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Kerala
KeralaGod's own country
Kerala, this enchanting land in the southern most tip of India, has one of the most romantic landscapes of the world. Nature is eternally fresh here. This narrow strip of a land with the sublime heights of Sahyadri mountains on one side and the awe inspiringocean on the other, is any sight seer's dream come true. Kerala, known world over as God's own country is the land of myriad pleasures. Selected by the National Geographic Traveller as one of the ten 'Paradises of the world', Kerala is an overwhelmingly green land. Silken realms of emerald backwaters, long charming shorelines fringed with palm groves, spice-scented hill tops veiled in mist, lush
jungles, exotic wildlife, spectacular art forms, colourful festivals
and unique culture and traditions. Kerala has charmed millions into her. People from all walks of life, of all hues, thronged this place - for here they found nature at its best - unspoilt, unexplored. Truly God's Own Country.
The Legend
:As everything in this country, Kerala too has a legend associated with it. According to the legend has it that the warrior sage Parasurama raised the land crust that forms the State from the depths of the ocean - the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He had waged an epic series of vengeful wars on the Kshatriyas and came a moment when Parasurama was struck by remorse at the wanton annihilation he had wrought. He offered severe penance atop the mountain heights. In a mood of profound atonement, the sage heaved his mighty axe into the midst of the distant ocean.The ocean receded and a prawn-shaped landextending from Gokarnam to Kanyakumari surfaced from the depths of the sea to form the state.So Kerala is also called Parasuramakhsethra - the fields of Parasurama. According to some Geologists there are indications that most of the land that form the state was once under the sea, and might have surfaced gradually by earthquake or volcanic eruptions.
Kerala Destinations
Kerala is regionalized into three - North, South, and central, each encompasses its own diversified art forms, cuisine and colloquies. Renowned beaches, backwater stretches, historic monuments, rich plantations, hill stations, wild life sanctuaries, Kerala is abundantly packed with tourism attractions and each spot has something to add to your treasure of memories. Religious harmony and cultural coalescence makes Kerala distinctive. Festivals in Kerala
Kerala is a land of colourful festivals, many of which are celebrated without distinction of caste or community. While core rituals and customs are practised by those belonging to the religion, it is not surprising to find people from other faiths taking part in celebrations and sharing happiness.
The major festivals that are of Hindu origin are Onam, Vishu, Navarathri, Deepavali, and Thiruvathira. Christians and Muslims in Kerala join their brethren throughout the world in celebrating festivals. The most important among Christian festivals are Christmas and Easter, and among Muslims, are Bakrid, Ramzan, Milad-I-Sharif, and Muharram. In addition, there are innumerable other local festivals associated with the temples, churches or mosques. They are unique in the sense that they are not observed elsewhere. Magara Villakku festival performedin Sabarimala every year in the month of January.Among the typical festivals of Kerala, the boat regatta
(vallamkali) has a place of honour. So does Thrissur Pooram, a festival of the gods, caparisoned elephants, glitter of gold and blazing colours, throbbing percussion beats, quintessential Kerala music, and spectacular fireworks. Culture
Kerala has a composite culture enriched through the ages with the contributions of various people and races. Its peculiar geographical position has helped the process of cultural synthesis. Its history unfolds the romantic and fascinating story of a unique process of cultural synthesis and social assimilation. In response to every challenge, Kerala has demonstrated through the ages its genius for adaptation and fusion of old traditions and new values in every sphere of human thought and endeavour.Among the people who have enriched Indian Cultural Heritage and helped the cause of national integration, the people of the Kerala region of South India have a place of honour. Kerala culture is in fact, an integral part of Indian culture. Kerala like the Indian sub continent can claim to have a culture, the history of which runs into the dim recesses of antiquity.
The culture of Kerala has persisted through the ages precisely for the reasons of antiquity, unity, continuity and universality of its nature. In its widest sense, it embraces the highest achievements of the human spirit in every sphere of life. Thus, in its totality, it represents the quintessence the collective achievements of a people in the fields of religion and philosophy, language and literature, art and architecture, education and learning and economic and social organisation.
