Alappuzha gets decked up for the Nehru Trophy boat race
Published August 9, 2011 | 
Punnamada lake, the venue of the fabled Nehru Trophy boat race has been a beehive of activities for the last few days as snake boats, each rowed by over 100 oarsmen in quick unison started their practice sessions, ahead of the grand competition on Aug 13. The last few days marked a surge in the number of tourists arriving at the Punnamada lake to witness this unique water sport.
The snake boat race is something exceptional to Kerala and the length of a snake boat varies from 120 feet to 140 feet and will have about 120 oarsmen, who will display a marvelous spectacle of rowing in unison well complemented by high pitched songs and resonant drum beats to add up to the mood. 16 snake boats and around 40 small boats will be participating this year in the 59th edition of the race, which is being sponsored by a single sponsor for over 2.50 Crore, which incidentally is the highest ever. Another highlight of this year’s event is that one of the snake boats of United Boat Club, Kainakary has roped in a group of 51 soldiers from the Madras Engineering Group in its team of oarsmen.
The boat race, which dates back to 1952 was held as an impromptu race in honour of the then Indian prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru who visited the state. Nehru, who was thrilled by the performance of the oarsmen had suggested to make it an annual event. On returning to Delhi, Nehru donated a silver trophy, a replica of a snake boat placed on a wooden abacus with an inscription and his signature, which is awarded to the winners in the snake boat race.
Preparations are in full swing and Alappuzha is getting braced up for the event, which is one of the most popular events in Kerala itinerary among tourists, including foreigners. So, make sure to be there to be part of this excepting spectacle, which is not seen anywhere else in India. It is interesting to note that it was featured in the online creative venture of the New Zealand community, the big idea, which shows its universal appeal and popularity.
Celebrating the rainy season with Wayanad monsoon carnival
Published August 2, 2011 | 
A monsoon carnival was organised in the Wayanad district in Kerala during the first two weeks of July to promote monsoon tourism and to soak up the mood of the rains. Aptly named “Splash”, this carnival which took place at the Chandragiri Auditorium in Kalpetta included an array of interesting indoor and outdoor events like cultural performances, singing, music, dance, magic, rafting, rock climbing, trekking, crab catching and archery. The gourmets too had a field day as there was a well stocked food court too at the venue. Stalls selling local handicrafts and spices had a steady stream of visitors.
While many tourism related activities took an off season rest, splash created a buzz in this hill district, which attracted over 200 tour operators including overseas operators who participated in this business-to-business meet. Various interesting sporting events and local games were also included in this year’s event to attract maximum participants.
One of the major attractions this year had been the fun activity of mud football. Some of the other rural games on offer included ‘kambukayattam’ (climbing the slippery tree), ‘vadamvali’ (tug of war), and also life skills like paddy transplantation. The water sports lovers too had a great time as there were many exciting activities like rafting, rain run, fishing, angling and rain trail, which brought out the charm of the monsoons at its best. I found this blog post by Sanjay-Sivadas really catchy as it has encompassed the beauty of Wayanad and the romance of the rains through some lively snap shots and descriptions.
Take a ferry ride to Maldives from Kochi
Published July 22, 2011 | 
For the first time in the maritime history of Kochi, a passenger-cum-cargo ferry service would soon be operated between Kochi and Male. A major initiative of the Shipping Ministry, it could boost the tourism potential of Kerala in general and the city of Cochin in particular in the days to come. This decision was taken at a high-level delegation meeting between India and Maldives to improve the bilateral maritime cooperation between the two countries. An agreement has also been made to promote leisure cruise service between India and Maldives.
Initially a regular passenger-cum-cargo ferry service will be operated between Kochi and Male, which would probably be a biweekly service run by a private operator. However, all the facilities on either port of call will be made by the concerned ports. The service is expected to be commissioned in two months. The shipping and trading relations between Kochi and Maldives has tremendous scope to be developed considering the fact that last year only 25,000 Indians visited Maldives against 1.55 lakh Chinese, mainly because of lack of awareness or convenient transportation facilities for the tourists. Only 10 percentage of Maldives’ imports are from India, which in turn is shipped through the Tuticorin port.
The Cochin Port is well poised to be a logistics hub in Asia after the commissioning of the Vallarpadom container terminal and Maldives could well be made the first focal point for the Kochi Port. The fun seekers and seafarers can indeed keep their chins up as world class cruise options are truly coming to their shores- finally!
Maldives, is a chain of over 1200 islands, most of them uninhabited and unexplored. Maldives touted as the tropical paradise is well known for its spectacular beaches and underwater coral gardens among others. The capital of Maldives, Male is the largest island and offers lots of shopping and fun apart from beach activities. Read more on the interesting things to do in this exquisite destination right here in Pushpitha’s Round the World Travel Blog.
