The Kumblanghi Glow

Kavaru Season Begins in Kumbalangi: Discover the Mesmerizing Bio-Luminescence in Kochi

Remember the stunning electric-blue glow in the romantic scene from the hit Malayalam film Kumbalangi Nights? That breathtaking phenomenon, known locally as Kavaru, is once again lighting up the coastal hamlets of Kochi. This natural spectacle draws visitors to the sprawling pokkali fields, where hundreds of acres come alive with a vibrant blue or neon green luminescence.

What is Kavaru?

Kavaru is a rare bio-luminescent phenomenon that occurs when water, rich in high salinity during the summer months, emits a bright electric blue or neon green light. The best places to witness this magical display are the villages of Kumbalangi and Chellanam, known for their vast pokkali paddy fields. Last year, these locations saw a surge of tourists eager to experience the captivating glow.

Why Does Kavaru Occur?

The phenomenon is caused by microscopic organisms—bacteria, algae, plankton, and fungi—that emit light in response to increased salinity in the water. These natural organisms produce what’s called "cold light" as a defense mechanism to attract mates and deter predators.

Kavaru at Chellanam and Kumbalangi

Last year, Kavaru appeared as early as February in the pokkali fields of Kumbalangi. However, this year, the mesmerizing glow has been mostly spotted around Chellanam, albeit with a slight delay, possibly due to high tides. Local residents also note that the luminescence tends to be dimmer when moonlight is strong, typically appearing after 2 am. As mid-March approaches and the full moon wanes, you may be able to catch the enchanting glow from dusk onward.

Plan your visit to these scenic villages and immerse yourself in the magic of Kavaru—an unforgettable natural wonder that lights up the night!

Innovation during Pandemic

Tourism is one of the worst hit industries during these pandemic era. Many entrepreneurs have gone bankrupt and many careers have been thrown under the bus. 

Inspite of everything Aveda Resorts & Spa at Kumarakom, in Alleppey district of Kerala has found a way to do something that would generate some income to maintain the property, atleast. By June, they knew the lock down is here to stay and the hotels will not be allowed to open anytime soon.  So they decided to turn their awesome 150 metre long swimming pool into a fish farm. 

They bought around 16,000, two months old Pearl Spot ( Local favourite) baby fishes and farmed them in the pool.

Pearl Spot usually take around eight months to reach their full growth/size and the team at Aveda is hoping to harvest them in November and looking forward to sell them both in the local and UAE market. 

The reality of Pandemic is shock and panic which drove many to destruction, the team at Aveda Resort and Spa has found a way to stay afloat. Congratulations Team Aveda, you guys are very inspiring.  

The link:

Aveda Boutique Resort & Spa

Charles Allan

Allan Charles 1940-2020

Charles Allen, a master of British Indian and South Asian history passed away at his home in England on August 16^th , 2020, after struggling with cancer for a long time...Read More

Onam

On this day of our harvest festival, Onam, when every one used to be  blessed with a bountiful harvest and were filled with the happiness of prosperity and contentment, we remember our Great King, Mahabali, who ensured justice & fairness, equality, honesty, work & bread for  all  and wish you a very happy Onam in the age old tradition of our forefathers who lived and died here, in our Kerala! 

May the panic and anxiety of the pandemic do not cast a shadow on our celebrations, let us make the best with what we have and hopefully look forward for a better year to come. 

Picture: picnewposts.blogspot.com

Pandemic and Monetary relief in Tourism

 With the devastating pandemic attack the world tourism sank like the sugar cube in our cup of tea. Lock down and the fear of infection forced people not to travel at all forcing the tourism stakeholders to shut down their enterprises and lay off the employees.

The 20 lakh crore stimulus package announced by the central government in February did not consider tourism for any sort of support though the authorities had mentioned that more package are coming and  some indirect benefits are available to those tourism companies which fall under the MSME category with a 100 crore turn over and 25 crore in outstanding. They can avail an emergency credit to the amount of 20% of their outstanding with a four year tenor and an year of moratorium in repayment. 

Almost six months after that, the Kerala state government announced yesterday Rs. 455 crore Relief package to the Tourism industry. The State Level Bankers Committee has agreed to disperse 355 crores of loans to small and large stakeholders in the Tourism Industry at 50% of the prevalent interest rate. Government has decided to pay the remaining 50% of the interest to the bank on behalf of the Tourism industry as a subsidy from the Government's Plan Fund. 

