KERALA VILLAGE
A ten days long celebration of the culture and traditions of Kerala is known as Gramam the Kerala Village Fair. The basic concept of this Gramam the Kerala Village Fair is to re-create and replicate an entire village or grammam in the traditions Keralian style. In the month of January Gramam the Kerala Village Fair is set up at the Kovalam Beach and also at the Marine drive in Ernakulam. These recreated Gramam or villages include the Nalukettu, which is the homestead of the traditional upper class, the village teashop or the Chayakada and the Kamalagramam or the artisans' enclave.
The most prominent feature of Gramam the Kerala Village Fair is Nalukettu. Woods and tiles were used to recreate these quadrangular mansions and the most salient feature of these mansions are their open courtyard. The entire mansion is decorated with an architectural style typical of Kerala. Different kinds of items of the bygone area including Ethnic Jewellery, Exquisite Paintings, Sandalwood, charming curios etc are displayed inside the Nalukettu.
At the Chayakada or the village teashop at Gramam the Kerala Village Fair, the tourists are offered some of the most traditional foods and drinks of Kerala like, 'Kappa', 'Meen' and 'Puttu'. The most interesting part of Gramam the Kerala Village Fair is the Kamalagramam or the enclave of the artisans where one can find some of the most traditional art works of Kerala including handicrafts, jewelery.
In the evening, the focus of Gramam the Kerala Village Fair shifts to the open air auditorium created within the Gramam. Cultural performances of Kathakali, Mohiniyattom and also folk dances give an all encompassing picture of the life, culture and tradition of the people of Kerala.
Thiruvananthapuram June 6 The Kerala Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, has launched Kerala Tourism's village tourism development scheme. Called `My Village, A Tourism Friendly Village', the initiative is part of an attempt to decentralize tourism development in the State.
Speaking at the launch of the project, Mr Achuthanandan said that tourism development in Kerala requires small, decentralised projects on the lines of the `My Village, A Tourism Friendly Village' scheme. Tourism development is not about building concrete jungles, he emphasised.
Domestic Tourism
People who say that the State Government's demolition of encroachments, particularly resorts, in Munnar would adversely impact Kerala's tourism sector do not know anything about tourism, he declared. Greater emphasis must be given to domestic tourism, he added. To be run as a joint venture between the tourism department and the local self-government department, the `My Village, A Tourism Friendly Village' scheme is intended to involve local communities in the planning and implementation of tourism projects. Under the scheme, resources will be allocated to local self-government institutions to design and implement tourism projects. Projects that will be supported under this scheme include development of basic amenities in places of natural interest, expansion of village squares, adventure tourism products, preservation of heritage properties and heritage areas and so on.
