Trivandrum and culture!

The occasion was the Inauguration of The Kerala Forest Academy, something in the lines of the Hyderabad Police academy and the Deharadun academy for civil servants. This particular academy would act as an on-site training for all the IFS officers in the country. The function was attended by Mr. Binoy Viswon and J. Arundhathi, MLA, presided. A. Sampath, MP, and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests T.M. Manoharan.

Why I am specifying these details of the VIPs attended is to emphasize on the kind of profile these functions usually have. Generally, in many of these kind of meetings that I attended or seen around what I have observed is the decoration done for the so called VIPs coming is "flashy". Lots of glitter paper around... tied in the form of toranas, those red/green glitter paper used most of the times and LOTS and LOTS of flower decoration. In Hyderabad where they adopted the decor techniques from god-knows-where, with very high-profile event managers stepping in, the decor usually has very beautifully arranged flowers all-round. These are very intricately planned and very very expensive as most flowers are usually imported from other states and all. I always used to think of what use is all this, cant it be simpler and more rustic to the place.

To my pleasant surprise (the above pic) this was the only decoration that was done very elaborately. The Academy was to come up in the forest so the way leading to the main stage (shown in the first picture) is about 500mts away and yet the entire way has been decorated like this. This is a simple form of decor where the leaf of the tree is slit in three diff places and a simple decor is made. To complete the effect they had mango leaves and banana stumps in regular intervals.

The entire meeting was presided in Malyalam - I dint understand a bit of what they said. But it was very nice sitting in the middle of all these people, almost everyone dressed in white Dhotis and just observing the proceedings.

For the Malyalees the lighting of the lamp is very very sacred. They have these free standing brass lamps in every home and in front of almost all the homes, in the aangans these lamps are lit on auspicious occasions. The lamp is significant in many cultures in India, but these huge ones are special here.

Trees are "God" here. The way they use every part of the tree, how they let anything grow in their gardens without a LOT of pruning and interference. The coconut tree especially is regarded with great respect. I know there are a lot of them around and grow very easily here, but the clients that come to the office also very specifically ask not to cut down the coconut trees that are fruit bearing. Only the ones that have almost died out are allowed to cut. Its just their humbleness in respecting every form of life as important is what is letting bio-diversity thrive here. So many mongooses I have seen here.

Coconut tree and Mango tree used in rituals.

This was a House warming ceremony. Being an architect I get to go to a House warming every other week. Payasam is THE sweet here. The more Payasams served the costlier the meal is. It seems if more number of them are served the BIGGER the function is. SUPERB Payasam varieties I had here. I like all of them. :)

The foundation stone laying ceremony, where in the south-west corner of the plot the work is started. Rice, rice flakes, sugar-cane, coconut, Eracnut fruit and flowers on a banana leaf. The stump seen here is the first stump that is bored into the ground in the S-W corner, it is a stump made out of Jack-fruit tree wood. It is made 1 day before the ceremony and if it oozes out the gummy secretion of the tree by that time, it seems it is good for the people building the home.

This is Kilimanoor palace, the home of Raja Ravi Verma from where he used to do his paintings. The ones that are displayed are not originals, just very bad imitations. But its a nice feeling to think the great painter used to paint from there.

The drive from the forest, it was worth sitting through a 3 hr meeting where I dint understand a single word. It was raining heavily, mane... I felt like that but I guess it is pretty normal for these people. The driver did not even flinch at the winding small roads and the speeding trucks and buses and the visibility being so bad, there being too many pot holes on the roads, there being many many small (almost) lakes crossing the roads.

These are the kind of path ways and roads that are there to most of the sites I work on. The clients perhaps dont realise how lucky they are to have a home on sloping surfaces with amazing views in between so many trees. But it is beautiful. It is every day for them and very normal people have AMAZING living conditions. All the wastes from the homes are properly managed. Almost all of them have septic tanks for the bathroom wastes and the kitchen wastes are just dumped in pits in the backyard. Only the plastic wastes are thrown away. It is so properly managed that even in my HUGE apartment complex everybody separates their plastic waste from the Bio degradable wastes. WOW!
They eat everything from a coconut tree. This is one of the coconut tree cut off from of the site and a delicacy was offered to us- The part between the stump and the leaves, its core is a local delicacy.
Well that is my so-called Boss.. munching away the core. I had some too and it was actually pretty good, has a nice coconut water taste to it.

The coconut tree obsession, wearing dhoti-compulsory in temples, women over dressed most of the time. Women who even drive their bikes with a heavy zari saree, huge gold ear-rings, long open hair- makes me usually think if Durga maa rides a bike... it would just look like that. :) Imagine if somebody pillion rides with them and puts out their hands, then it would just look like Durga maa with 4 hands. :)

However, I think everything should just rigidly remain like that. That is the only way perhaps one can still see just the tree coconut tops even after 10 years in this place. I somehow feel they have to be a little more open to other cultures where they can accept others coming in to the state be however they want. But when I expressed the same to a Malyali- he just smiled at me saying "isnt dat too much to ask for.."

I am so looking forward to go watch some cultural arts here. It seems in Trivandrum daily at some part of the city there are either musical shows or dance performances.