Luxury cruise to be back in Kerala tourism circuits
Published July 7, 2011 | 
AMET group is picking up the cruise options from where Louis Cruise had left due to high berth charges! The AMET group has already started arrangements to operate the cruise by the first week of October , if everything goes on as planned .
AMET group CEO, P Bharathi held discussions with the officials of the Cochin Port Trust in this regard, a few weeks back. The final decision on berth charges and other related matter will be taken at the next board meeting of the Cochin port trust.
AMET is planning to start a cruise service from Kochi to Maldives ( 4 nights), Kochi -Lakshadeep ( 2 nights)and high sea cruise during nights. If there is one trip to Maldives and three high sea trips one week , in the next week it will be two trips to Lakshadeep and three high sea trips, which will be on a rotation basis. High sea trips will be conducted every week as it is the most attractive package and a handy get away for a day for the busy city folks.
The cruise liner will operate for 5-6 months a year and will make a minimum of 100 calls to the Kochi berth. At present there are over 50-60cruises calling at the Cochin port and once AMET starts its operations, it will go up to more than 150 a year. With the resumption of this service, cruise tourism is likely to gain more popularity and is expected to bring in huge revenue. State of the art facilities may be introduced at the berths to woo international tourists.
It may be recalled that when Louis cruise introduced their services nearly 2,50,000 people enjoyed the cruise in a matter of just 6 weeks, out of which more than half of the tourists were from states outside Kerala. The count down has already started. So, be ready to explore the high seas and the fun of a luxury cruise right here in Kochi in the days ahead.
Welcome to the largest floating book fair in the world
Published May 27, 2011 | 
Step on to one of the world’s largest touring and floating book fairs on board the ship MV Logos Hope, which will be berthed in Kochi till June 21. The public can visit the book fair at the North Coal berth in Willingdon Island. This interesting book shop has a rich collection of books on a range of topics and is spread across an area of 610 sq m.
This floating book shop will be open to the public from 10 am to 8 pm from Tuesday to Saturday and from 2 pm to 8 pm on Sunday and Monday. The entry fee is Rs 50. Admission is free for children under 16 years, however they must be accompanied by an adult. Another attraction of this book fair is an international coffee shop with a seating capacity of 800, where the visitors can meet the crew and watch interactive displays.
Operated by GBA Ships, a German charitable organisation, Logos Hope is the fourth in the fleet operated by the organisation. The ship has a work force belonging to over 45 countries apart from volunteers ranging from pensioners, families and even children who serve in their professional capacity.Now that the summer vacations for the school kids in Kerala are in their last leg, this floating book fair would be a great holiday idea for kids who might have run out of all the choices in the past two months:) Check it out!
“None but a fool is always right” – Celebrating yet another All Fools Day
Published April 1, 2011 | 
April Fools’ Day is celebrated all around the world on April 1 with lots of fun, frolic, humour and pranks.It is a day when people can afford to sound silly and to indulge in tomfoolery. The day is all about enjoying good humored jokes and playing hoaxes and games that tickle your funny bones and Kerala too is celebrating the fun theme today at its best . People put on their thinking caps days in advance to come up with the most convincing joke they could ever think of:) The person at the receiving end could be friends, family members, teachers and neighbors- as long as the joke is bang on target the purpose of April fool is served.
However , it is sad to note that at times people tend to play cruel jokes and indulge in dangerous acts in the name of the all fools day, which will spoil the fun and playful spirit of the day. The most common pranks are making false phone calls and faking holidays and deaths of film personalities and celebrities, which could leave at least some of us depressed and tense.
However, the present trend among the youth seems to set off a mental mayhem by moving their priced ipad, smart phones or even their car to a different space and to give them a few anxious moments. As the trends and tips of April fool celebrations undergo transformations, let us not forget the basic objective of this day of having loads of fun and rib tickling jokes that will make us laugh the rest of the year and ensure a happy time ahead!
The unseen nightlife of Kochi
Published March 22, 2011 | 
No matter whether you are here in Kochi on a weekend or any other day , the startling silence after dusk, will surely turn you off. Though Kochi is an IT hub and home to many prestigious business establishments including the international container terminal, the fact is that Kochi still prefers to sleep early, even on weekends! Save for the buzzing transport bus stand and a handful of shops in its vicinity, the city will be fully cloaked in silence at night.
However, there is an unseen nightlife facade for this city, which most of us may not be even aware of! So, before you tag this city of Kochi as dull and mundane, just hop into a lounge bar on a weekend to get smitten by the high voltage party milieu. The young and the trendy crowd grooving to racy mixes and plunging into a whirlpool of fun and fiesta would make you feel that you are in a bustling metropolis.
