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Archive by Author
Experience the ultimate adrenaline rush as you witness the Grand prix being held in Delhi this October.
The Indian Grand prix promises to be a spectacular event and Kerala Travel centre brings you the unique opportunity to make this a once-in-a-lifetime experience where you can combine the races with a tour of the famous Golden Triangle of India.
Book KTC’S 7 night Grand Prix & Golden Triangle tour where you can not only witness the exciting races staying in Delhi but also go on a tour after the event, where you will unravel the magic of historical Delhi, discover the enchanting Taj in Agra and explore the colourful bazaars and highlights of Jaipur. Click here to see details of the tour.
It is also of course possible to combine this tour with extensions to breathtaking Kerala. Call experts at the Kerala Travel Centre today to discuss a tour of a lifetime.
Experience world class luxury on the banks of the sensuous backwaters of Kerala at the Zuri…a resort that will take you into an ethereal world that offers comfort and tranquillity in equal measure.
Spread over a sprawling eighteen acre estate, the luxurious rooms at the Zuri face the mesmerising Vembanad lake. A classy multi cuisine restaurant offers a choice of delightful International food while the resort’s chic bars (including a pool bar) and cigar lounge provide the ultimate respite.
The Spa at the Zuri is considered to be one of the finest in Kumarakom and holds the distinction of being the only one that offers both Indian and oriental massages.
Whether you decide to lose yourself in the luxurious comforts that the Zuri provides or indulge in the many activities that are on offer (Read- fishing, fresh water swimming, canoeing, going on houseboat cruises) you are certainly in for a luxury break of a lifetime.
Click here to view details about the Zuri or call one of Kerala Travel Centre’s experts on freephone 0808 178 9799 to find out more.
Kashi Art Café on Burgher Street in Fort Kochi, Kerala, is located in a restored Dutch heritage house. It is a sleek contemporary art gallery cum outdoor café. This is where art meets coffee and where you will find that some of the benches are made out of coconut trunks and old sewing machines with foot pedals making for tables.
The area doubles as a gallery for local artists, and is extremely popular with locals and tourists, many of whom use the café as a gathering point to network with friends. Plants interspersed with carved stone panels and a traditional grinding stone help create a fantastic fusion ambience of the traditional and the modern.
This unique hangout has on their menu beverages suited for taste buds of Indians as well as Europeans and other tourists. It serves up hot and cold beverages with chocolate cakes or sandwiches. Hot drinks include Italian specials like Press Coffee, Espresso, Café Latte, Leaf Tea, Masala Chai and Chamomile Tea. Press coffee is the special Italian coffee made from freshly ground coffee beans. The cold drinks available here are Limeade, Homemade Iced Tea, Cold Coffee and Pineapple Juice. They also serve continental fare of fruits, toast and eggs for breakfast and soup, salad, and sandwich lunches. The Café is open 7days a week from 8.30 AM to 7.30 PM.
While you savour your coffee, you can wander around and admire the many pieces of art and paintings at the Café.
The first of its kind in Kerala, Kashi is worth checking out. Call Kerala Travel Centre today on freephone 0808 178 9799 and book yourself a fantastic holiday to Kerala. And while you’re there, check out this delightfully different eatery.
‘Utsavam’, meaning ‘Festival’, is a unique initiative by Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) to sustain and popularize traditional art forms of Kerala, some of which are dying out for want of patronage. Utsavam has already run through three editions. The fourth one was kick started on December 12, 2010 and will continue till February 27, 2011. Utsavam features a wide range of classical, folk and tribal arts performed in their authentic style by seasoned artistes.
Kerala has a vast repertoire of performing art forms, most of them derived from folk tradition. As has been the practice, the festival has been planned to coincide with the peak tourist season in the state to provide international tourists with an opportunity to savour Kerala’s multi-faceted cultural heritage.
More than a thousand artistes and musicians from various art and culture backgrounds will participate in the festival to showcase the richness of Kerala’s traditional art forms. Performances will be held at various venues across the state during the course of the festival. Each event will be a treat to watch. Besides promoting traditional folk and classical art forms that are fading into oblivion, Utsavam, which has now become an annual event, also greatly benefits many artistes for whom these art forms are the only source of livelihood.
The event is doing a world of good for propagating Kerala’s rich cultural heritage while acting as an added attraction during the peak season and luring tourists by the plane load. In the course of this year’s festival, as many as 80 art forms will be staged during the 350 programmes scheduled to be conducted at 47 select venues across the state.
KTDC has released a cultural calendar detailing the venues, dates and performances for the benefit of tour operators and agencies abroad. Seminars and study classes will also be conducted as part of the festival with the intention of making these art forms popular among tourists as well as among the younger generation within the State.
In Cochin, the stages are set at the Vasco da Gama Square at Fort Cochin, Bolghatty Palace, Kumbalanghi Model Tourism Society Hall and at Munnambam in Vypeen.
If you are a culture enthusiast, Kerala has plenty to show. And this is the best time to catch her in the act. Call Kerala Travel Centre today on their freephone 0808 178 9799 for more details of the Kerala Utsavam art festival . If you are a culture enthusiast, and are planning a cultural holiday to Kerala you may also want to have a read through our cultural tours.
Discover the Koodiyattom- one of India’s oldest living theatrical traditions. Believed to be 2000 years old and recognized by UNESCO as one of the masterpieces of the oral heritage of humanity, we tell you why this is one of Kerala’s many dances not to be missed.
The beginnings of Kerala’s dramaturgy can be traced to this dance. Performed to the accompaniment of Sanskrit vocals, Koodiyattom is recognized by UNESCO as one of the masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.