Under the Relief program nearly 2500 small enterprises will get 1-3 lakhs and big enterprises will get 5-25 lakhs with a moratorium of 6 months for repayment. 

Apart from the enterprises, the Tourism Employees Support Scheme with an outlay of Rs.100 Crore will provide tourism employees who come around  to 50,000 in number  a personal loan between 20-30 thousand through the Kerala Bank at an interest rate of 9% of which 6% will be paid by the Government itself. The personal loan will have a moratorium of 4 months on repayment. The employees will have to submit their application through the Tourism Deputy Director of their respective districts. 

Kerala tourism revenue accounted for the year 2019 was Rs. 45,000 crores but in this pandemic year the industry has suffered a loss of Rs. 20,000 crore with an uncertain tourism season coming up from September to February. 

 

National Handloom Day

August 7th is appreciated as the National Handloom day, a practice inaugurated by Prime minister Narendra Modi in the year 2015. It was on August 7th, 1905 "Swadeshi" movement, a call to Boycott the use of foreign goods and increase the use of local products was started at Calcutta in Bengal. It is no surprise that the same day was selected to celebrate as the National Handloom Day as it was them who were the worst hit during the colonial days when finished loom products where imported from England and local artisans lost their jobs. 

The famous Kanchipuram sarees of Tamilnadu, the golden silk 'Muga mekhala Sador' of Assam, 'Paithani' weaving of Maharashtra, Benarasi Sarees of UttarPradesh are some of the glorious examples of Handloom. 

For the dying craft of handlooms, mercilessly pushed aside by the power looms need not only our support in terms of purchasing handloom products but also require development of infrastructural facilities like availability of raw materials, accessibility to the market, financial assistance etc. on an industry level. 

In the time of Novel Corona Virus...

Here in India, soon after the WHO declared the Novel Corona virus as pandemic in the second week of March, the government with in days introduced the "all India lock down". A very bold and timely decision which arrested the communal spread of the virus which so far was detected mostly on those who came back from overseas travel.  All the educational institutions, both air and land transport, interstate movements, non-essential services, offices, shops etc., were all asked to close. 

Since it was done all of a sudden, the poorest of the poor who work as migrant laborers soon found themselves without job and money. Anxious and worried, in the following days, they tried walking home 400 - 900 kilometers across states to their villages. Soon the country realized the danger, and arranged buses for their travel and each state was asked to look after their well being with proper relief measures such as ensuring food supply, place to stay, medical facilities etc. which was indeed the need of the hour. 

Public Distribution system for the food is the back bone of our country when it comes to essential food commodities for sustenance. India was lucky to have attained food-self reliability decades earlier, we had in stock double the buffer level of food grains. So the government immediately announced free food grains and essential pulses above the normal subsidized rations through the PDS. 

As we know, just having something to eat while asked to stay home is not enough as people have money requirements also. Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act covers 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population. They increased the rate from Rs. 182 per day to Rs.200 there by ensuring atleast Rs.2000 more in the accounts of the beneficiaries of this Act. 

Government also took measure to pay the elders who were getting Old age pension an additional Rs.1000 and gave the women account holders of the Jan Dhan scheme Rs.1000 each in two installments. More over they gave free cooking gas to all the families below poverty line for the next two months. 

The front line health workers, the Doctors, the nurses, care-workers, janitors etc. were covered under a personal insurance of Rs. 50 lakhs (US$71,500) which they rightly deserve as they work under severe pressure arising out of the lack of training on the virus treatment, no Personal Protective Equipment, long hours, social stigma, anxiety etc. All the medical facilities are provided through the government run medical facilities and totally free for those infected, which is indeed a blessing. 

All the educational institutions were closed down, postponing exams, promoting classes in junior levels, encouraging web classes etc. Interstate transportation was stopped along with airports which operate only emergency cargo and medical stores movements, a move that was successful in holding the rise of fresh infections and communal spread. 

When we were not complying strictly with the regulations police became very very tough and that kept the folks inside. Luckily in our state of Kerala, the strict measures by a vigilant local government and officials, helped to keep the new infected cases well with in two digits for over a couple weeks now giving us hope that life would return to normal with in the announced lock down period which ends by April 15th, after 21 days. 

