What is unique to Onam, the biggest festival of Kerala? It is Onam Sadya, a festive meal of significance. It is the soul of Onam celebration at home and abroad and wherever the Malayali community is. As the festival marks the beginning of a new year for Keralites, celebrates the new harvest of the year and commemorates the visit of their most worshipped King Mahabali, Onam Sadya is evidently not just a festive meal.

Onam Sadya and the Legend of King Mahabali

Onam Sadya owes its significance to the myth of Kerala’s legendary King Mahabali, who is also referred to as Maveli and Onathappan in religious as well as non-religious literature. Mahabali was the chief of the Asura (demon) community in his time. Kerala was a beautiful, peaceful and prosperous kingdom when he was in power. Neither crime nor corruption was in his regime. There was no social hierarchy on the basis of economy or caste. Equal treatment of the rich and the poor was one of the building blocks in the societal system. King Mahabali used to be lavished with respect for his wisdom, generosity, judiciousness, impartiality and farsightedness. His rule is believed to be the golden era of Kerala.

Being grandson of Prahlad, Mahabali was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the Universe in the Hindu scriptures. His fame and popularity was a concern with Gods who took it as a threat to their supremacy and sovereignty. Gods sought Lord Vishnu’s intervention to subdue King Mahabali’s growing popularity and curb his reign. Being charitable, King Mahabali used to grant boons to Brahmins after his morning prayers every day. Lord Vishnu disguised himself as a poor, dwarf Brahmin, which is known as his ‘Vamana’ incarnation, and descended to earth.

READ ALSO The Taste of Kerala

Under the guise of a poor Brahmin, Lord Vishnu asked the King for a piece of land as much as his three steps would cover. Despite warnings by his adviser, the King promised to give what the Brahmin wanted. The dwarf Vamana took three cosmic steps. He covered earth and the sky in the first and second steps respectively. In the third step, he put his foot on the head of the King, pushing the King to the nether land (patala). Then the dwarf Brahmin revealed his true identity and expressed his pleasure to see the King’s unconditional displeasure.

Out of his attachment with the kingdom and selfless love for the people, King Mahabali made a request to let him visit Kerala once in a year. Lord Vishnu accepted the request and granted him a boon that he would be worshipped as well as loved his people for ages. At the time of his departure from Kerala, the King blessed the people to remain happy, prosperous and well-fed for generations. His visit to Kerala is celebrated as Onam Festival every year. Onam Sadya is part of the elaborate preparations that the people of Kerala make in honor of their King and convince him that they are happy.

Onam Sadya and Traditions

Evidently, Onam Sadya is a symbol of the Malayali people’s happy living. Both the rich and the poor are so serious about the significance of Onam Sadya that they prepare this festive meal for grand feasting. A single course of Onam Sadya has 24-28 dishes. The preparation can be so elaborate that even 64 dishes are cooked for a meal.

Eleven dishes are essential prepared for Onam Sadya. Rice, coconut gratings, coconut milk and coconut oil are the basic ingredients in most of the dishes. The meal is traditionally served on banana leaves and consumed in one sitting. Both rural and urban Keralites eat the festive meal with hands. Spoons and forks are not used at the time of feasting in most households.

Onam Sadya Items

The Onam Sadya items are served one by one in an order. Even the age-old tradition of serving a particular dish on a particular part of the banana leaf is strictly obeyed. The feasting begins with the ritual of offering the Onam Sadya items to Lord Ganesha first. The festive meal begins with rasam (soup) and ends with payasam (dessert). The main dish is boiled rice served with uppari, sambar, aviyal, parippu, pullisseri, olan and pickles.

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Indian Eagle promises to make air travel to India cheaper than ever. We rejoice in your happy trips by booking cheap fights to Kerala from USA. Happy Onam!

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In India, harvest festivals are celebrated to please the god and goddess of agriculture, seek divine blessings for agricultural prosperity, and pray for household opulence. The festival is called different names in different states of India – Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Nabanna in Bengal, Bihu in Assam, Lohri & Baisakhi in Punjab and Onam in Kerala. The harvest festival is a religious cum cultural cum culinary celebration in the agrarian society of India.

Onam festival of Kerala is scheduled to be celebrated from August 20 till August 31 this year. The ‘Malay’ people of Kerala are busy preparing for the celebration. Fly to Kerala and you will surely feel the aura of this upcoming festival in the air all over. The state, as popularly known as God’s Own Country, showcases its cultural best on 10 days of the festivity. Some NRIs born and brought up in the US and Canada are not familiar with the ways of Onam festival celebration in Kerala.

