Kathakali at Kanakakkunnu

Narakasura vadham Kathakali at Kathakali Festival 2012 Kanakakkunnu Palace, Thruvananthapuram

Kathakali program at Kanakakunnu for 2012

20.01.2012 Friday: Bali Vijayam

21.01.2012: Saturday: Narkasura Vadham (pic above) by Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma.

22.01.2012: Nala Charitham - Naallam divasam : Unnayi Warrier

23.01.2012: Monday: Kuchela Vrittam: Muringoor Shankarn Potthi.

24.01.2012: Tuesday: Duryodhan Vadham: Vayaskara Aryan narayan Moos.

25.01.2012: Wednesday: Dakshayaagam: Iriyimman Thampi

Manipuri dance at Nishagandhi

Manipuri Nata Sankeerthana by the troupe of Baisali Sarkar performing at Nishagandhi Festival, Trivandrum 

Swathi sangeethotsavam where royalty and divinity meet

The much awaited Swathi Sangeethotsavam 2012 started on Friday, the 6th January at the Kuthiramaalika palace built by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal. The royal courtyard reverberated with the divine voice of Sanjay Subrahmanyan. Truly an unforgettable experience.

The programmes to follow:
7th January: Prince Rama Verma
8th : Bangalore S Shankar
9th : Venkataraman
10th : Master G Abhilash
11th: Abhradita Banrjee - Hindustani Bhajans
12th: Akkarai Sisters

Kite Festival, Kovalam

350 kites made from recycled newspapers on one string

Kite Flying Festival

Planning to go to the Kite Festival at Kovalam this afternoon.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/article2725604.ece

Will post later.

Kovalam Tourist Village

I was excited when I heard that the Kovalam Tourist Village was modeled on the lines the Delhi haat. However, I was in for a major disappointment. The village was pathetic and not worth the trouble. 

There are a handful of stalls selling the usual products of 'Kudumbasree units. The few food stalls offer predictable Kerala fare withe hardly any choice. No wonder there were only a handful of visitors even on a weekend. Worth giving a go by till there is substantial improvement. 

9th Century Cave Temple at Madavoor, near Sreekaryam

After having visited the cave temple at Vizhinjam, a couple of times, I decided to explore Madavoorpaara which is closer to my place of work, Asian School of Business, Technocity. 


Madavoor para houses an ancient Shiva temple of 9th Century C.E. Now it is under the care of the State Archaelogical department. It  is on Pothencode - Sreekaryam road. I took the Pothencode road from Vettu road junction on NH 47 at Kazhakootam (near the Sainik School). A sharp right turn at Kattayikonam takes you to the Sreekaryam road. (Incidentally, this is also a good road to take if you want to avoid the traffic snarl between Vettu road and Kazhakuttam on NH).  Madavoor para is within a couple of Kms. on this road on the left. There is a hand painted wooden board in Malayalam. A newly laid road takes you to the bottom of the rock temple.There are well laid steps to the rock. (could be slippery in monsoon). The last few steps on the rock could be a challenge for senior citizens.
 Pooja timings are from 6am to 10 pm and from 5-15pm to 6-30 pm . It was closed when we visited . So could not see the lingam and the inside carivngs of Ganapati and Subrahmanya. However the surrounding areas, including the nearby rubber plantations were soothing sights.Since it is not far from Technopark, it is well worth a visit if you can spare about an hour.