Alleppey Mullackal Chirup

Come December, people think of Christmas!

Alleppeans remember with nostalgia Mullackal Chirup , the annual Temple festival at the Rajarajeswari temple, held every year in December!

More than the spiritual part of the festival, it is the gaiety of the market that appears from nowhere, along the main roads of Alleppey that attracts the thousands, babies to grannies! I am not forgetting the carnival, with the dare-devil drivers of the hell-well! I am yet to fulfill my ambition to become one!

As a little kid it was pure joy tagging along older women, crying for balloons of different colors and shapes, especially the magic variety that floated up above you! The hydrogen balloons made way for the balloon rabbits, which always landed on its feet, however much the brat in me wanted it flat on the ground! A year later the attraction was the cotton candy, affectionately called saliva candy!! In later years of my childhood I was amazed by the little boats that went zipping around in water buckets charged with just a drop of coconut oil and a wick light, producing the typical put-put of a real P8! I learned a great lesson in life when I stole one Anna, the equivalent of about 25 ps now, to possess one of these - a dream boy’s luxury cruiser! But alas, back home in hiding, it was a gallon of coconut oil and several match boxes, my cruiser never moved but for the waves created by my frustrated hands! Stolen Annas don’t get you anywhere!

A little older I would tag along with the ladies who went to look at the glittering glass bangles and other feminine things. But soon the interest in the bangles moved to the hands that wore them. Adolescence was a great time to spend during the Chirup festival. It is colorful and busy with young people thronging in from all over and all through the day. The procession with the caparisoned elephants and the percussion instruments is fantastic.

As the years go by and I get older I think of only the noise that come attached to festivals and wonder why as a nation we are so loud, my own church included. Don’t we all talk about pollution? But forget that noise can be as polluting as plastic and poisonous gases!

Gone are the days of enjoying the hands with beautiful bangles and the half saris.

'season'

In general parlance ‘season’ is time for business.

Tourist season is when we have tourists flocking in (??)

Human tourist or not, we do have avian tourist visiting our backwaters every year.

From as far away as Siberia they come to God’s Own Country to nest, feed and continue in their quest for survival.

They are a welcome site, like in the picture!

It is sad some still find their way to the tables of the hungry!

Some varieties are making our land their home, as some human foreigners are doing in these liberated times!!

Both varieties escaping cold winter!

We hear of Kettuvallam and our brain conjures up messages of floating luxury yachts going by the modern name – HOUSEBOAT! Yes, the modern Houseboat is the dream for any luxury seeking tourist with air-conditioned rooms, satellite television, and bed side refrigerator.

One wonders if all this is needed for any tourist apparently coming to enjoy the nature and quiet of this beautiful place!!??

Perhaps watching a movie on a houseboat is very special! Some movies are better than the backwaters of course?

This picture shows a Kettuvallam of yester years manually punting through the backwaters, probably carrying tons of stuff- rice or coconut. He would take a week to get from Kuttanad to Cochin.

Alapuzzha Things to do � Spice of Life - Keralan Food and a Cooking Lesson - from The Travel Editor .com

Alapuzzha Things to do � Spice of Life - Keralan Food and a Cooking Lesson - from The Travel Editor .com

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Alleppey can not boast of a GATEWAY TO INDIA!

But it does have some of the most beautiful gates you have seen! Like the picture here !

Made of teak wood and exquisite craftsmanship . Notice the arch in the center?? It opens to allow people to walk through . The whole gate opens to let your carriage through!

More later!

Banana

My favorite fruit is the banana -

And here is my favorite banana shop!!

Kerala is getting ready for the festival season!

The rains will soon make way for sunshine and the harvest festival of ONAM celebrated with gaiety and fervor. POOKALAM, intricate floral carpets are made by most people to welcome the spirit of King Maveli , the legendary ruler of the land.

What most people look forward to are the VALLAMKALIs , the traditional boat races.

And everyone awaits the ONAM SADHYA , the traditional ONAM lunch ,a strictly vegetarian meal served on a banana leaf.

AlleppeyArchitecture

Alleppey has some of the most beautiful heritage buildings in Kerala , but most
are in stages of deterioration ! My very special favorite is this one on the canal side. You can see the reflection in the not so clean waters!!

And it is a Mosque.