Backwaters
Kerala’s greenery is probably the most attractive feature of the 'God’s Own Country', but you’ll get short of words when its comes to expressing your boat cruise experience on the backwaters of Kerala. Mirror-still lagoons, picture book lakesides, palm-fringed canals and tiny shimmering rivulets, that’s backwaters of Kerala. Backwaters offer excellent opportunities for Keralites to indulge in resplendent water carnivals and regattas like the Nehru Trophy Boat Race at Alappuzha (second Saturday of August every year), the Rajiv Gandhi Boat Race (last Saturday of August every year), the Indira Gandhi Boat Race at Kochi, and the Aranmula Uthirattathi Boat Race. These have become major tourist events with visitors from India and abroad in attendance. Besides these big boat
races, hundreds of colourful regattas are held on different lakes and their branches. In August and September, coastal Kerala reverberates with the gentle melody and foot-stamping rhythm of the age old strains of boatmen – the famed boat songs (vanchipattu) charging the entire atmosphere with thrill and excitement. TheLand
Kerala is a small state tucked away in the southern most corner of India. The area of Kerala is 38,864 km, which is 1.03 pc of India's total area. It represents 3.43 pc of the total population of the country.Kerala can be divided into three geographical regions: highlands, midlands, and lowlands. The forests, thick with a wide variety of flora and fauna form about 27.45 of the whole area of Kerala. Spices, sandalwood, oilseeds, tea coffee rubber etc are extensively cultivated in the mountainous areas.
Even today these hill products bring considerable foreign exchange to the country.he midland has fertile reddish hills and valleys growing a wide variety of cultivated vegetation- tapioca, banana coconut, arecanut, mango, plantain, pepper, ginger, paddy and others.The sandy coastal region is picturesque with extensive coconut grooves, paddy fields backwaters and sea. Kerala has a large number of backwaters in close link with sea. The Vembanadu Lake is the largest with about 207 sq km in area .The Sastamkotta Lake is an extensive fresh water lake.tate.Artforms
Kerala has a rich tradition in art and dance forms. Like any land, Kerala also has its own typical art forms, which reflect the life and outlook of the people - from the renowned Kathakali, considered being the complete art form as it synthesizes all that is best in the fields of drama, music and dance, to the folk dances, which are reflections of the rhythmic impulses.
Performing Arts
Kathakali
Classical dance form of nearly 300 years old, combines facets of ballet, opera, masque and the pantomime. This dance-drama has a unique costume and make up, depicts stories from the two great Indian epics-The Ramayana and The Mahabharata.
Chavittunatakom
A Christian art form of Kerala, evolved at the turn of the 16th Century AD during the Portuguese colonization and bears definite traces of the European Christian Miracle Play opera and ballet .
Krishnanattom
A spectacle for both the scholar and the simple rustic. The visual effect is enhanced by varied and colourful facial
make-up with larger-than-life-masks, made of light wood and cloth padding.Oppana
A dance form essential to the wedding entertainment and festivities of the Malabar Muslims. Maidens and young
female relatives sing and dance around the bride, clapping their hands. Mohiniyattom
The dance of the enchantress, Mohiniyattom, is a distinctive classical dance form of Kerala.
Kakkarissi natakom
Kakkarissi Natakom is a satirical dance-drama based on the puranic legends of Lord Siva and his consort Parvati when they assumed human forms as Kakan and Kakkathi - a nomadic tribe of fortunetellers.
Thiruvathirakali
Thiruvathirakali is a dance performed by women, in order to attain everlasting marital bliss, on Thiruvathira day in the Malayalam month of Dhanu (December- January).
Kolkkali
A folk art mainly of the agrarian classes, Kolkkali is a highly rhythmic, they never miss a beat. In Malabar, Kolkkali is more popular among Muslim men. Thullal
Thullal is a solo performance combining the dance and recitation of stories in verse. Staged during temple festivals, the performer explicates the verses through expressive gestures.
Koodiyattom
Koodiyattom literally means, “acting together”. This is the earliest classical dramatic art form of Kerala. Based on Sage Bharatha’s ‘Natyasasthra’ who lived in the second century, Koodiyattom evolved in the 9th century AD. Recently the UNESCO has declared Koodiyattom as one among the “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”.
Duffmuttu
Duffmuttu is also known as Aravanamuttu. It is a group performance popular among the Muslims of Malabar. Duffmuttu is staged as a social event during festivals and nuptial ceremonies.
RITUAL ARTS
Theyyam
Theyyam also known as Kaliyattom is a ritual dance popular in North Kerala. It incorporates dance, mime and music and enshrines the rudiments of ancient tribal cultures, which attached great importance to the worship of heroes and the spirits of ancestors. Persons belonging to the Vannan, Malayan and other related castes perform these in front of shrines, sans stage or curtains.
Patayani
Patayani is a week- long ritual dance, held in Kaali temples on the banks of the Pamba river during the Malayalam months of Meenam and Medam (March - April).