Financial relief, community kitchens, relief for migrant workers are the top items in agenda for the social welfare apart from other front line medical activities. 

Tourism and its workers are relatively wiped out without any hope for the coming year. Infected tourists were given adequate medical care and most of them have recovered. The countries like Germany, France, Russia, UK made arrangements with our government departments and have evacuated their citizens who were stuck in many tourist destinations around the country. 

God bless India and the world in their efforts to win over the Corona Virus, wishing everyone health and peace during these very tiring and testing time. 

Lazarus Saturday

In the eastern tradition of Christianity, the Saturday before Palm Sunday is celebrated as the Lazarus Saturday. It is believed that, Jesus rose to life, the dead Lazarus, on this day before his jubilant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. 

In our Kerala, traditionally, the Christians make dumblings out of Rice, stuffed with grated coconut mixed with Jaggery (local sweetner) and share with the entire family. 

The invitation to guest lecture at the tourism colleges is something BTGS enjoys very much and consider it as a duty to share the tourism working experience with the Tourism Students. After the closing of the semester in November in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh,  BTGS is now available at Kochi for consultation and tours. All our Historical & Cultural tourists and enthusiasts are welcome.

While BTGS is thankful for the enquiries that have come our way in the past few months, we apologize for the inconvenience caused to our tourists by not being available. BTGS extends a special note of gratitude to Mr. Adrian Whittle, from England and Mr. Amir Broshi from Israel, for taking our freshly designed 'Weaving Trail' (Chennai-Tirupati-Venkatgiri-Srikalahasti-Nellore) which was still in experimental stage while they chose to visit . Thank you Sirs for your patience and unbound cooperation.  

Meydad Eliyahu & Tom Landau, we missed taking you around while you were here in Kochi. 

Malabar River Festival

Picture courtesy: Kerala Toursim 

During July 26-28, District Tourism Promotion Council of Kozhikode (Calicut) and Madras Fun Tools along with Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Association (IKCA) and International Canoe Federation (ICA) organized the seventh edition of the "MALABAR RIVER FESTIVAL". 

The tourism enthusiasts and stakeholders are delighted to watch the interest and the attention the adventure tourism event is gaining in the state during the monsoon when the tourism chips are down. While wishing the event a grand success we hope it will develop interlinked tourism services and facilities in the destination which will provide job opportunity for many. 

Malabar River Festival

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Ugadi - The New Year

The New Year day for the Telugu and Kannada communities falls on the first new moon after the spring Equinox and the next day is celebrated as the first day of the new year based on the lunar calendar depending on the position of the moon, the calculation tradition goes as far back as the 12th century.

On the special day everyone wakes up before the sunrise, takes an oil bath, goes to temple, decorate their houses beautifully with columns (muggulu) mango leaves decorations (toranalu) and treat themselves and everyone with special dishes. Some of the special dishes are;

Bevu Bella & Pachadi

A mix of all flavours - sweet, sour, bitter, salty -  prepared from Jaggery paste, neem buds, tamarind and raw mangoes. 

It symbolizes the fact that life is a mixed bag and prepares one to expect everything in the days to come.

Kolamulu (Muggulu)

The preparation for the festival begins atleast a week in advance and will include, cleaning of the houses and premises, buying of new clothes etc..
It's a public holiday in the states of Andhra, Telengana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharastra where it is known as "Gudi Padawa". 

Sri Venkaiah Swamy of Golagamudi

Saturdays at Golagamudi, a village near Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh on the east coast of India,  comes alive with hundreds of devotees visiting the temple abode of their saint, Sri Venkaiah Swamy. They come and spent the night over at the samadhi (tomb) of the saint in gratitude for the favours received and in supplementation.

Devotees making their dance offering on Saturday night. They come from all over Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring states. 

The saint died on August 24th, 1982 but his memory and the "Kundam" (the fire worship) is kept alive by his devotees. The trust that looks after the temple shrine continues the "Anna Dhaanam" (free food) and runs an excellent school which imparts quality education to the children of the village free of cost.

Devotional items. The shops selling them are busy on the weekends. 

A visit to Golagamudi is an excellent opportunity to understand and experience the spiritual, social and cultural lives of the Incredible Villages of India. 

