New Year Wishes

Wishing you all a wonderful year ahead......

Mohiniyattam, the classical dance festival

Mohini Nrithyathi, the mohiniyattam festival, ring its curtain down today at the regional theater of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy at Thrissur, Kerala. The performance here was opened by Sunanda Nair, the excellent Mohiniyattam Dancer. The second performance was on 29th of December by Smitha Rajan. The third and the last performance on 30th of the month was by Methil Devika, the renowned dancer.

Smitha Rajan, the grand daughter of the maestros Kalamandalam Krishanan Nair and Kalamndalam Kalayanikutty Amma excelled on the stage with her enchanting expressions. She started her training in Mohiniyattam under Guru Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma, her grandmother and who is called as the mother of Mohiniyattam. Her mother Guru Sreedevi Rajan & aunty Guru Kala Vijayan, were with her to groom herself in this field. Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, one of the great Kathakali artists of all the time, trained Smitha Rajan in Kathakali, the traditional art form of Kerala. But Smitha who had a hard training in Kathakali and a good performer of the art form was much more inclined to Mohiniyattam, the 'laasyanatanam'. She had done researches and various choreography in the dance form and is running a dance school named Nrithyakshethra in US. She is giving training on Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kuchippudi, the three Indian Classaical dance styles, in her institute.She is trained in Carnatic Music under the late Prof. Kalyanasundaram.

Smitha Rajan presented a performance on Mohini Nrithyathi based on the story of Rani Lakshmi Bhai, the Jhansi Rani. Her excellence in choreography was seen in each step. She had tremendous expressions for all the performances that she had done on the stage. The actor proved herself as the granddaughter of the maestros.

On Monday, 30th December 2013, the Mohiniyattam festival concluded with the performance of Methil Devika, the famous dancer and the wife of malayalam cine artist Mukesh. Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy, an autonomous body to promote art and arttists organised Mohini Nrithyathi which was performed in seven venues all around India.

Christmas at Basilica of Our Lady

Basilica of Our Lady at Thrissur, Kerala celebrated Christmas at its maximum. As in previous years the church was crowded with devotees by the eve of Christmas. The church was decorated with fancy light and glitters. The altar was fully occupied with flowers of different colors and fragrance. A big crib was constructed within the church with little Jesus along with Mother Mary and Joseph. The whole arrangement made the viewers to remember the story of the birth of Jesus Christ.

In front of the church, there was a huge Christmas tree. The colorful gift packets and lights on the Christmas tree made it more attractive. The church was fully lighted and there was a variety of Christmas stars to add the beauty. The surroundings of the church were decorated with glitter papers and lights in different colors.

The shops and nearby houses were decorated with lights. Every house had a crib and Christmas tree in its front. The street nearby the church famous for the appam, a Kerala cuisine, was fully crowded. They had a good sale for the food items. The shops were attracting people with colorful stars,Christmas cap and santa clause. This year the market was rules by items from China. The Santa Clause was seen in different styles.Some of them were dancing and singing. The whole items were mainly focused on children.

The church conducted special prayers and observances for Christmas. The devotees had blessings from the father of the basilica. In total, the Basilica of Our Lady had a great Christmas in 2013.

A complete magazine on Kerala

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St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Malayattoor

Malayattoor Chruch:The feast of Kurisumudy is one of the major festivals of Malayattoor Church. It is held every year on the first Sunday after Easter. The devotees carrying the holy cross reach this pilgrimage centre by walking kilometers and climbing up the mountain. The pilgrims as a part of their vow climb the 1269 ft. mountain with lighted candles and chanting prayers. Read More

The Basilica of Bom Jesus

The Basilica of Bom Jesus has maintained the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier, a saint and a co-founder of Society of Jesus.  The body of saint who died in 1552 is placed in a glass container encased in a silver casket. The body is kept for public viewing in every ten years. In the year of 2014, from 22nd November to 4th January 2015, the body of St. Francis Xavier will be exposed for all.      Read More..

Mount Mary Church, India

More details at:  Mount Mary Church, Mumbai; The Basilica of Our Lady of Mount.

International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2013

The 44th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) was inaugurated in Panaji, Goa. The opening film of the festival was ‘The Don Juans’ directed by Jiri Menzel and produced by Adrian Sarbu. The best film selected in the festival is given a cash prize of Rs. 40,00,000/. 
For more details log on to:  http://culturalcommune.com/?p=108

Rasavikalpam, a 10 day dance festival and Workshop: A report

Rasavikalpam, a ten day dance festival was organized by Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy at four different venues in Kerala, India on the first week of November 2013. The dance festival also conducted workshops at the different venues by eminent dancers. The workshop was organized for Indian classical dance forms kathak, bharathanatyam and kuchipudi. The course directors were Sreelatha Vinod, the renowned Bharathanatyam dancer;  Manju Bhargavi, the famous Kuchipudi dancer and Prasanth Shah, an outstanding male kathak dancer. The workshops were conducted in the morning followed by classical dance performances by artists in the evening. The different venues of Rasavikalpam dance festival were Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Thrissur (Trichur), Kozhikode (Calicut) and Palakkad (Palghat).

Thiruvananthapuarm witnessed the festival at vyloppilly samskrithi bhavan. The program was organized here by KSNA(Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy) in association with the Soorya and DTPC(District Tourism Promotion Council). Soorya is a non-profitable organization for Indian Classical Dance, Music and theatre. In Thiruvananthapuram the program was called Parampara dance festival. The opening of the performance was by Aparna Ramaswamy, a senior bharathanatyam dancer and choreographer from USA. Here the festival was from November-01- 2013 to November-11-2013. Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy auditorium was the venue at Thrissur. Kathak performance by Rajendra Gangani was the initial performance here. At Kozhikode, the Rasavikalpam dance festival was organized in association with Navarasam public charitable centre, Chavara cultural trust and Sadhbhavana world school. The odissi dance performance by Geethanjali Acharaya at Devagiri CMI Public School marked the beginning of the dance festival at Kozhikode. The opening performance at Palakkad was by Archana Narayanamurthy (Bharathanatyam). The festival was organized as a second phase of Swaralaya dance and music festival 2013 at Palakkad. The Mercy college auditorium was the venue.