Poothanumthirayum
This ritual offering to goddess Kaali is performed in many places of South Malabar. A troupe of dancers dresses up as Kaali (the Thira) and the accompanying spirits (the Poothams) who were created along with the goddess for the destruction of the evil demon, Daarikan.
Koothu
Koothu is a socio religious art, performed in the Koothambalam or the Ko
othuthara of temples, either independently or as part of Koodiyattom. A solo narrative in which Chakkiar, the performer acts like 'Vidushaka' or the wise jester. Through his inimitable narration of stories from the epics the Chakkiar satirizes the manners and customs of the time. No one is above the butt of his ridicule.Paana
Paana or Pallippaana, as it is sometimes called, is a ritual art to propitiate the goddess Bhadrakaali. The art form is popular in the districts of Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram.
Mudiyettu
Mudiyettu is a ritual dance performed in some Kaali temples of Ernakulam and Kottayam districts
(central Kerala). The dance celebrates the goddess’s triumph over the demon Daarikan. Kannyarkali
Kannyarkali, also known as Desathukali, is a folk art exclusively practiced by the Nair community of the Palakkad area. It owes its origin to the pursuit of martial arts in this region, which was under constant threat of attack from neighbouring Konganadu.
Arjuna nritham
Arjuna Nritham (the dance of Arjuna) is a ritual art performed by men and is prevalent in the Bhagavathy temples of Kerala.
Tholppavakkoothu
Tholppavakkoothu, literally meaning ‘leather puppet play,’ is a ritual art performed during the annual festivals in the Kaali temples of Palakkad district. The theme of the play is based on the Kamba Ramayana, narrated in a diction that is a mixture of Malayalam and Tamil dialectical variations. The shadow play is presented in the ‘Koothumadam’, a specially constructed oblong playhouse on the temple premises. The puppets are fashioned out of the hides of buffaloes and deer, the former for evil characters and latter for noble ones. Velakali
A spectacular martial dance performed by men in some of the temples of southern Kerala. The dancers, clad in the traditional clothes and colorful headgear of the medieval Nair soldiers, engage in vigorous movements and dexterous swordplay, to the accompaniment of an orchestra comprising the maddalam, ilathalam, Kombu, and kuzhal. The dance form is originated in Ambalappuzha and is a regular feature of the annual festivities at the SreeKrishna temple there. Kalamezhuthu The Kalam is a unique drawing also called dhulee chithram or powder drawing. The artist uses the floor as his canvas. Kalamezhuthu pattu is performed as part of the rituals to worship and propitiate gods like Kaali, Ayyappan or Vettakkorumakan. This ritualistic art is a common feature of temples as well as noble households.
Margomkali
Margomkali is a ritual folk art of the Syrian Christians of Kottayam and Thrissur districts. A dozen dancers sing and dance around a lighted wick lamp ( Nilavilakku), clad in the simple traditional white dhoti.
Kavadiyattom
Kavadiyattam, a colourful ritual art, is a votive offering to Sree Subramanya. Basically of Tamil origin, Kavadiyattam is widely prevalent in the Subramanya temples all over Kerala during the festival seasons.
Theeyattu
Theeyattu is a solo dance-drama performed in front of the Kalam or Dhooli Chitram (ritual drawing with coloured powders). It is enacted in some Bhagavathy temples of Thiruvalla, Kottayam and Thripunithura.
Kummattikkali
Kummattikkali is a mask dance popular in Thrissur district of Kerala. The dancers, wearing painted wooden masks and sporting sprigs of leaves and grass, go dancing from house to house. A popular Kummatti character is Thalla or the witch; the others represent various Hindu gods and goddesses. The songs deal with devotional themes and are accompanied by a bow like instrument called Ona-villu. No formal training is required to perform the Kummattikkali, and often the spectators join in the performance. Martial arts
The martial art form of Kerala - Kalaripayattu – is believed to be the mother of all martial art forms in the world and for that mater the most scientific one. It consists of a series of intricate movements that train the body and mind.Important Places
 | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM | KOLLAM |  | |
 | ALAPPUZHA | PATHANAMTHITTA |  | |
 | KOTTAYAM | ERNAKULAM |  | |
 | IDUKKI | THRISSUR |  | |
 | PALAKKAD | MALAPPURAM |  | |
 | KOZHIKODE | WAYANAD |  | |
 | KANNUR | KASARAGOD |  | |
| | |
| | |
mallika_00 |
Latest page update: made by mallika_00
, Mar 2 2009, 1:21 AM EST
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