The southern most district and the capital of Kerala, God’s own country, one who visits Thiruvananthapuram, visits heaven experiencing the ecstasy of being here.
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Kathakali has become a world-famous dance-drama within the least fifteen years. Nearly every foreigner who visits Kerala wants to see a Kathakali performance
Kerala 's capital Tiruvanathapuram or Trivandrum which is infinitely easier to say and write was named after the Serpent God Anantha, on whom Lord Vishnu reclines.
Mohiniattam has long been referred to as the Bharatanatyam from Kerala. There was once a time when it was also called a 'bad imitation of Bharatanatyam. But all that has changed now.
Kudiyattam plays, always based on classical Sanskrit texts, many of them composed in Kerala, invariably include a long nirvahanam or “retrospective” in which a character reveals, mostly by the silent language of hand- and eye-gestures, abhinaya, the long process that has brought him or her to the present moment in the play.
Padmanabha Swamy temple located inside the East Fort, this Vaishnava temple is very famous attracting devotees from all parts. Dedicated to Lord Vishnu sleeping on Anantha, the serpent king, this temple is a rare blend of Dravidian architecture and the Kerala style.
In Kerala it is common to find in the houses of the high-caste Hindus a shrine for cobras in the south western corner of the large compound round the ancestral house.
Trivandrum was the capital of the Princely State of Travancore, which was ruled by Hindu Kings and Queens, and it continues to be the state capital of the present day Kerala
King Marthanda Varma founder of Travancore, made Trivandrum his capital and even after his rule ended the city continued to be the capital of the State of Travancore. When Kerala was formed as a state in 1956 the city was unanimously chosen to continue as the capital continuing two centuries of tradition.... It is a small city compared to the other state capitals and thus retains its charm.
The city’s former name, Trivandrum, was given by the British and is a contraction of Thiruvananthapuram, its ancient name that was adopted again in the early 21st century. It is the site of the University of Kerala (1937) and its affiliated colleges and technical schools. It also has a museum, zoological gardens, an observatory, and an art gallery.
Trivandrum is one of the nine Roman Catholic (Latin Catholic) dioceses of Kerala.
One is struck by the beauty and charm of the temple architecture - harmonious conglomeration of both Kerala and Tamil styles of architecture.
Hasthalakshanadeepika, the ancient Sanskrit classical text on the dances of Kerala, mentions 24 basic mudras or hand-gestures, which are in use in the classical dance dramas of Kerala. Mohiniyattam, in particular, uses them.
In the absence of a well-defined structure, Mohiniyattam had earned qualifiers like ‘poor cousin of Bharatanatyam , ‘an off-shoot of Kathakali ' and so on during the 60s and the 70s. This had motivated quite a few dancers to make serious attempts to provide the dance form with an identity indigenous to Kerala;
In the oriental art tradition, the relation between the Guru and the Shishya is exemplary. Among traditional performing arts of Kerala, Mohiniyattam along with Kathakali fascinated Western artistes even in the early 20th century.
The second reason adduced, viz., that Aryabhata should have hailed from Kerala is fragile. Besides the Aryabhatan system being prevalent in this land,-“all” commentaries on Aryabha?ya have been produced by Kerala astronomers really does not stand scrutiny.
Year 1960 onwards, Mohiniattam, in spite of being a very old dance form, has started gaining prominence. It has spread from Kerala to other South India states, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and now, even Mumbai . I know many kids who are choosing to pursue Mohiniattam instead of Bharatanatyam.