Fort Cochin; Photo credits: Manoj Vasudevan
Known as “God’s Own Country”, Kerala is one of the most beautiful states in India. Lonely Planet apparently agrees by citing it among the World’s 10 best destinations for a family holiday in 2014. The Lonely Planet award for Best Family Destination was bestowed at the World Travel Mart in London, the leading trade event attended by industry representatives from around the world. Continue reading
“The Lord”
Historically elephants have been part of the rich culture of Kerala. As the physical representative of Lord Ganesha, people consider this animal a harbinger of good fortune, a remover of obstacles and an inseparable and integral part of religious and economic life as both temples and mosques embraced the animal during festivals. Continue reading
For those of us (and there is more than one of us among Raxa Collective contributors to this blog) who took advanced literature courses during high school in the 1970s, when Samuel Beckett was still writing and directing, this post on the New Yorker‘s website is a thrill. Beckett was taught in a manner that made him seem to a teenager like a contemporary Shakespeare. We had no images of him to know how amazing his face was, nor any details of his life until a biography that came out after his passing. So, we appreciate this:
In this week’s issue of the magazine, Hilton Als reviews the current production of Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” directed by Sean Mathias, at the Cort Theatre.
In contrast to the minimalism of his plays, Beckett himself led a rich life. An Irishman in Paris, he met James Joyce in the nineteen-twenties, and the author took Beckett under his wing as a research assistant for a book that eventually became “Finnegans Wake.”
All photos courtesy of the AKTC
We’d been living in Kerala for 6 months before we traveled back to the U.S. via Delhi in order to update our visas. Having only experienced the sights in my “southern home” up until that point, we scheduled our flight to allow for a Delhi city tour, and Humayun’s Tomb was the first item on the agenda.Unluckily for us the “Travel Gods” were not favoring us, and between flight delays and Delhi traffic we reached the gates of the tomb compound at 5:58pm, just in time for us to see the guard saunter over to lock them for the night. I was seriously disappointed, but I’ve since learned that perhaps those aforementioned gods were looking after our best interest after all. Continue reading
Lord Ayyappa
Sabarimala Temple is one of the most important pilgrim centres in India. Every year, lakhs of devotees throng this holy shrine situated amidst the thick forest of Periyar Tiger Reserve. Pilgrims have to undertake 41 days vritham (penance) consisting of strict celibacy. Females between the age of 10 and 50 are not permitted in the shrine. Continue reading
NYTimes reporter Jennifer 8. Lee talks about her culinary mission for the origins of familiar Chinese-American dishes, that in many cases aren’t really either one and in others have combined to form a new cuisine.
Let me present the question to you: If our benchmark for Americanness is apple pie, you should ask yourself, how often do you eat apple pie, versus how often do you eat Chinese food..If you think about it, a lot of the foods that Americans think of as Chinese food are barely recognizable to Chinese. For example, I took a whole bunch of fortune cookies back to China, gave them to Chinese to see how they would react. Continue reading
Image Courtesy: http://Magnuscarlsen.com
In textbook fashion (and I can’t stress this enough), 22-year-old chess juggernaut (and this is probably an understatement) Magnus Carlsen of Norway has just recently dethroned 5-time world champion Viswanathan Anand in such an epic clash that one could imagine a very, very dramatic film produced from the whole debacle.
Courtesy of Karnataka Mahila Yakshagana. A scene from Yakshagana performed by female artists in Bangalore, Karnataka, in January.
Thanks to India Ink for bringing to our attention this article by Kavitha Rao:
BANGALORE — In a quiet Bangalore home, a group of middle-aged women are learning to walk, talk and dance like men. Continue reading
Photo credits: Binu Kumar
Gangaikondacholapuram temple is situated near the city of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, King Rajendra Chozlan built the temple 1020 -29 AD. The main Mandapa is two storied structure and dotted with pillars with exquisite carvings. There are many beautiful sculptures on the walls of the temple and its enclosures. A huge Nandhi (Shiva’s bull) made of brick and mortar presides in front of the main edifice. Continue reading
Photo credit: Ramesh Kidangoor
Revered by both Hindus and Muslims, the town of Erumely is famous for the Vavar Mosque as well as the Sastha Temple. The Ritual of Petta Thullal during the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage is a unique feature of this place. Pilgrims who visit the temple consider it their sacred duty to offer donation to a representative of the Vavar Mosque. The reason for this devotion is that Vavar was considered to be a contemporary and friend of Lord Ayyappa, the presiding deity of Sabarimala Temple. Continue reading
Rice Soup
Rice is one of the staples of Kerala cuisine and a rice soup called Kanji is one of the classic dishes. The soup is a simple preparation of serving the rice in the water it was cooked in. Kanji is usually eaten for as the evening meal as the dish is light, rich in nutrients and easily digested. This dish is usually enjoyed with condiments like pickle or chutney, as well as Kerala’s favorite dry fish and pappadam. Continue reading
Returning with the days catch
We’ve written previously about Keralalites’ love for fish. However, eating it is only half the story; how it enters into people’s lives is another part of it. Here we’ll share how daily life starts for many locals in a fishing town.
