

Conducted tours around the Kalamandalam are organised in a programme called “A Day with the Masters” that gives direct exposure to the Gurus in the various disciplines

Visitors can watch the training sessions 

4:30 am to 6:30 am

8:30 am to 12 noon

3:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Please check timings before visits

Closed on weekends and public holidays

For joining the Conducted Tours contact 04884-262305 or the email below

There are variety programmes for special occasions. Performances take place at the Koothambalam (Temple theatre) whose granite pillars are carved with 108 dance poses of the ancient treatise on drama, the Natyashastra

 

Contact

Kerala Kalamandalam

Deemed University for Art & Culture

Cheruthuruthy – 679 531 via Thrissur, Kerala

Call - +91 4884 262418, 262562

Email – info@kalamandalam.org

Reaching Kerala Kalamandalam

Closest is Kochi is 110 km

85 km from the international Nedumbassery airport taking the National Highway 47 Ernakulam (Kochi) to Thrissur route

Filmi Way of Enjoying Monsoon

5^th International Documentary & Short Film Festival of Kerala

Calling All Film Directors!!!

If you've made a documentary, animation, short film, music video you've got a chance to visit Thiruvanthapuram

Eligibility - All films not previously submitted with at least 1 Indian director and produced in India between May 1, 2011 and April 30, 2012

Last Date for submission – April 30, 2012

If your film gets selected you'll be given 2^nd class AC train fare to the venue and hospitality during the festival

For those who want to have something different to see than the usual scenic sites, feast on the smorgasbord of short and long documentaries, fiction shorts, animation films and music videos 

Festival Date – 8^th to 12^th June, 2012

 For details on submission and delegate passes see official idssfk 2012 web site

Contact Information

 

Kerala State Chalachitra Academy

For the Department of Cultural Affairs

Government of Kerala

Sasthamangalam, Thiruvanthapuram

Kerala, India – 695 010

Call - +91 471 2321953

Email – info@iffk.in

 

A Festival Like No Other

Thrissur Pooram

Thrissur is the district in Kerala. Pooram is Malayalam for the celestial star in the Hindu almanac. Thrissur Pooram is therefore an auspicious time for the religious festival centred around Vadakummanathan Temple, set on a hillock overlooking the city centre which covers 9 acres

Vadakummanathan Temple

Vadakummanathan is the shrine dedicated to Shiva, the destroyer in the Hindu Trinity, the others being Brahma, the Creator and Vishnu, the Preserver.

The other two shrines in the Temple are dedicated to Shankarnarayana and Rama

Thrissur Pooram Festival

It was begun about 200 years ago by the then Kochi king Raja Rama Varma. In keeping with his legendary name Sakthan Tampuran which means one who holds firm the reins in his hands, the king at one stroke broke the stranglehold of the traditional priest community, the Namboodiri on temple rituals. How did he pull it off? He did it by throwing open the Vadakummanathan temple to all people regardless of their caste which created a tremendous groundswell of public support. Then he invited all the 10 temples in the area to join in thus ensuring strength in unity and ensuring that the rest of the neighbourhood did not feel slighted. Then to get the common folks to feel a part of the event, he divided the 10 temples into 5 each of the West and East. To distinguish this Pooram from the traditional long winded rituals spread over many days, the king himself drew up the frenzied pace of the festival. It unfolds over 36 hours in a dawn to dawn ritual.

The Spectacle

The 10 temples send their deities on beautifully caparisoned elephants to pay obeisance to Shiva, the reigning deity of Vadakummanathan. Each group attempts to outdo the other in decorating their 15 elephants with beautiful parasols (umbrellas). 

The Surround Sound

The elephants sway along to the music of Panchvadyam (5 percussion and wind instruments). This has 200 artistes creating music from Thimila and Idakka (hour glass shaped drums), cymbals, drums like the Maddalam and trumpets. Chenda Melan and Pandimelam musical ensembles also add to the beat. The former is a drum ensemble preceding like an announcement the main Pandimelan. The Pandimelan comprises almost 200 musicians playing drums, trumpets, pipes and cymbals. There’s a drum concert as well - the Elanjithara Melan.

The Grand Finale

And it all ends in a fantastic display of fireworks, each group trying to show the most spectacular and colourful firecrackers over 3 hours beginning at 2:30 am to 3 am at dawn and continuing till 6 am.

