The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation Hotels and Resorts (KTDC) will ensure the participation of domestic and international tourists in Grand Kerala Shopping Festival-Season 3.

The KTDC has taken steps to provide all materials of the GKSF at hotels, resorts and other units of the corporation spread across the State. Tourists who check in at KTDC properties in December and January (the peak tourist months in Kerala) will be motivated to visit the establishments that are partners of the GKSF. The GKSF authorities have asked the establishments who have become partners of the 45-day festival to distribute the coupons to the shoppers only from December 1. The GKSF authorities have also urged the festival partners to give wide publicity to the prizes and organise inauguration celebrations at the local level on December 1. Mahindra and Mahindra have joined hands with the GKSF by becoming gift sponsor of the shopping festival.

Sabarimala Shrine

Like every year the doors of the famous temple Sabarimala were once again open for two months for the pilgrims. Being a devotee of Lord Ayyappa I was also one among those millions of  pilgrims waiting to get a glimpse of Lord Ayyappa. The temple gets thronged with devotees especially during the main pilgrim season from November to January. Mandalapooja(Nov.17th)and Makaravilakku(Jan.14th) the two main events of the pilgrim season. The temple remains closed during the rest of the year except for the first five days of every Malayalam month and during Vishu (April).

Throughout the  route to pamba we spotted hundreds of pilgrims marching ahead to their  destination ‘Sabarimala‘. After reaching ‘Pamba’ (  the third longest river in the South Indian state of Kerala and considered as the Dakshin Ganga due to its association with the pilgrim centre – Sabarimala) I was much pleased, the way the authorities have cleared up the banks and made ample space for the pilgrims to take the holy dip in Pamba.

After taking the holy dip in ‘Pamba,’ we marched towards the Pamba Ganapathy temple, we started our journey bare footed with Irumudi Kettu (Irumudi is the only travelling kit which a pilgrim carries on his head during the pilgrimage) on our heads toward the hilltop Sabrimala shrine. Metal detector and scanning machines were installed to keep a vigil. Thousands of devotees were marching up chanting ‘Swamiye Ayyappa’ ‘Ayyappa Swamiye’. Even the arrangements seemed quite perfect this year with many commendable works by the dewasom.

Glimpse of the development this year :

  • Construction of new Cardiology Centre.
  • Broadening of pathways
  • Concreting the pathways
  • Building up new barricades on the way
  • More resting shelters on the way to the shrine.
  • Medicated water stalls for devotees

Many temporary restaurants and tea stalls were there on both sides of the pathway. We all were moving on chanting the name of Lord Ayyappa, and suddenly the climate changed,and it was rain all over. Soon we moved on to those resting sheds constructed this year, again we started our journey towards the shrine after the rain.

Walking for an hour more we finally reached the ‘Nadapanthal’ where devotees were queued  waiting for making it to the 18 holy steps. All along the journey I found more devotees  from Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh and Karnataka rather than Kerala and few foreign nationals were also there stating how popular Sabarimala is. As one steps on those holy eighteen steps, a full throated cry goes up from the devotees, “Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa!” It is the realisation of a mission. Policemen were deployed all around. After few struggle we managed to those 18 steps (Pathinettu padi) made up of pure gold, where policemen were standing on both side of those 18 holy steps pulling up devotees quickly.

Actual Timings during the Mandala Pooja – Makaravilakku Season

Opens at 0400 hrs  0400  hrs
Nirmalya Darshanam 0405 hrs  0405 hrs
Neyyabhishekam 0430 – 1130 hrs  0425 -1130 hrs
Ganapathi Homam 0435 hrs  0430 hrs
Usha Pooja 0730 hrs  0730 hrs
Ucha (Noon) Pooja 1230 hrs  1300 hrs
Closes at 1300 hrs  1330 hrs
Opens at 1600 hrs  1600 hrs
Deeparadhana 1830 hrs  1830 hrs
Pushpabhishekham 1900 hrs  1900 hrs
Athaza Pooja 2230 hrs  2230 hrs
Harivarasanam and Closing at 2250 to 2300  2250 to 2300 hrs

My eyes were taken by surprise to see such a massive turn out of devotees, the Lord Ayyappan temple (Sreekovil) was glittering with gold all over it, from roof top to pillars and doors all made of pure gold. In the sannidhanam there is a  shrine of Lord Ganapati which is also recently platted with gold facing to the south-west of the main temple, known as Kannimula Ganapati. The special offering to this deity is Ganapati homam.