Some legends – historical and mythological – are associated with the origin of Onam harvest festival. So, the festivity is a celebration of the Malay community’s faith in the legends, and their unique cultural identity too. Indian Eagle shares some interesting details and visuals of Onam Festival in Kerala.

Pookalam

Pookalam or flower mat is a gripping visual of Onam Festival celebration in the households across the state. It is a beautiful collage made with flowers of different colors in courtyards or on the floor of large rooms. Pookalam is the very first emblem of festivity to greet your eyes once you step into a household. It is no less than an artwork for its flowery beauty. Fresh flowers are arranged to make Pookalam in the morning, on each day of the celebration. Pookalam is a subject of competition among households in some parts of the state. As per the legends of Kerala, the flower mat is believed to welcome King Mahabali on the festive days of Onam.

Also Read – Indian American Girl is Named Kerala after a Trip to Kerala

Onam Sadya

Onam Sadya, the culinary flavor of Kerala, is the blend of the state’s culinary culture and festive celebrations. This festival menu of Onam is a delectable spread of rice and various vegetable delicacies, cooked in the same traditional way as in the regular kitchens of Kerala. Guests are served Onam Sadya on plantain or banana leaves. The festival menu includes 11 – 13 dishes, of which Payasam (a sweet dish) marks the end of the feast. The locals relish Pasyasam with special fondness.

Also Read – Legends and Cultural Facets of Onam Sadya 

Thiruvathira Kali

With Thiruvathira Kali, a kind of folk dance in Kerala, Onam festival is a cultural celebration too. Women, clad in the traditional attire that is mainly kasavu saree with golden red or green border, perform the Onam dance around a lamp or Pookalam on the floor. Women make a circle around the lamp or flower decoration and move at a slow pace to the tune of some folk music. Kumattikali, Pullikali, Kaikotikali and Thumbi Thullal are the folk dance forms that the women of Kerala perform gracefully.

READ MORE Music & Dance Festivals of India

Kathakali & Pullikali

Among the performing arts of Kerala, Kathakali & Pullikali are part of the Indian cultural heritage. Professional dancers perform these dance forms in different parts of the state on the days of Onam celebration. The popularity of Kathakali is at its zenith not only in Kerala but also all over the country. With international level performers, it has gone global too. Pullikali is a masked dance performance in which dancers dress like tigers. The end of the celebration is marked with Pullikali.

READ MORE Classical Dance, an Indian Cultural Heritage

Vallamkali

It is a boat race, locally known as Vallamkali, which makes Onam festival celebration a cultural extravaganza. Driven by hundreds of oarsmen, the boats compete with each other and run at a break-neck speed on the backwaters. The snake boat race on the Pampa River makes a marvelous spectacle with gripping visuals hanging all over the river. The people of other religions and cultures fly to Kerala in order to witness the grandness of snake boat races during Onam festival celebrations.

Kerala’s Onam celebration is a homecoming occasion for the overseas Malayali community. They can book cheap flight tickets to Kochi from USA on IndianEagle.com, a most trusted travel-booking partner of Indians in America for more than 15 years. 

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“I didn’t know what I had been missing all these years. I am 60, diabetic and hadn’t hoped to see the world at this age. But now I am extremely happy and keep planning the next journey. My prayer now is to get my life extended by a few more years than destined,” Geetha Ramachandran, who is 65 now, said during an unexpected trip to Mount Kailash in Tibet.

Picture Credit: Instagram.com/sarathkrishnanmr/

Geetha’s second innings of life is nothing short of a travel memoire. Breaths of fresh air on a balmy beach or at a scenic hill station infuse life into her sexagenarian bones. The ivory beauty of snow-clad mountains, the effervescence of lush green landscape, the kaleidoscopic diversity of folk cultures, the sonority of hymns reverberated on the ghats of River Ganga…put roses on her cheeks. She is greying her hairs while posing for the camera, clicking selfies, riding a bicycle, taking heritage walks, hitting food trails, enriching her knowledge of historical wonders, intensifying her wanderlust….