Fishermen usually leave their nets in the water overnight and come back in the morning with prayers in their heart for a good catch. Often luck is with them and their prayers are answered, primarily due to the healthy waters along Kerala’s coastline. Continue reading
Last night I had the opportunity to see a Kathakali performance, which is a classical Indian dance-drama that originated in Kerala in the 17 th century.
I arrived a little bit late because I was sitting at the wrong section of the performing center, so I missed the introduction of what the dancers were depicting. Yet, I was still wholly captivated when I walked into the theater: the make-up on the dancers was so incredibly colorful and elaborate. The dark, fierce black liners around their eyes made them look a bit intimidating as well. In addition to the make-up, the dancers were wearing head pieces, skirts, and pants that were bejeweled and feathered with colorful ornaments. Continue reading
The Google car knows every turn. It never gets drowsy or distracted, or wonders who has the right-of-way. Illustration by Harry Campbell.
In most of the developing world, or at least where La Paz Group operates and where more and more European and North Americans are engaged in experiential travel, road conditions and driving habits are “different.” It is our educated guess that these travelers do not consider driving time to be their favorite part of these experiences. We do not hide from this fact. On the contrary, we take our drivers’ safety training seriously. But we are always on the lookout for new approaches. This week’s new New Yorker magazine, hot off the press, is the annual technology-focused issue. An article there has got us thinking and discussing:
Human beings make terrible drivers. They talk on the phone and run red lights, signal to the left and turn to the right. They drink too much beer and plow into trees or veer into traffic as they swat at their kids. They have blind spots, leg cramps, seizures, and heart attacks. They rubberneck, hotdog, and take pity on turtles, cause fender benders, pileups, and head-on collisions. They nod off at the wheel, wrestle with maps, fiddle with knobs, have marital spats, take the curve too late, take the curve too hard, spill coffee in their laps, and flip over their cars. Of the ten million accidents that Americans are in every year, nine and a half million are their own damn fault. Continue reading
Brass Uruli
At Cardamom County we make every effort to ensure the uniqueness of our guests’ experience. One way is to invite them to watch our Ayura staff along with Dr. Pameela, our in-house Ayurvedic doctor, prepare the traditional herbal oils used in Ayurvedic massage. They first harvested the special herbs in our gardens. The herbs are then soaked in water overnight to extract a concentrate that by morning turns into a rich concoction called kashaya. This mixture is then brought to a boil in a large brass vessel called an uruli. Continue reading
Artisan at Work
At Cardamom County we’ve been supporting the fine arts in our community and beyond for many years. For the past few seasons we’ve invited a young man from Odisha to showcase his workmanship at the entrance to our restaurant All Spice. His handicrafts are amazingly detailed drawings carved onto palm leaves and then painted. Continue reading
We have mentioned cricket on more than one occasion, because of its place of importance in the Indian culture. If you are not from here, or at least here, in India, it may be difficult to understand this importance. Now is as good a time as any to begin understanding it. Tunku Varadarajan, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, provides some helpful hints and lessons about the sport, and the country, in an OpEd in today’s New York Times about the one man who has been practically deified in recent times:
India, Where the Gods Live On … and On
…Tendulkar, whom everyone calls Sachin, is the most revered cricketer in India…In fact, it would be entirely accurate to describe him as the most revered contemporary Indian, or even, with only a pinch of hyperbole, the most revered Indian since Mahatma Gandhi held the nation in thrall… Continue reading
Yesterday, Jake and I were kindly invited by our Assistant Manager Salim to dinner with his clients and family. His wife cooked us beef stew, fish fries, tapioca, appam, and many other things. The other dishes were mouthwatering and flavorful, but everyone was so amazed by her soft, fluffy, sweet and delicious appam! Continue reading
Dry Fish
The state of Kerala is known to be the most literate state in India and one is able to understand why after noting the Malayali’s profound love for fish.
Fish is an integral part of Kerala cuisine, including breakfast, indicating the vast diversity of recipes that are available considering it is often eaten twice or thrice a day. The benefits of fish are well publicized, specifically that the Omega 3 fatty acids help in brain development. Continue reading
Periyar Tiger Reserve may be famous for its tiger population but it’s also a paradise for elephant lovers. Over 1,300 of the magnificent creatures call the 925 plus sq kms of PTR their home. Also know as “keystone animals”, elephants have a huge impact on the ecosystem they live in. For example when elephants uproot trees with their trunks they create grasslands and savanna and their habit of digging for water during drought causes big water holes that also supports other wildlife in the area. The major threats for elephants have been the illegal ivory trade but due to strict laws the elephants can find themselves safe in the reserve.
Organikos 