After worshiping the two deities, we moved to our camp. Though it was 10 pm but the buzz and enthusiasm of the pilgrims made me to realise that its nothing other than Gods blessing which keeps those pilgrims active even after walking for hours bare footed.

Next was to buy the prasadam, the queue for arvana was really long with devotees waiting to make it to the counter. I felt the lazy approach in the arrangements made by the police, as many devotees jumped the queue to buy the prasadam. After an hour we got the arvana payasam (prasadam of Lord Ayyappa).

Next morning we woke up early to take the holy dip in the ‘Bhasma Kulam’(About a 100 metres away is the shrine of Malikappurathamma. where hundreds of devotees takes holy bath in memory of the tapaswini Sabari who entered a fire to end her mortal life. It is after her that the peak is named Sabarimala). After taking the holy dip we started our journey back to pamba, while descending on the route we saw tall trees standing dead straight appearing like skyscraper. We spotted many ‘Doli’(Palanquin) carrying old aged and disabled devotees. I appreciate the efforts by those palanquin carriers who carry pilgrims on those hilly terrains.

Way to Shrine

Being the first day of Mandalamasam there was huge rush of devotees. After reaching pamba, again we took a holy dip refreshing ourselves from the fatigue of descending down the hill. With the first dip in water something brushed my feet, it was a mundu – Many devotees abandon their mundu after taking the holy dip on their way back.

In order to avoid any traffic congestion heavy vehicles were not allowed to be parked in the parking lot near pamba. So we opted for a public transport towards Nilackal (An important Temple enroute to Sabarimala and located between Plappally and Pampa) an intermediate halting area with ample parking facilities distributed separatley as per states, like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andra Pradesh. This year lot more parking area was allotted, from there I boarded my bus and started my return journey with the hope to come back again next year, with more fervor and devotion. “Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa”.

 

Inquisitive...

 

But the bird doesn't seem too happy about it all

 

 

 

MahabharataIt was a plea against war…

OK nothing new. Lots of people make that and then sit back and let the world go on as before, with wars being fought again and again.

But this plea had something new to it.

It was the women characters in Mahabharata who seemed to be making a plea, an emphatic one at that, against war. ‘Aandubali’, a play wrote and directed by veteran dramatist Vayala Vasudevan Pillai, had prominent women characters from the epic, Mahabharata, including Kunti, Draupadi, Subhadra and Gandhari pondering on how their actions had led to the battle fought on the plains of Kurukshetra, the battle for upholding ‘dharma’, the battle of righteousness against evil. These characters go in for some kind of an introspection and try to find out if they could have averted the war that took away many of their near and dear ones.

‘Aandubali’ was presented recently on the stage by M.Phil students of the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts, University of Kerala, at The University Senate Hall in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala. Working effectively on symbolic levels, the play had scenes that made viewers sit up and think, on things like the futility of war, the concept of ‘dharma’ and ‘adharma’, death etc.

‘Aandubali’ finds relevance as a play that, though based on the Mahabharata, has universal significance and speaks of things that we can easily relate to.

Deepasthambam

Almost everyone loves their names and when it reaches out to the public on a positive note then one really feels proud or honoured. Well, this race for popularity is not only shared by high profile people or celebrities who crave for the so called ‘popularity’. But these days Kerala villagers are not willing to miss out on a single opportunity to bring up their names in limelight in one or the other way.

Kerala has always been known for its rich culture and traditions, with festivals on almost week in one or the other part or region of the state. Let’s peek into the other side of these festivals which offers a golden chance for those popularity craving morons to come out to the limelight and shine out like stars. Talk about any small or big temple festival in the villages in Kerala and you can see how active these temple committee members are not discussing the programs or events, but more concern about how big and colourful their pictures are on the brochure and pamphlets.

The popularity saga doesn’t ends here, even special supplementary is issued in local newspapers with almost half page dedicated to the committee members showing off their colourful pictures and names in bold. From young to old everyone wants to look their best on the pamphlets and brochures. One more trend which is very much in practice these days is the way people love to donate things or money, ‘good indeed’, but the catch is that they want their names to be mentioned. I’ll share a recent incident which made me think, “are donations given for some gain?”

