Kerala - Comfortably Numb

Travel: Taliparamba, Kerala

Where the bells ring The small town of Taliparamba near Kannur is famous for its many temples Even in a state that throws up one fresh tourist spot after another, the small town of Taliparamba, 20 km north of Kannur, lies a little off the beaten track. Basically a spread of about 47 villages, the…

Travel: Olavipe, Kerala

Backwater idyll They call the homestead Olavipe, `gift of the waves.’ Set in the south of an isle off Kochi, the place is a lotus eater’s delight, says SHEILA KUMAR. FOR a structure supposedly risen from the waves, Olavipe stands rock solid, a sprawling manor in the old Kerala style, naalukettu, tiled roof, fretted gables, stone…

Travel: Tipu`s Fort, Palakkad

Silent sentinel In the heart of Palakkad town sits Tipu’s Fort, a majestic edifice with a chequered past. Sheila Kumar takes a ramble. It is Tipu’s fort but it was built by his father Hyder Ali in 1766. The sizeable fortress is a striking feature of Palakkad town, one which most locals take entirely…

Travel: Kadavu Resort, Kerala

FOOTLOOSE Riverine reverie As you sit gazing enthralled at the swollen Chaliyar river near Kozhikode, you discover anew the many simple pleasures of life. The next time you want to get away from it all, really get away from it all, do a spot of lotus eating, write that long overdue Booker-potential magnum…

Travel: Rainforest Resort, Athirapally, Kerala

Rainforest revels Cascades of white water, lush forest and a spiffy resort make for an ideal idyll. Also, Ash was here! Raavan shoot Okay. Bollywood preceded me to the Rainforest Resort at Athirapally. And by Bollywood, I mean none other than Mr and Mrs Abhishek Bachchan, when they were shooting in these parts…

Travel: Kannur, Kerala

A superb coastal gem You have to come see Kannur’s buddhu fish,” the colonel, an old friend, tells me. And I’m hooked. What is life if you haven’t caught a glimpse of buddhu fish, whatever they might be? Which is why and how I find I’m in Kannur, a very tiny strip on the…

Feature: A Temple for Troubled Minds

Faith Fatale The Chottanikkara temple, near Kochi in Kerala, is a place that attracts the mentally disturbed, who seek solace here when all else fails. I’m standing with scores of people facing the closed doors of the Shiva shrine, awaiting darshan. Suddenly, without warning, it starts. A handful of women begin moaning. It is an…

Travel: Guruvayoor, Kerala

Visiting Guruvayoor Riding on the highway to Guruvayoor, 30 km west of Thrissur, signboard after signboard reminds me just how far away I am from the Lord — strictly in terms of physical distance. As I belong to a large clan that has its roots in this temple town, it is with some amount of ownership that I write…

Feature: Palakkad`s Ayurvedic Spas

Come alive Discover your inner self at the ayurvedic resorts in and around Palakkad Palakkad is perhaps the right destination if a healing holiday is what you are looking for. Health tourism is in, and traditional ayurvedic treatment is in demand. Palakkad came suddenly and rather unexpectedly into the tourist spotlight recently, with a…

Travel: Kerala Kalamandalam

Distant drums Sheila Kumar visits the Santiniketan of the South, the Kerala Kalamandalam in Cheruthuruthy As we drive into the green hamlet of Cheruthuruthy, the first sound that wafts over the air, over the rippling waters of the river Bharatapuzha, is the rhythmic pulse of the chenda drums. A sound ubiquitous to all major temple festivals in…