Where Tigers Dance and Men turn God!

Kerala, the southernmost state of India, is supposed to have received its name from the words Kera meaning coconut and Alam meaning land. The land of coconut trees soon became Keralam and now Kerala, popular for the amazing and full length Kerala tourism packages. Long back, this land was a part of the Thamizhakam or the present Tamil Nadu along with the Chera, Chola and Pandya regions. For the same reasons, you will find great similarities in the culture and art forms of the two states. Kerala derived its identity among the travellers through Vasco Da Gama, the Portuguese explorer who accidentally landed on the Kappad beach during his travel. He was so fascinated by the natural landscapes and the exotic spices that he soon led the way to establishing a trade route between some of the rich European countries and Kerala. Soon more traders and travellers started visiting this beautiful land of exotic flavours and we developed our mix of culture from those Greek, Arabs, Jews, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Europeans and the British who settled down here.

 Of course, we always had a great rich culture to nurture and added on whatever more came in interesting. The popular belief is that Parasurama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu created this beautiful land from the sea. He threw his axe into the sea and the sea gave way to this rich and resourceful land is one of the myths associated with Kerala. We will see more of this as we proceed with our mystical Keralatour packages through the culture and rituals followed in this God’s OwnCountry.

Experiencing the colourful Festivals of Kerala

Kerala, though a small state, has a rich culture and a long list of events and celebrations throughout the year. When one part of the state completes celebrating its share of festivals, the other part starts it and it is a closed chain! Temple festivals, Church festivals, Muslim festivals, state festivals like Onam, educational fests, sports fest, cultural events like literary awards, musical performances and the list goes on! Round the year, you will find some part of Kerala prepped up for an event of some sort! Let us glance through some of the popular festivals of Kerala that comes in each month! Please note that Kerala’s festivals are celebrated based on Malayalam calendar and hence the exact date and month on which it is celebrated each year may change.

Festivals in January

It all starts with the New Year celebrations, then comes Swathi Sangeetholsavam which is a celebration of Music in the memory of Swathi Thirunal, Feast of St. Sebastain, Gajamela, Arthungal Perunnal and Thaippoyam. Gajamela is another rare event conducted here to celebrate the elephants we use here in temple and church processions. This will be an exciting event to watch out if you are visiting Kerala, by using Kerala packages including special cultural fests.  

Festivals in February

February brings along with it exam preparations. In February the famous Chettikulangara Bharani is celebrated in Allepy which transforms the town into a colourful extravaganza. One of the main attractions of this temple festival is the Kettukazhcha or the colourful effigies in big and small sizes. The bigger ones represent the horse and the smaller ones represent a chariot. These are offerings by the nearby villages which makes it an event representing cultural harmony. Anayottam or the elephant race in Guruvayur marks the beginning of Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple’s festivals.  The winning elephant will be the honoured one to carry the auspicious idol of the temple during the processions. Aattukal Pongala is another big celebration in Trivandrum where the devotees offer Pongala to the Aattukal Devi on this auspicious day. Those in Trivandrum on Kerala tour packages from Mumbai during this festival will find it surprising to see most of the roads cleaned and blocked in Trivandrum to let the ladies make and offer Pongala to the powerful Devi. At the same time, in Kasargode, they celebrate Kuttikol Thamburatti Theyyam where you can see some major Theyyam performances that turn a man into God!

Festivals in March

March welcomes the summer heat as well as the exam heat! Students will keep themselves busy writing board exams and annual school exams all through the month of March. This is clearly off-season time for tour packages in Kerala whether from Delhi or any other states. But the celebrations continue with Poorams at Uthralikkavu which is considered the biggest pooram of Kerala with 22 elephants. This year Easter seems to be in a hurry and falls in March itself instead of being the usual April festival.