Muchilottu Devi

Perinchellore was an old town famous for its scholarly Brahmans who were very good in the knowledge of Vedas, grammar, literature, astrology, medicine etc.. Scholars from all over came to Perinchellore to debate with the Brahmans there to test their own erudition. One such family in Perinchellore was Rayaramangalam. It so happened with them that the latest generation had no male heirs to continue their family lineage. They prayed to their family goddess by offering special Puja. Soon they got a daughter but not a son. Sensing a divine intervention the parents accepted her gratefully and named DeviKanya. They brought her up giving her the best they had including education. 

The girl grew up to be a scholar, naturally,  and her erudition spread among the scholarly circle of  the area in spite of being a girl. It was the custom at that time for the Brahman girls to be married off at the age of 12. Devi's parents proposed her the marriage and she agreed but on one condition. She will marry the man who will defeat her in a scholarly debate. Her parents had to agree and the marriage day was fixed. 

Many scholars came from far and wide both young and old. For two days nobody could defeat Devi. This was a blow to the Scholars of Perinchellore to be defeated and that too by a girl. For her parents she was a divine child but for others she was a mere girl who has to be shown her place in the world. So on the third day they deliberately guided the debate to the topic of Rasas which are the human feelings. They asked her which is the most significant of the Rasas to which Devi correctly replied as Sringara or erotic love. Then the scholars asked which is the most painful of the Rasas. Devi had no hesitation in saying it is the pain of child birth experienced by women. 

The Brahman scholars were enraged. They asked how can a virgin know all these feelings without experiencing it. They felt she is not a kanya (Virgin) and proclaimed the punishment due to such a woman for the innocent Devi. She was outclassed and expelled from the community. 

Though heartbroken, her parents could not do anything against the decision of the community. Devi walked away from her house, her village and went straight to the temple at EachiKulangara and entered into a deep meditative prayer of forty days. At the end of it she woke up with the realization that she had to leave her body to prove her innocence. At the Brahma Muhurtham, that is thirty six minutes before sun rise she prayed her final prayer and went to a place called Karivellore and made herself  a pyre and jumped into the fire after taking off one of her anklet and leaving it near the pyre. 

Alas! The fire was not enough to burn her body completely as it lost its flame midway. After a while a coconut tree climber from the lower caste was passing by carrying some dry fronds and Devi called out to him asking him to put the dry palm leaves into her fire. The man was frightened by the terrific site, he ran away without looking back. 

Next came that way a man from the Muchilottu community. Another lower caste community who deal in oil which was more important than electricity in those days. Devi asked him to pour the oil  that he was carrying in a pot into her pyre. Though terrified the man sensed a certain divinity in the stoic Devi and poured oil into the fire hoping it would put off the fire. Instead the fire was set ablaze again and the Devi disappeared into it after blessing him. From then on the Devi has been deified as the Goddess of the Muchillottu community and celebrated as Theyyam every year to this day.

Thank you

Spirituality and comparative religion along with history and culture are the thoughts I discuss the most on my tours. Naturally, as Kerala was devastated by flood and our lives got disrupted and unsettled, there comes a question, how did our spirituality help us to deal with the situation.
Well, our spirituality, in the first place, was not about prosperity and happiness. It is a state of being, where one is perfectly at terms with the present, good or bad, and also aware that things could change any moment.
As the flood would decide Some of us had to restart our lives from the scratch, rebuilding the house to buying the kitchen utensils to beds and et al .
Yes indeed, the disaster and its impact was beyond our scope of imagination. Still, we survived.
Thank you my friends for all your good wishes and prayers.
At the moment, I am at a tourism college on a brief teaching assignment, on east coast in a small village.

New Academic Year 2018

Every year our Monsoon arrives unfailingly on 1st of June. That's the day our Schools re-open after the two months of Summer vacation. All our memories about the first day at School are wet. 

Surprisingly, this year, it was sunny and bright. Our monsoon had arrived two weeks early. 

For all those  thousands of children who are starting their school for the first time in their life, "We Wish you a successful student life. May you have the blessing to learn well and work hard." 

For our teachers, " May you continue to be the ultimate Inspiration to all your students, this academic year too. "

May we all live up to the great learning tradition of our Country and be the worthy successors of those great sages who gave us the Wisdom to see and live this life the best possible way.