In its stylized and codified theatrical language, ‘netra abhinaya’ (eye expression) and ‘hasta abhinaya’ (hand gestures) are prominent. Actors undergo ten to fifteen years of rigorous training to become fully-fledged performers.
Koodiyattom is staged on specially built temple theatres called ‘Koothambalam’. Both men and women partake in this performance. The stage is decorated with fruit-bearing plantains and bunches of tender coconuts, and festooned with fronds of the coconut palm. A vessel overflowing with paddy is placed on the stage. Lighting is done with a tall oil lamp made of brass. Within a railed enclosure on the stage is a large copper drum called ‘mizhavu’ with a high seat for the drummer. The musical element in Koodiyattom is very subdued. At times special orchestral effects are introduced. The orchestra consists of various percussion instruments, a conch, pipe and horn.
Appropriate hand gestures and symbols are first shown when the words of the Sanskrit verse are spoken in a typically modulated tone. As the music begins, the meaning of the verses is translated into a language of bodily postures, attitudes and facial expressions. Facial make-up is done using various colour schemes and patterns having symbolic value, though there is no strict standardisation. The stage craft is simple, with hardly any stage setting.
Koodiyattom performance is a prolonged affair and may take anything from a few days to a number of weeks. Access to performances was originally restricted owing to their sacred nature, but the plays have progressively opened up to larger audiences.
If it’s art and culture that you dig, Kerala has some unique offerings that you ought to check out. Call Kerala Travel Centre today on their toll-free number 0808 178 9799 and book yourself a fabulous Kerala tour on this bit of paradise that they call God’s Own Country where we can arrange special displays of Kerala’s various performing art forms just for you.
Thrissur (also spelt Trichur), is the cultural capital of Kerala. However, it’s for the annual Pooram held there that the city is famous for. Held during the Malayalam month of Medam which falls between April-May, Pooram it is a heady mixture of pomp and pageantry lasting nearly thirty six hours. It is one of the most colourful temple festivals of Kerala and attracts large masses of devotees and spectators from across the globe.
The word ‘Pooram’ literally means a gathering or a meeting, and it is believed that the gods and goddesses meet for a day of celebrations. The Thrissur Pooram festival has been celebrated since the late 18th Century and takes place in the premises of the famous Vadakkunnathan Temple. The event dates back to the reign of King Sakthan Thampuran (1775-1790) and was a means for the two main geographical regions of the town, Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi to display their strength.
The highlight of Pooram is a massive line-up of 30 or more caparisoned elephants, each mounted by three mahouts, one holding a colourful umbrella, another holding a pair of white fluffy bouquets called Venchamaram, and the third holding a pair of fan-like circular artefacts called Aalavattom.
An integral part of Pooram celebrations is Panchavadyam, which uses a combination of five types of percussion instruments to roll out a unique, intricate and pulsating rhythm that will set your feet tapping. The percussion section is accompanied by the blowing of conch shells and the screaming of semi-circular contraptions called Kombu. Another integral part of Pooram is Pandimelam in which about 200 artistes in the disciplines of drum, trumpets, pipe and cymbals participate.
Pooram celebrations begin in the early hours of the morning continue through the night and finish about midday the following day. In the wee hours of the day after the Pooram, there is a brilliant display of pyrotechnics.
Pooram is not simply a temple festival but a cultural highlight of Kerala in which people across religion and caste participate. It is an expression of the people’s love for music, colour and pompous pageantry. With every passing year, Thrissur Pooram attracts more and more spectators from around the world, making it a major tourism event.
Make Thrissur Pooram a part of your next Kerala Holiday. Call Kerala Travel Centre on Freephone 0808 178 9799 to create a tailor made itinerary that includes this unbelievably splendorous spectacle.
Aranmula is a sleepy little village in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, located about 130km from Trivandrum, the state capital. Perched on the palm fringed banks of the Pampa River, Aranmula is famous for its annual regatta and for the exquisite mirrors that artisans from there produce. Aranmula mirrors have always fascinated me. They are unique, and not found anywhere else in the world. Unlike usual mirrors which are made of glass, Aranmula mirrors are made of a special metal alloy.
Aranmula mirror or kannadi in Malayalam, reflects off its front surface eliminating secondary reflections and aberrations typical of mirrors that reflect off the back surface. Produced by a single extended family settled in Aranmula, the exact composition of the metals used in the alloy is still a closely held family secret and a metallurgical marvel.
According to legend eight families of expert artisans who specialized in temple arts and crafts were brought centuries ago to Aranmula from Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu to work on the Parthasarathy Temple. While working with bronze to make a crown for the temple deity they discovered the unique reflective property of one particular copper-tin alloy. The composition of the alloy is said to have been revealed subsequently to Parvathi Amma, a widow of the community, through a dream. According to Hindu scriptures, the mirror of Goddess Parvathi is a sacred object.
The alloy is a special mixture of copper and tin and it is polished for several days in a row to achieve a reflective surface. Pure copper and tin are added in specific proportions and sealed with clay. It is then placed in an open pit furnace and heated to about 400°C. The molten metal is then poured onto a flat surface and the polishing process starts.
These legendary metal mirrors symbolize Kerala’s rich cultural and metallurgical heritage. They are said to bring wealth and prosperity, and hence are considered auspicious. They are used in several religious rituals in the state. They come in various shapes and sizes.
Those of you who cant wait to see this fascinating mirrors need not go far…as the British Museum in London has a 45 centimeter tall Aaranmula metal mirror in its collection. Of course, visiting the actual sites where the mirrors are made in Aranmula is an altogether different experience…so if you want to include a visit to Aranmula or order one of these mirrors as a memento to carry back home when you are on holiday in Kerala call one of Kerala Travel Centre’s experts who will be more than ready to help.
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