It was like any other day, but some fuss was there in my locality, later I came to know that the ‘deepasthambam’ (many-tiered lamps) placed in the ‘Aal thara’ (a Banyan tree with a base foundation considered to be sacred) in our place collapsed, soon a meeting was called by the committee and donations were asked to bring in a new ‘deepasthambam’.

“The estimate amount is around 40 thousand INR”, said one committee member, so all decided to pool in money as donation, this was all really commendable. But then came the idea of why not inscribing the names of the donors on a marble plaque and fix it for public view near the new ‘deepasthambam’ as a remembrance.

Really a small, but an eye-opening instance tells us that, villages too have been infected by the so-called popularity syndrome.

Lola Exhausted

Lola (a pug) is officially our chief entertainment officer. She certainly does no work but mobs around the office saying hello to each and everybody and exploring under every desk. When a comfortable chair becomes available she takes the opportunity to undertake some desk time, except in her case she droops her eyes, rests her head and falls fast asleep.

View of Minicoy from the skies

Step into David Hall at Fort Kochi this week and you are likely to be transported into a distant world, viz., the Minicoy Islands, the southernmost part of Lakshadweep, India’s smallest Union Territory.

For, on show is the ‘Minicoy Festival,’ being organised by the Centre for Action Research on Environment Science and Society (CARESS)-a Chennai-based NGO, Maliku Development Society, Minicoy, Maliku Hikimas Producers’ Society, Minicoy and the CGH Earth Group of Hotels, as part of the ongoing conservation Enterprise and Livelihoods programme in Minicoy.

Visitors can get to experience Minicoy culture, cuisine, handicrafts, games as well as a variety of fish and coconut-based products. One of the major attractions of this event is the chance to sample the unique cuisine of Minicoy to your fill. Prepared in the traditional manner by the Minicoyans, these delicacies range from appetisers to a sumptuous meal.

For those keen on handicrafts, there is much in store – miniature jahaadhonis (snakeboats used to tow sailing boats) as well as dathuru odis (sea vessels that once linked Minicoy and Kannur as well as GalleGalle and Rangoon) – are on display for sale.

All in all, a must-see for die-hard foodies and culture vultures, who happen to be in Kochi at the moment.

More about Lakshadweep Islands here

On your mark, get set, GO!!!

Snake Boat race lovers who flock to “The Land of Snake Boats” just to be a part of the boat race fervor are in for some good news. You can keep your eyes open and lookout for the 2012 London Olympics. For people who have not yet had the blessed opportunity to see the wonderful sight of a snake-boat being manned by 100-125 oarsmen, who along with four helmsmen, paddle in unison to the swift cadence of ‘vanchipattu’ (song of boatmen) sung by 25 singers (who never illustrate a slight dwindle in their enthusiasm all throughout the race) – this is the time to get lucky! The Snake boat race may make an international debut at the forthcoming Olympics.

Unlike most of the Olympic events (individual competitions), here is a sport which epitomizes integration, harmony and team spirit. If everything falls in line with the plan chalked out by Keraleeyam (a non-government organization with headquarters in the State’s capital), the boat race is expected to be held on the River Thames. The NGO has charted out a plan to exhibit five leading ‘chundans’ or snake-boats on the Thames as a part of the inaugural ceremony functions. Mr. Keith Vaz, Member, British House of Commons has guaranteed all support for conducting the event in London.

We love it too!!!

Keraleeyam is leaving no stone unturned in making the event popular and has also decided to demonstrate a snake-boat race as part of the Cambridge-Oxford University water sports festival to be held in 2010.

So far, snake boat races have remained confined to the Kerala backwaters and are a matchless attraction. Keralaites love these boat races and even movies which revolve around them have turned out to be blockbusters.

Wait till you get to see them and you will understand why this sport is the Malayali’s favorite!

Sleeping in the bows of a Kerala Houseboat

Went to sleep in the evening in the bows of the boat underneath the moon on a lovely warm evening. I woke in the darkness to a tremendous roaring and before I was wide awake a tremendous rain shower crossed over the houseboat soaking me.

I leapt up, dragged out a rain cover and then returned to sleep. By which time of course the rain had passed over and it was suddenly a little cold. Awoke next morning quite happy.

Kerala Backwaters Evening

 

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