She feels like a 20-year-old in her 60s. Draped in simple, monotone sarees and adorned with a red bindi on her forehead, she “lives with no excuses and travels with no regrets” – which sends her contemporaries on a guilt trip as they did not realize, “We travel not to escape life but for life not to escape us.” All thanks to her son, Sarath Krishnan.

“Amma is my travel companion for life,” said Sarath, a 34-year-old businessman and avid traveler from Kerala. Smitten by the travel bug at an early age, Sarath started backpacking for road trips across India with school friends. What started as an adventure, bunking school, became his pursuit of happiness. He never saw his mother Geetha step over the threshold of her household duties, and her only break from the daily routine within the house was a sojourn to temples in the neighborhood until one fine day….

How Sarath discovered his mother as his best travel buddy, is an interesting story. Once he dreamed of her strolling with him on a ghat in Varanasi and breathing in the numinous aura of the place on a balmy evening. When the dream broke halfway, he woke up with a start and found himself in his house in Kerala. The dream had a spell on him for a few moments; then he realized it was an epiphany. To make the dream come true, he booked two flight tickets to Varanasi in the morning. He tiptoed into the kitchen and surprised his mother, “Amma, pack your bag now. I have booked a trip to Kashi….”

The surprise trip to Varanasi gave birth to a never-ending wanderlust in her by the time she turned 60. Impromptu traveling is an elixir of her life these days. The mother-son duo goes on a tour discovering the unseen once in every three months. Her second trip was to Mumbai for 11 days, and it ended up exploring the mystique at the Ajanta-Ellora Caves following a sojourn in Nasik and Shirdi. Her travel scrapbook also boasts about moments of hitting sightseeing, culinary and heritage trails from Delhi to Dubai. The patriotic feeling of watching the Beating Retreat Ceremony at the Wagah Border is preserved in her scrapbook.

She did not hesitate to hit the road less travelled as a pillion rider when her son drove a 500cc Bullet from Shimla to Manali via the precarious Rohtang Pass. “On reaching Manali, I could see my mother transformed into an 18-year-old. At the sight of snow, she was jumping, running, laughing, playing…” Sarath reminisces. Indeed, he is a modern-day Shravan Kumar.

Geetha realized, travel and happiness are synonymous, on her trip to Mount Kailash in Tibet. Watching meditatively the golden halo of Mouth Kailash, the most sacred peak on earth, was a watershed in her travel memoire. The trip is also unforgettable because she would not have been able to make it after her 60 years of age. Being a devotee of Lord Shiva, she says, “Even now, if I close my eyes, I can see the mountain exactly as I had seen back then.” She also accompanied her son during a ride on an eight-seater plane hovering over the summit of Mount Everest, a most adventurous trip that her son says was a lot more exciting than the trips with his friends.

This exclusive story is brought to you by Travel Beats, an Indian Diaspora portal by Indian Eagle. On the occasion of Mother’s Day, we are giving away flight discount coupons to our readers and newsletter subscribers. You will get $25 off on booking your mother/parents/parents-in-law’s flights to India/USA at IndianEagle.com, a trusted travel partner of Indians in USA. If you accompany them on the trip, the discount can be availed on the total fare.

The post Geetha Feels Like a 20-year-old in Her 60s while Traveling; Thanks to Her Son who Says Mom is His Best Travel Buddy appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

Kerala is the only Indian state of beaches, backwaters, lakes, houseboats, wildlife, waterfalls and watersports. Snake boat races are major watersports of Kerala. Boat racing is not just a sport but a traditional festivity, unique to the religious being of Kerala India. Though more or less religious in origin, the Kerala boat races used to be held as part of competition or settlement between two rival communities in the bygone eras. Boat racing being organized during temple festivals throughout the year, every month and every season is the best time to visit Kerala for tourists as well as sports enthusiasts. An interface between sports and festivity, most of the boat races are held on Kerala backwaters. Indian Eagle shares some tidbits of the most popular Kerala boat races.

Nehru Trophy Boat Race

One of the boat race festivals in Kerala, the Nehru Trophy Boat Race is a visual extravaganza on the backwaters of Punnamada in Alappuzha district. This boat racing in Kerala is a rowing competition between several groups of oarsmen for the Nehru Trophy. The Nehru Trophy Boat Race owes its origin to a visit by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, the First Prime Minister of India. A snake boat race was held to welcome him. He was so enthralled by the event and the gusto of the participants that he announced the Nehru Trophy to award the winning team. Since then, this Kerala boat race has been an annual event. The trophy is a silver replica of a snake boat.    

