HERITAGE AND CULTURE

Heritage and Culture: Rich aspects of India's cultural heritage are preserved in several parts of Kerala. The ancient temples, palaces and churches are homes for centuries-old paintings, murals and frescoes. The walls of these temples and palaces present a feast to the visitors'' eyes with splendid murals that depict the magnificent and unique cultural traditions of Kerala. The mural paintings on the walls of Kerala temples depict the mythology, legends and traditional native art forms. If you are interested in heritage, history, traditions and culture and wishes to see authentic evidence of these in ancient and medieval Kerala, then visit Padmanabhapuram palace, Mattanchery palace, Krishnapuram palace, Vadakumnatha Kshetram and the Shiva and Vishnu (Hindu) temples (some of them nearly 1000 years old) all over Kerala.

At different times of the year, there are many traditional festivals celebrated with traditional pomp and show. Thrissur Pooram, celebrated in early summer every year is a grand religious festival displaying several cultural programmes native to Kerala. The procession of majestically decorated elephants is a sight that any visitor to Kerala would love to watch. During the festivals- Onam is one such major festival- several performing arts, typical of Kerala culture, such as mohiniattam, koodiyattam, kathakali, koothu, tullal etc. are performed, often in colourful traditional costume. These present a feast to the people who watch, as a source of entertainment and artistic beauty. If you can plan a trip around one of these festivals, do not miss the dances and the music. Kalamandiram is a well known institution, whose productions are enriched by a blend of poetry, music and dance.