Be There

Tentative Date – May 1^{st to}  2^nd , 2012

Venue

Vadakummanathan Temple

Near Thekkinkadu Maidan (Ground)

Thrissur

Call – 0487 - 2426040

Get There

Kochi is the nearest city – 79 km

Take a flight or train

Footloose in Jew Street

Walk around Jew Street in old Kochi and you'll find window shopping paradise....window shopping because the prices are too high for most. The items handed down from Travancore royalty, silver ornaments starting at Rs.1000/-. This is the hub of trade for even spices. Here, the market rates prevail - bargaining isn't going to bring down the price much when it's set high from the outset.

So just roam around and breathe in the perfumes and oils in their coloured stoppers and the fragrance of spice, look at the portraiture and brass antiques and do your buying elsewhere....

                     

                      

Heritage Walk in Jew Street

This is the clock tower that Ezechiel built.…

Clock Tower - Paradesi Synagogue Kochi

in the 18^th century, Ezechiel Rahabi was plying his spice trade alongside the Konkani community in Kochi. He made a killing in exporting pepper after the collapse of Persia and Surat which had been the main centres for its trade. He set up the Clock Tower as part of the Jewish Paradesi Synagogue.

It is a 4 faced clock tower, each side facing a different direction that seems to be a microcosm of the history of this settlement called Jew Town in what is now old Kochi.

·             One side faces the sea and is blank, perhaps a reminder of the Malabar coastal origins of the Malabari Yehudan (Jews) persecuted under Portugese rule

·             One side aligns with the palace of the Raja of Cochin who gave the Jews refuge

·             One side faces the Paradesi Synagogue, the heart and soul of the Jewish faith

·             One side faces the Jew Street that became the centre of Jewish trade

Going There

It’s in Mattancherry area in Kochi close to Fort Kochi. Take the ferry as the ferry point is bang next to the beginning of Jew Street.

Clock Tower Paradesi Synagogue Kochi

A Testament to Faith - Paradesi Synagogue Kochi

To understand the significance of the Paradesi Synagogue in Kochi, one must take a peek into the history of the Jews in Kerala.

The Jews were the kings of the spice trade in Kerala’s Malabar region, commanding a large slice of the export pie. And then in the 16^th century began their persecution at the hands of the Portugese who sought to control the trade route to the spice treasure island that was Malabar. As the Arab merchants came into violent conflict with the Portugese, the Jews became caught in the crossfire. By 1500, things had deteriorated to the point where permission was sought from the Portugese king in 1513 to exterminate the Jews in Kerala. Since a place of worship is a symbol of faith, the first Jewish Synagogue in Kodungallur was destroyed. The Jews known as Malabari Yehudan fled and Raja Ravi Varma of Kochi gave them refuge under Dutch protection. This settlement of the Jews became known as Jew Town where they built their synagogue, Paradesi Synagogue in 1568 which still stands as a testament to the Jewish faith. It takes its name from Paradesi meaning foreigner as the Jews were not natives of the area that was under Dutch patronage.

The Paradesi Synagogue reflects its history:

·          It has the Scrolls of Law

·         It has the copper plates dating from the 10^th century that the Malabar king inscribed in Tamil granting privilege to Joseph Rabban, the earliest known Jew in Kochi

The Paradesi Synagogue reflects its inclusiveness:

·          The complex comprising four buildings and a clock tower shares a common wall with the Mattancherry Temple

·             Its chandeliers are Belgian. Gold crowns are gifts from various sources. Its floor is made of hand painted Chinese tiles and there’s a rug from the famed Haile Selassie, the last Emperor who ruled Ethiopia when it was a prosperous land.

As a beacon of the hospitality of the Kochi king, it is open to all visitors of all faiths. It still functions as an active place of worship, the only 1 among the 7 in the area that still do. Even today, if you visit, you may chance upon a Jew clad in the traditional attire.

Going There

It’s in Mattancherry area in Kochi close to Fort Kochi. Take the ferry as the ferry point is bang next to the beginning of Jew Street.

Tip

Please don't expect entry if you wear off-shoulder, above-knee attire and footwear or if you sport shorts.

Don't try to chat up or take photos of the ticket seller, it's a place of worship not a tourist gawk

Summer Rains Arrive!

Yes, in the scorching heat of summer it's raining.....the best season to be in god's paradise. The summer rains will peter out soon as per the weather gods so make the most of it.

Munnar is the best option because there are going to be heavy rains there this Thursday and Sunday.

Allepey and Kozhikode and Kochi will see scattered thunderstorms, so get that umbrella out and join a gig to take a jig in the rare rains...

What to see, do and buy at Chinnar, Idduki

The Scents of Spice, Tea and Sandalwood and the Roar of a Waterfall...you are at Chinnar!