Champakulam Moolam

The Champakulam Moolam Boat Race on the Pampa River in Alappuzha district is one of the tourist attractions of Kerala India. The venue of this Kerala boat race is the Pampa River at Champakulam in Alappuzha. The shape of boats with a raised end at the back like the hood of a cobra is unique to the way the Champakulam boat race festival is celebrated to commemorate the age-old event of bringing a new idol of Lord Krishan from Karikulam Temple in Kurichi to a temple at Ambalappuzha by boat, at the behest of King Devanarayana of Chempakasseri. June or July being the month of this festive watersport is the best time to visit Kerala.

Payippad Jalotsavam  

Payippad Jalotsavam is not just the best snake boat race in Kerala but also an attraction of Kerala tourism in South India. A grand festivity for three days, Payippad Jalotsavam is held on the Payippad Lake at a distance of 35km away from Allappuzha, in honor of the presiding deity of the Subramanya Swamy Temple. According to the folklore, the inhabitants of Haripad Village had dreamt that an idol of Swamy Subrahmanya was lying on the bed of the Kayamlulam River before the temple was constructed. The idol was surprisingly found there and brought in a boat to where the temple is located today. This Kerala boat race is annually held to commemorate the event in the month of September.

“Bull Racing in Kerala is not just another adventuresome sport! It is one of the most offbeat sports in India. Kerala’s bull race is India’s answer to Spain’s bullfighting. This furious sport is an extraordinary show of men’s physical strength in contrast with the beastly force of bulls,” said the Editor of Travel Beats, an Indian Diaspora portal by Indian Eagle, a most trusted air-ticketing partner of Keralites in America.

Aranmula Uthrattadi Vallamkali

The oldest boat racing in Kerala, Aranmula Uthrattadi Vallamkali is part of the cultural extravaganza during Onam Festival in August. The Kerala backwaters brim with excitement and enthusiasm of the rowers in hundreds, who oar the boats at a breakneck speed making it a gripping spectacle of energy and madness on the Pampa River. Dedicated to Lord Krishna and his devotee Arjuna, Vallamkali is characterized by embellishment of boats with ornamental umbrellas and flags. 25 folk singers also accompany the rowers during the racing festivity. The racing boats are locally called ‘Palliyodams’. Monsoon being the season of Onam Festival and Vallamkali celebration is the best time to travel to Kerala.

Onam Festival of Kerala will commence on August 30, 2022. This harvest festival of India is celebrated through different ceremonies including Vallamkali Boat Race. It is not just the best time to visit Kerala, but the time for homecoming. Indian Eagle has unbeatable deals for affordable flights to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Click the button below to get the cheapest air tickets.

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No other Indian food has as many stories to tell as biryani does. Rosogolla surfaces to public notice once in a while due to the age-old contention over its origin between two neighboring states: Bengal and Odisha, while biryani is the only food to enjoy pan-India attention throughout the year. The stories of biryani are as varied as the taste and flavor of the dish across the country. If lots of conversation or discussion happens over tea in India, many incidents occur over biryani. Biryani is not just a delightful treat but a bribe, bait and gift. It puts smiles on withered cheeks, brings a ray of hope amidst adverse circumstances, pushes campaigns forward, stimulates arguments and unites people.

Travel Beats, a community portal for Indian Diaspora by IndianEagle.com, curated the most interesting biryani stories from across India and abroad to make you understand the unbeatable power and popularity of biryani.

Biryani was a Silver Lining amidst Dark Clouds during Chennai Floods     

Biryani is no compromise under any circumstance! It was evident from the disappointment of some people for being served sambar rice not biryani during the Chennai floods 2015. When a group of volunteers reached out with packets of sambar rice and other relief materials to the people stuck amidst flood waters, braving the pouring rain and shoulder-leveled standing water, they met with disappointment for not serving biryani. Paradise Biryani, a most popular Hyderabadi biryani brand, sent the dish for them.

Actor’s Love for Biryani Inspired the Name of a Tamil Film    

One of the interesting biryani stories is sourced from the Tamil film industry. Among Tamil film stars, Ajith is so fond of biryani that he loves cooking it for everyone on the shooting spot. He has cooked biryani for the filming crew multiple times. It bears out to not only his penchant for biryani but his simplicity and down to earth nature. Moved by Ajith’s unfathomable love for biryani, director Venkat Prabhu named his black comedy film ‘Biriyani” in 2013. Biriyani is a thriller which was filmed in Chennai and Hyderabad.

