In Kerala, and perhaps other parts of India, “auntie” or “uncle” are terms of endearment among youth for anyone of “respectable” age. No blood ties are necessary. In many Western cultures the OED definition tends to prevail, respectively, for these two terms:
A sister of one’s father or mother; also, an uncle’s wife (= aunt-in-law).
A brother of one’s father or mother; also, an aunt’s husband (= uncle-in-law).
And cousins?
True Indigo is a shrub that grows to be around 4-6 feet tall and the plant is best known for its source of the indigo dye. Continue reading
Most of the people in India have enjoyed the sweet and pungent taste of Cinnamon. Also known as “Sweet Wood” in some countries, Cinnamon is one of the species native to the hills of Kerala and Sri Lanka.
Cinnamon Bark is widely used in cooking as a flavoring spice in both sweet and savory recipes. Cinnamon is main flavor in Indian dishes like Briyani, chicken curry etc. Continue reading
I recently wrote about India’s pithy little roadside instructions with the promise of photos to come. My last drive to Thekkady was on an unusually traffic free day, so it seemed safe enough to pull over and finally get my shots.
Although only about 26 sq km of out of the nearly 1,000 that make up the Periyar Tiger Reserve, the lake is the nucleus of the national park. During summer, elephants are commonly sighted crossing the lake. This video was taken by senior Forest watcher Mr.Kannan near Mullaperiyar dam on 1st February 2012. Continue reading
Elephant
These photos were taken by Mr.Kannan who is a senior forest watcher, was has dedicated his life to the Periyar Tiger Reserve. He is a man who knows the nooks and corners of the sanctuary after having trekked there over 40 years.
The festival has the kind of illustrious history that makes it interesting enough on its home turf in Wales; its more recent evolution is a sign of creativity in motion. Take a look at this story from the most recent iteration of the festival in Kerala, and then after the jump see more on one of the festival’s participants in Colombia last week. Continue reading
In Kerala, almost every village has its own temple, with an annual festival. So there’s always a local festival happening somewhere or the other. As we mentioned about Theyam in our previous post, there are more than 400 Theyams performed in Kerala each year. Continue reading
Red Leadwort (Plumbago rosea Linn ) is an ornamental plant which is found in most gardens in India. The main attraction of this plant is its flower stalk, but more importantly the plant is used in the field of Ayurveda for its medicinal values. Continue reading
We are sharing some of the snapshots taken by Ms. Sofia, who stayed at Cardamom County on 6th & 7th of Jan-2012, from Periyar Tiger Reserve.
The friendliest fellows to be found. Any passerby will get a smile. Any passerby who tries to click a snapshot will get the royal treatment: a split second shift from the middle of a game (which was the point of the snapshot) to the most spectacular improvised pose that could be mustered. Continue reading
One of the most green overlook sites of the Western Ghats is situated 15km from the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Located 15 km from Kumily, Chellarkovil is well known for its views of a cascading waterfall and the flourishing patchwork of fields in Tamil Nadu. One of our Cardamom County guests shared some of their snapshots taken at Chellarkovil during their visit.
Any given morning in the neighborhood called Thevara, where we have some wonderful friends, the fishermen do their thing a few meters from the riverfront walkway. To call that cooperation is like calling the kettle black. But just as we found this explanation of man-animal cooperation fascinating, this morning’s mobile phone snapshots got interesting.
Mr & Mrs. Mouleart from Belgium joined us at Cardamom County for 2 days from January 24th through the 26th, 2012. One of their excursion choices was for a ride on a tamed gentle giant – The Elephant at Thekkady. Continue reading
Creating panoramas is an imprecise art – a photographer has to account for several variables when planning a shot. Composition is itself the most simple of these variables – despite the fact that what you see is rarely what you get. A good vantage point at a higher altitude than the subject is ideal, although occasionally elements which frame in the view add interest to the image. Symmetry isn’t necesary, but unbalanced shots should have either objects of interest or follow the rule of thirds (which is by no means an actual rule). A panorama need not be a full 360 degrees, and besides the ‘wow’ factor there is usually little value to this property. The picture ends up being more like a strip than something easily viewable, and takes a great deal of time to see and appreciate.
Photo: T J Varghese- taken from a temple festival near kannur, North kerala
Kerala is a land of old traditions, rituals, customs and arts. Most of them spring from folk tradition but they are often related to religious rituals and mythological stories.
Theyyam is one of the oldest popular devotional performance of Kerala. The performer usually takes a role of one deity and continue the character over the year. Continue reading
Photo: T J Varghese - Chinnar wild life Sanctuary
This young lady in the foreground of the photo above is special. She has already broken an unspoken, unwritten, and increasingly irrelevant gender barrier in which girls play with girls and boys with boys: her brother has welcomed her into the fellowship that used to be strictly a fraternity. It helps that she is clever.
Photo: T J Varghese
Photo: T J Varghese
Organikos 