Located in Devikulam, Idukki district, Chinnar falls in the rainshadow region of the Western Ghats. Chinnar is watered by the perennial rivers of Chinnar and Pambar, two of the only 4 rivers in Kerala that flow eastwards. Nearby is central Kerala’s Elappara’s Tea Plantations at Semni and Haileyburia, Cardamom hills of Peermade, Nutmeg,cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla plantations at Haileyburia.

There’s also an entire Koodakavu sandalwood forest of Marayur where you can purchase sandalwood works of art created at the factory of the Forest Department and from where you can spot herds of bison. There’s a children’s park in the shade of a banyan tree.The sandalwood forest is also the site of Ezhutu Guha, rock paintings from ancient times.

On the way you can see ancient caves, rock art and shelters in Marayur and the ancient burial sites called dolmens from the Stone Age and Iron Age can still be seen on the banks of the river Pambar near an old Shiva Temple. At places like Kovilkadu are 10 paintings etched on rocks at the south west side overlooking river Pambar.

Travelling to Chinnar from Karimuthi, a peacock may cross your path, an elephant lumber by and deer race away, as the road from Munnar through Udumalpetta cuts right through the Chinnar Sanctuary which skirts Eravikulum Sanctuary.

The remarkable feature of this sanctuary is that unlike others, there are 11 tribal settlements within it in sanctioned sections where they grow their crops like maize and lemongrass and even the occasional ganja crop for religious purposes. There’s also an ancient rock painting of a deer and a man at Manala within the sanctuary area.

Moving from human settlements to the flora and fauna…

What You Glimpse in 90 sq.km of the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary

·   The Green Life:

• Forest that moves dry thorn scrub to dry deciduous at lower heights to wet deciduous at elevated heights
•  Grassland meadows
• 1000 species of flowering plants like Acacia Arabica - Karivelam, Elaeocarpus recurvatus - Bhadraksham, Strobhilanthus kuntianus (Neelakurinji)
•  Medicinal garden
•  Rare Aibizia Lathamii tree

·   The Blue Life:   Thoovanam Falls which is the river Pambar diving into the river Chinnar right in the heart of the sanctuary.

·  The Winged Life::  225 bird species.

·   The Landlife:

• Reptiles like mugger croc
• Endangered Grizzled Giant Squirrel
•  Rare White Bison
•  Elephant
•  Tiger
• Langur
•  Sambar deer
• Spotted deer
•  Nilgiri Thar
• Vipers
• Krauts
• Cobras

What You Can Do:

• Treks to the river and to Alampatti’s ancient burial sites - dolmens
• Nature Trail to the Chinnar Watch Tower that offers a splendid view of neighbouring Tamil Nadu’s jungles and the Western Ghat’s rolling hills
• Trek and Camp at Vasyappar
• Boating

Entry Fees per day:

•  Indians: Adults – Rs.10/- Children – Rs.5/-
•  Foreigners: Adults-Rs. 100/-
•  Still Camera – Rs.25/- Video Cameras – Rs.150/-
• Light Vehicles – Rs.50/- 

When to Go to Chinnar: All months except monsoon months from October to December.

How to Reach:

• Via cities like Kochi and Coimbatore, latter is closer to Chinnar
• Kottayam Railway Station is closer than Ernakulum Station, Kochi but the closest are Aluva Railway Station in Kerala and Pollachi in Tamil Nadu which is barely 60km away
• Marayur town 

Contact Information:

Ecodevelopment Committee Office

Chinnar Check Post

Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary

Marayur P.O. - 685620

·    

             Munnar is closest – 60 km away

Contact:

Forest Information Centre

Wildlife Warden’s Office

Munnar P.O. – 685612

Call: 04865-231587

Email:roywlw@chinnar.org

Accommodations:

 - Machans at Koottar, Champakkad, Karakkad

-  Tree house Call: 04865-231587 / Email:roywlw@chinnar.org

-     -    High-end Heritage Plantation Bungalows run as hotels by groups like Welcom @Rs.5000-Rs.7000 for single occupancy deluxe/Suite

Rivetting Ropeway Ride in Palakkad

Udankhatola is the only Passenger Ropeway in South India. Take the 20 minute ride on Udankhatola – Flying vehicle to get a bird’s eye view of green gardens of Malampuzha 60ft below and a panoramic view of the Western Ghats.

Timings: It is open from 10:30 am to 8:00 pm. 

Charges: There are 64 two-seater chairs. The rates start at Rs.30/- per person. Group packages available.

Going there:  It is at Malampuzha in Palakkad. The easiest way is to take a train to Palakkad. Then hop on to a bus to Malampuzha 5 km away.
Taxis would charge Rs.150/- from Palakkad to Malampuzha