Festivals in April

April usually brings with it summer holidays for children along with Easter, Vishu and Ram Navami. Apart from these, this year Trissur Pooram also falls in April soon after Vishu. This year April seems to be the best time to plan your exciting Kerala holiday packages to enjoy Vishu,Ram Navami and Trissur Pooram during your holidays. You can also enjoy some events for the children and Mango fest and Jackfruit fest during this time.

Festivals in May

This month again is a haven for the tourism industry. Most of the schools across the country will have holidays and hence they expect quite a good crowd especially in the beaches, backwaters and hill stations. This is the time the hill stations are typically flocked by honeymoon couples on Kerala tour packages. Honeymoon time by taking Kerala honeymoon packages focusing on the Kerala culture will be a nice experience for you. One major celebration you can find this month is the Kottiyoor Festival which is a big celebration lasting 28 days in Kannur district. Neyyattam and Thirukalasattu are 2 unique rituals performed here during this festival.

 Festivals in June, July & August

June and July are the lean periods for festivals other than boat races as Kerala gets drenched in monsoon rains. This is the right time for honeymoon couples to enjoy romantic holiday packages in Kerala. The Champakkulam boat race will be the only event you can witness in Kerala during these months in 2016. Usually, by the end of August, the monsoons start receding and the preparations for Onam starts in the business houses. This year Onam arrives by mid-September only and hence, August too will be an off-season except for the monsoon Kerala tours.

Festivals in September

September brings with it a new colourful season. The state looks greener and more colourful after the monsoon rains. Preparations for the 10-day celebration of Onam begin in September. The month starts with Manarcaud Perunnal which lasts 8 days. Onam celebration starts with Athachamayam in Tripunithura on 4^th of Sept. Thiruvonam are the big festival day for all Malayalees and it comes towards mid of September. You can visit Trissur to witness the Tiger Dance or Puli Kali on the 2^nd day after Thiruvonam if you plan your Kerala trip accordingly. This is the time for more boat races in Kerala. If you make a glance to the honeymoon packages in Kerala provided by reputed tour companies, then you will see the festivals in top most position, because one who visits Kerala during that time will keep in their heart forever.

Festivals in October

Navrathri is the biggest festival in October. The Saraswathi temples and the Devi temples get busy with amateurs and professionals performing music and dance on these 9 days. Young children are made to start their studies on Vijayadasami day as it is considered an auspicious day to start all types of education including art and music. Many people tour Kerala during this time on as it is off season and the climate is also fairly pleasant. This year Diwali, which is not so celebrated in Kerala, is on 30^th of October.

 Festivals in November

November brings with it a few honeymoon couples on romantic Kerala packages to the hill stations and backwaters. After the monsoons, this is another month of rains in Kerala which these honeymoon couples enjoy a lot. The 2 major festivals in Kerala in November are the Kalpathi Ratholsavam and Vettukadu Church Feast.

Festivals in December

Most of the people from the USA plan their Kerala travel during the Christmas holidays as they are in celebration mode this entire month. Christmas is the only major festival in December and the holidays that mark the beginning of the New Year. The climate remains pleasant although only the hill stations can be called cool.

If you make a houseboat cruise on your honeymoon days by using the honeymoon packages, then you will be able to see many art forms lively.Other than these festivals, Kerala has a rich culture of performing arts and artists. Dance forms like Kathakali and Mohiniyattom are many centuries old. Kathakali is a very complicated dance form and unlike the other dance forms that require swift movements of the body. Here the performer conveys the message through facial expressions and hand mudras or symbols. It takes many years of rigorous practice to learn this dance form. Other dance forms of like Thullal, Krishnanattom, Koodiyattom, Thiruvathirakali, Kolkkali, Kakkarishi, Oppanna, Natakom and Chavittunatakom are also popular in Kerala. Musically we excel in Nadanpattu, Panchavadyam & Chendamelam though Carnatic music is also very popular here. Mural paintings and Kalarippayattu are some other ancient art and performance forms which are still practised in Kerala.