St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church, Malayattoor

Malayattoor is located in Ernakulam Dt of Kerala, the southern state of India. Malayattoor, as the name implies, is a meeting place of mountain, river and land. The shrine dedicated to St. Thomas, draws thousands of visitors from all over the world.

History

St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, is believed to have arrived in Kerala in A D 52. He had done several preaching on Jesus in various parts of Kerala. The saint went to Kurisumudy, the mountain in Malayattoor and prayed to Lord Jesus for several days. He used to draw an image of the holy cross on mountain while praying. The symbol of the holy cross can still be seen on the mountain. Mary, the mother of Lord Jesus, appeared before him and blessed the saint.  He travelled in different parts of India to spread the spirituality among the people.

Later, the people of the locality found the footprints of St. Thomas, the saint and a Holy Cross besides this. They lit a lamp in this place as a respect and began to worship. It is believed that a herd of nilgiri thars(mountain goats) came down the mountain to give intimation to the local people that the wind  doused the lamp. Then the people climbed up and lit the lamp again. In memory of this, the pilgrims who climb the mountain carry sesame seeds to feed the goats, which are rare now days.

Festivals of Malayattoor Church

The feast of Kurisumudy is one of the major festivals of Malayattoor Church. It is held every year on the first Sunday after Easter. The devotees carrying the holy cross reach this pilgrimage centre by walking kilometers and climbing up the mountain. The pilgrims as a part of their vow climb the 1269 ft. mountain with lighted candles and chanting prayers. According to believes the women who climb the mountain with brooms will have thick and long hair. Some of the devotees carry stone on their head to get relief from the headache.

There are online services for offerings and thanks giving. The Marthoma Mandapam is the holy place with a statue of Saint Thomas. The pilgrims can offer their prayers here. Sannidhi, the chapel is located on the hill-top. The water in the well near to this chapel is said to have miraculous effects of healing. The golden cross in Kurisumudy, where the Saint used to draw the holy cross during his prayers, attracts visitors.

How to reach Malayattoor Church?

By Road: Nearest bus stations are Kalady and Angamaly.
By Rail: Nearest railway- Angamaly(17 km from Malayattoor).
By Air: Nearest airport Cochin International   Airport, Nedumbassery (15 km from Malayattoor).

For details:
St. Thomas International Shrine,
Kurisumudy, Malayattoor – 683587, Kerala.India
Ph: Tel: +91 484 2468990, 2283450, 2283608
www.malayattoorkurisumudy.in

Applications Invited for Kalasagar Award

Kalasagar is an organisation based at Kavalappara in Palakkad Dt of Kerala founded by Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Poduval, the maestro of percussion Chenda. The institution celebrates the birth anniversary of its founder every year on May 28. As part of this, Kalsagar used to honor artists from different fields of art & culture. Kalasagar invites nominations from artists and art lovers for this year’s award.

Kalasagar awards are given to artistes in the field of Kathakali Vesham, Music, Chenda, Maddalam and Chutty as well as Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyattom, Kuchipudi, Ottanthullal, Chakyarkoothu, Koodiyattom, Thayambaka, and Panchavadyam — Thimila, Maddalam, Edakka, Thalam and Kombu. The awards are decided on the basis of nominations from the art lovers. The artist selected for the award should be between the age of 40-70 years and should be a permanent resident of Kerala.

Nominations with complete details of the artists should be sent to The Secretary, Kalasagar, Kavalappara, Shoranur, Palakkad, Kerala - 679523 on or before 28 April 2016.

Udukku Kotti Pattu - The Folk Song.

Udukku Kotti Pattu is a folk song related to temple festivals of Kerala (India). This art form is usually performed during the Ayyappan Vilakku festival in temples.
Ayyappan Vilakku is the festival associated to Lord Ayyappan. December - January is the season for this festival. Udukku Kotti Pattu is performed during this festival.The lyrics of the song will be related to the stories of Lord Ayyappan. The folk song uses an instrument called udukku, the main rhythmic element. Udukku is a percussion instrument which looks like a miniature of a drum, usually dumbbell shaped. Since the main instrument, mostly the only instrument, used in this folk song is udukku, it is called udukku kotti pattu, means singing with the beats of udukku. This folk song is sung by one of more communities from Hindu religion. Here is a video clip of udukku kotti pattu performed during the Ayyappan Vilakku festival of Kottappuram Siva temple in Thrissur Dt. of Kerala.

Pallipana, the folk ritual - Documentation by INTACH

Pallippana ,the folk ritual dedicated to the Goddess is seen usually in Central Kerala including Malappuram district. As all other temple rituals in Kerala, this ritual also has its uniqueness in its own manner. Along with the ritual performances , folk songs along with dance steps are conducted in this.

INTACH, Calicut Chapter is documenting the whole ritual as part of the ICH nationwide documentation by INTACH. The event will be conducted on 16th & 17th of January 2016 at Changaramkulam in Malappuram dt of Kerala (India). To know more on this event and to participate, CLICK HERE 

INTACH, The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage  is an organisation to conserve and preserve India's natural, cultural, living, tangible and intangible heritage. ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage) is a division of INTACH to document and safeguard some of the endangered cultural expressions that sustain today.

Here is video clipping of Pallippana. The ritual performance seen here is called Paanapidutham.

The Potters of the banks of River Nila

Bharathapuzha, poetically known as River Nila has played a key role in the development of civilisation and history of Kerala. There are many folk communities, traditional artists and artisans who have been living on the shores of River Nila since centuries. Some of them are still practicing their skills and crafts. The magazine,Welcome Kerala, is featuring such traditions and folklore in a series.

Ezhumangad is one of the popular potters' villages in Kerala, situated on the banks of River Nila. Some of them are still continuing their tradition. Read more about these potters:  The Potters of Ezhumangad

Nangiarkoothu by Kalamnadalam Sindhu

Kalamandalam Sindhu will perform ‎Nangiarkoothu, the Sanskrit dance drama, ‬ on 21,22 June 2015 at Thiruvananthapuram. The dance drama will be based on the story SreeRama Charitham, a new story for nangiarkoothu written by Margi Sathi,the nangiarkoothu Guru. The program will begin at  06.00 pm at Rangasree, Balasubrahmanian Temple lane, Karamana, ‪‎Thiruvananthapuram‬, Kerala.

Sindhu will be accompanied by Kalamandalam Sajikumar, Margi Mahesh on Mizhavu, Kalamandalam Mohan on Timila and Thalam, the cymbals will be played by Margi Amrutha, Margi Visishta.

Scenes presented:
21 June - Sreeramacharitham Purappadu
22 June - Nimicharitham.

This is the first series in the serial presentation of Sreeramacharitham nangiarkoothu, which will be continued in series every month.

Photo Courtesy: Kalamandalam Sindhu.

A Painting Exhibition by Child Artists

Jalasparsam’, an exhibition of paintings by around 100 child artists from the Fine Arts Academy, Balussery, Kozhikode dt conducted at the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Art Gallery in  Kozhikode, Kerala, India displayed excellence of the rising stars.  The participant artists were mostly students, from kindergarten to higher classes, some of them already established.

The exhibition displayed about 110 paintings, which included some award winning paintings of many acclaimed competitions. Read More ..