Come weekends and these night owls throng a few city lounge bars with passion and fervour. They waltz well into the wee hours and soak up the party fun at its best, topped off with fast music and the choicest cocktails. The lounge bar of Dream Hotel, the Ava Lounge is one such hot night spot. Flaunting a loyal clientele that drop in to make the most of the peppy DJ music and its glitzy ambiance, Ava remains open from 4 pm, though the music starts only at 10 pm. The eves in the city can have the fun of an exclusive ladies night on Thursdays. It caters to a mixed crowd of all possible types of party animals though a major chunk of its clientele is made up of business people and the deep pocketed NRIs.
So, if you want to let your hair down and to have some great fun to the accompaniment of waltz, wine and music, then hit the roads that lead to these party hubs. Though Kochi is still in its nascent stage as far as its nightlife is concerned, this city would outsmart many other bigger metros like Bangalore or Delhi for being safe for women who wish to party alone. So, it is party time for all those in the XX genre; grab your dancing shoes and hit the tiles tonight! Kochi is calling you!
It takes two to tango!
Published February 4, 2011 | 
All work and no play will make Jack a dull boy; and our boss, Sholto knows this better than anyone else. On a short visit to his Kerala office, his innovative ideas have made the mundane job chores really exciting. Unlike any typical Indian office, where people sit in their workspace all day and do their work, without little interaction, our office in Karma Kerala has a carefree charm and style of an English setup.
The staff members are encouraged to have short interactive sessions in between and to mingle with the rest of the office. Talking and laughing during office hours might be considered as gross indiscipline in any other office in India but in Karma Kerala it is encouraged as it nurtures interpersonal skills and recharge our brain cells after a long stint at work.
Simple activities to enhance lateral thinking and out of the box thoughts interspersed with our working hours make it more fruitful and interesting. In the last few days, we have even picked up a few salsa dance steps from our colleagues Sharaz and Tanweer who are well trained salsa exponents. The whole hearted participation of the staff members have helped a lot to break the ice, to shatter the inhibitions and to mingle with everyone in the office, breaking the smothering cordons of coterie among us.:)
Hope that the new working style will become imprinted in each and everyone of us as it will surely bring about a quality change not only in the productivity of the employees but also in the work culture and camaraderie of the employees.
P Padmarajan – remembering the master storyteller
Published January 24, 2011 | 
Yet another year gone by when Malayalees lament the demise of, the master storyteller that was, P Padmarajan. Twenty long years and yet Malayalam cinema still awaits a director of that calibre who could reach out to the masses at all levels with his story, direction, sense of music, romance and even sexuality of the Malayalee with finesse.
Connecting with all kinds of people with films on themes like love (Innale), incest in (Nammukku paarkkaan muthiri thoppukal), lesbian love and friendship (Deshaadanakili karayarilla), life in a brothel and with (Arappettakettiya gramathil), man in love with two women (Thoovaanathumbikal) was done with a style that appealed to both the young and old.
Music has always worked for each and every Padmarajan movie and his last movie Njan Gandharavan was no different in this either. Finding unusual themes, unexpected endings were also his forte and what elevated his films onto different strata to the viewer.
So was he a better storyteller or a director; and does it matter… for his films took mainstream Malayalam cinema onto new heights and its not often that a writer comes along who has film-making capabilities to picturise the story he unravells with the same effect on celluloid.
Here is an excerpt from the personal post on Padmarajan Unni R Nair did last year in this blog…
For me, Padmarajan is simply one of the best that we have had in Malayalam Cinema, a man who went beyond the classifications of art-house and commercial cinema and who successfully merged all these different strands of cinema and who gave a well edited action flick too in ‘Season’, a film that can teach many a lesson to those who still stumble at making action films.
Well, I’d love to spend a few moments relishing memories of the many Padmarajan movies that had made me so passionate about films. The late KPAC Azeez jumping out of the boat all determined to take revenge on the man who had been a witness to his crimes (‘Peruvazhiyambalam‘), the poor desperate grandfather (played by Thilakan) who is all shattered after his young grandson had gone missing in the sea (‘Moonnaam Pakkam‘), the young Jayaram in ‘Innale‘ who wishes and prays earnestly that his new-found lover (played by Shobhana), who has been suffering from Amnesia, doesn’t get back her memories and recognise her husband (played by Suresh Gopi), the village wrestler (played by Rasheed) who is rather indifferent towards his wife and her needs (‘Oridathoru Phayalwan‘) – these and many other scenes from Padmarajan films just scroll on and on in my memory while I hear my heart sob and pay heartfelt tributes to the ‘Gandharvan’ who left us nineteen years ago, an untimely death that shattered us all to a great extent. I know that some of our scribes will be getting ready with write-ups and memoirs for tomorrow and some of our papers may devote some space for the versatile writer-filmmaker.
Well, this is my personal tribute to Padmarajan, the man who made me love films, the man who made me love myself and have a passion for life.
Here I am again remembering P Padmarajan on his 20th death anniversary giving voice to a large number of people who took to Malayalam cinema thanks to the master storyteller.