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| Fairs and Festivals |
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Onam-The
National Festival of Kerala | Vishu
| Navarathri | Mahasivarathri | Makaravillakku
at Sabarimala
| Thrikarthika
| Thiruvathira
| Christmas
| Easter | Ramadan
| Eid-Ul-Fitr
| Eid-Ul-Zuha | Milad-Ul-Nabi | Muharram | Gramam(Village Fair) | The Great Elephant
March | Nishagandhi
Dance Festivals | Flavour
Food Festival | Attukal Pongala
| Vetta and Arattu
| Sarkara Devi Temple,
Chirayinkeezhu | Sree
Subramanya Swamy Temple, Ulloor | Aruvippuram
Siva Temple, Aruvippuram | Thiruvambadi
Sree Krishna Temple | Christ
the King Church | Beemapalli,
Trivandrum |
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| Gramam(Village
Fair)(14-23 January) |
| An entire Kerala village is recreated on the beach during
this ten day long festival. The traditional nalukettu
(the quadrangular upper class house with a central
open courtyard) and its premises become the venue
of the fair, where the culture, arts and crafts
of Kerala come alive.
Festival highlights Arts and crafts fair, Kathakali, Thiruvathirakali,
Mohiniattam, Oppana, Kalaripayattu, Sarpapattu,
Theyyam, Kummattikali, Panchavadyam, Chakyarkoothu,
Ottanthullal.
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| The Great
Elephant March(9- 12th January) |
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| The Great Elephant March is a major tourist
attraction that brings in visitors from all over.
It is a four day program organized by the Department
of tourism, Kerala. |
| Elephant pageantry, boat races and folk art performances
are specially arranged in a four-day period for
the tourists to have a glimpse of the Kerala culture.
On the fourth day, the Elephant pageantry is held at Trivandrum.
Here tourists will have an occasion to witness
Kerala's folk art forms and its ancient martial
art display, Kalaripayattu. The grand finale is
at Kovalam Beach. It concludes with the seaside
barbecue.
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| Nishagandhi
Dance Festivals(21- 27th February) |
| This week long festival of Indian classical dances is held
at the Nishagandhi open air theatre. Kanakakunnu
Palace grounds, Thiruvananthapuram.
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| Indias leading exponents of almost all classical dance forms
including Bharathanatyam, Odissi, Mohiniyattam
and Kathak perform at the Nishagandhi o p e n-a
i r auditorium at Trivandrum. A grand treat for
lovers of dance.
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| Flavour Food Festival
(5 - 11 April) |
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This is an Indian food festival in
which renowned hotels in Kerala participate. Continental,
Chinese, North Indian and South Indian and many
more varieties of food are also available. It
takes place at Trivandrum in February every year.
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| Attukal Pongala |
| Attukal Bhagavathy temple (Mudippura), knows
as the Sabarimala of women, is
in Attukal 2kms from Thiruvananthapuram.
Attukal Ponkala, the annual festival commences
on Bharani day in Kumbhom (February - March) and
continues for nine days.
Ponkala is an offering usually made in Bhagavathy temples,
prepared in the form of payasam ( a liquid food
in Kerala), ingredients are rice, jaggery,
coconut kernel and plantain fruits.
The festival begins with thottampattu (a song about Bhagavathy)
which is being chanted for nine days continuously.On
the ninth day, women throng the temple with ponkala
pots and ingredients for cooking.
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| Ponkala preparation starts morning and by noon would
be over, then the melsanthi (chief priest)
carrying Devi's sword goes around the temple
sprinkling holy water and showering flowers over
the preparation.
After this, the idol of the Devi is being taken in procession
to the Manacaud Sastha Temple with the accompaniment
of thalapoli, kuthiyottom, annam, vahanam and,
caparisoned elephants. Percussion in the
procession include chenda, nagaswaram, band and
neyyandi melam.
There will also be Kumbhakudam (pageantry) during the procession.
En route, the procession is received with
nirapara (a pot filled with paddy and decorated
with flowers usually arranged in front of traditional
Kerala houses). The procession returns next morning.
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| Vetta and Arattu(1-
10th November) |
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The
'Vetta' and 'Arattu'
processions are held twice a year from
Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple.
The 'Vetta' symbolizes Vishnu hunting
down the demon of evil in a forest.
The
climax of the hunt takes place at a
spot in front of the Sundravilasom Palace
in the Thiruvananthapuram Fort.
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| On the next day the famous 'Arattu' processions takes place
in the late afternoon. Images of Sree Padmanabha,
Krishna and Narasimha are carried along the 5km
route to the edge of the Arabian Sea at Shangumukham
beach, escorted by the members of the royal family
and armed police contingents.
At sunset as per custom and tradition handed down through
centuries, the images are ritually bathed in the
sea after prescribed poojas. A procession illuminated
by traditional torches, escort the purified idols
back to the temple, marking the conclusion of
the grand event.
Elaborate poojas and ceremonial processions are held every
day of the festival. Several cultural programmes
including all-night Kathakali constitute the culture
fare. |
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