 Mythili Prakash (Bharathanatyam), Nair sisters-Veena & Dhanya(Bharathanatyam), Rajashree Warrier(Bharathanatyam), Meenakshi Srinivasan(Bharathanatyam), Seema Iyer (Bharathanatyam), Shwetha Prachande(Bharathanatyam), Sruthi Jayan (Bharathanatyam), Divya Devagupatapu(Bharathanatyam) and Aparna Vinod(Bharathanatyam) were other performers. In addition to these artists, Dr. Draupathy along with Dr.Padmini performed a dance drama at Soorya Parampara festival held at Thiruvananthapuram. The whole festival was co-ordinated by Sreelakshmi Govardhanan, the Kuchippudi dancer from Thrissur.

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy is an autonomus institution by Government of Kerala headed by Soorya Krishna Murthy as the chairman. The institution headquatered at Thrissur, Kerala, India has an aim to promote the art and culture. It works in collaboration with the Sangeetha Nataka Academy at New Delhi, India.

MORE ON THIS PERFORMANCE @ https://www.facebook.com/performingartsofkerala

Onam- the harvest festival of Kerala, festival with traditions and culture.

Today is Onam, the harvest festival of Kerala. Flower carpet, also called 'pookkalam' is an integral part of Onam. Each and every house of Kerala will celebrate the festival with enthusiasm. Laying of flower carpets in courtyards of Kerala has its own tradition and culture.

Wishing all Kerialiates A Very Happy Onam....

To know more about Kerala, visit-  https://www.facebook.com/welcomekeralamagazine

Nature, Culture, Art and Heritage of Kerala

The SlowTravel through River Tirur, Kerala....

Traditional boat(thoni) is still a mode of travel for public in many rivers, especially for crossing the river.

For more on  Nature, Culture, Art and Heritage of Kerala,

See the link, support the page and get updates  .... 

https://www.facebook.com/welcomekeralamagazine

Glimpses of Tradition

I am on a try to catch out the glimpses of vanishing traditions of Kerala. 

Kerala has a rich and diverse tradition in its architecture also. The palaces, temples, mosques and churches of Kerala is a pure evidence of its architectural tradition. Every tharavaus or ancestral homes of Kerala also maintained its architectural beauty. The wells of the home were connected with the kitchen.

Sharing such a snap of  a kitchen well.

Performing Arts of Kerala

 Performing Arts of Kerala 

Kerala is well known for its traditional performing art forms.The performing arts emerged in diverse as the communities of Kerala.Many of the performing art forms are connected with the epics emerged in different periods.They are all closely related to the culture and heritage of Kerala. Some of the major art forms include
Kathakali, Mohiniyattom, Koodiyattom, Ottan Thullal, Koothu, Poothan and Thira,Tholppavakoothu, Margamkali, Oppana, Daffmuttu etc.

For more details visit the page CLICK HERE     OR   < http://on.fb.me/13Z9U4o> 

The age old Oil Lamp of Kerala

Older days of Kerala, have witnessed the kerosene lamps ('mannenna vilakku') in their nights.There was no proper electric connection  in the district years back.At that time people used different kind of lamps for lightning their houses. The kerosene lamps made of brass was such a common thing.Today also there are remote villages which are still making use of these lamps.
On my visit to a old 'tharavadu'(ancestral home) in Kerala, I found one such lamp.

'Athani'- The Resting Place

'Athani' is the resting place which can be seen in many villages of Kerala.It is usually made of Granite.In old days there was no proper transportation for people especially in the villages.They have to walk miles to reach their destination.During this period, people with huge luggage or goods place their luggage or goods on this 'athani' and rest here. In some villages there was some sort of refreshment near this. Today almost every villagers have their own vehicles or there is proper transportation.So, these 'athani' has now become a curios.

Heritage and Culture - Kerala

Kerala is rich in its diverse culture and traditions.Every hook of corner of this state is abundant in culture and beauty.The vast greenery,lakes,ponds,rivers and the diverse ecosystem enhances the beauty of 'Gods own country'-Kerala .The colorful  festivals and events, mostly with elephant processions, attracts everyone.

I had a recent visit to a village at Palakkad district of Kerala. The beauty of this district is beyond words.I felt a lot of innocence here with farm fields, cattles, hills,arts and artisans. I had met with a  pottery maker, which I would like to share with you. 

There I met a family whose living is on this pottery making.It is a great skill particularly done by a special group  f people in Kerala.The man, the pottery maker, usually makes his pottery using clay collected from nearby places or from the place it is available. The raw clay is smoothend and made a dough using hand. It is then placed in a pottery wheel, a wheel used to mold up the shapes of pottery, and pots of various shapes are made with the help of hand and pottery wheel.It is so amazing to see the whole process done by them. After making a pot in this way, it is removed from the wheel using a thin stick of any metal.The next step is to harden the clay by placing it in a kiln for baking.The hardened pot is sold directly or through shops.

Because of the lower profit and high effort, today many of the youngsters are not coming up in their community for this job. So day by day, this art is narrowing.


Pic 1: Pottery making in a pottery wheel  

Pic 2: The art of making pottery.

Pic 3:Finished  piece from pottery wheel

Pic 4: Partially finished pot to dry 

Pic 4: Completely finished pottery to kiln