Cockroach Biryani Led to a Munna Bhai Style Campaign in Kashmir

The story of ‘cockroach biryani’ in Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, is among the most interesting Biryani stories in India. When a local dentist and his friends found cockroaches in the biryani served to them at a multi-cuisine restaurant at Hazratbal, one of the outlets owned by Hat Trick fast food manufacturer in Kashmir, they forced their way into the kitchen and found it unhygienic to their surprise. When the ‘cockroach biryani’ story went viral on social media, a group of young foodies launched a ‘Munna Bhai style’ campaign and sent 1000 ‘get well soon’ letters to the restaurant owner. The campaign caught attention of the Food Safety Department and led to sealing of the cockroach restaurant.

Homemade Biryani Forced Dhoni to Vacate Grand Kakatiya in Hyderabad  

One of the Hyderabadi biryani stories is related to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was captain of the Indian Cricket team in 2014. He along with his team vacated the 5 star Hotel Grand Kakatiya where 180 rooms were booked for the team and BCCI officials, and moved to Taj Krishna due to a fiasco over homemade Hyderabadi biryani. One of Dhoni’s teammates brought homemade biryani for the entire team, which Hotel Kakatiya refused to allow within the premises. Hyderabadi biryani is something exclusive to die for!

Biryani Entertains Participants in National Shooting Championships   

The 59^th National Shooting Championship held in Delhi in 2015 is a memorable event for mouthwatering biryani served to the participants. The shooters from all over India were served delicious biryani at a nominal cost. Nawabuddin is the man who cooked and served the dish to them. Popularly known as Nawab Bhai, he has been cooking biryani for all shooting competitions in Delhi for past 6 years. He himself is a shooter and has participated in twenty national shooting championships. Eminent shooters are fans of Nawab Bhai’s biryani.

Biryani Failed to Make Rajnikanth’s Kochadaiiyaan a Success

Do you know that biryani was used as a bait to make superstar Rajnikanth’s Kochadaiiyaan a success in 2013 in Bangalore? When the fans of Rajnikanth felt that the film was going to be a box office disaster, they organized a rally in Bangalore to promote the film and promised the locals free biryani for watching the film. However, biryani could not save Kochadaiiyaan from being a failure.

Biryani Got People Together for a Communal Work in Kerala    

One of the latest biryani stories is how biryani is used to motivate people for a communal work. Recently, IAS officer Prashant Nair promised platefuls of Malabar biryani to a group of people for cleaning of a 14-acre lake in Kozhikode, Kerala. Removing water hyacinth from the lake was a herculean task, but his promise of biryani made it a success.

Biryani Saved a Bride from Marrying a Wrong Groom      

Anything can happen over biryani in India. Marriages can be fixed or broken over biryani. In 2014 in Karnataka, a bride called off the wedding over the ruckus created by the groom party over the taste of biryani. Even the bride’s family sent 30kg of biryani to the groom’s house but it came back as the groom’s family was fond of mutton biryani.

Biryani Energized Political Workers during Elections in Hyderabad  

Some of the stories of biryani in India are politically interesting. You might wonder what biryani has to do with politics in India. During the parliamentarian elections in 2014, Hyderabad witnessed a boom in sales of biryani. Demand for chicken and mutton biryani was tremendously high across Hyderabad during the electoral period in 2014.

Biryani Brought Good Luck to DMK Party in Chennai in 2009

Biryani not only keeps political workers on the go during elections but also plays an active role in success of electoral campaigns. Chennai witnessed the power of biryani in 2009 when the DMK party won elections in Tamil Nadu. The winning party distributed biryani packets to voters during the campaigns apart from offering usual baits like liquor, clothes and mobile phones. The popularity of biryani was so utilized to tempt common people that the 2009 election in Chennai was notoriously nicknamed ‘Biryani Bypolls.’

Biryani was a Gift from Sania Mirza to Dilwale Team        

Biryani is not just taken advantage of as bait or bribe. It is a pretty gift too. When Sania Mirza visited Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan during the shooting of Dilwale in 2015, she carried a box of Hyderabadi biryani for them.

Two Indian Restaurants Locked their Horns over Biryani in USA

Not only India but also the United States has interesting biryani stories to tell. Two Indian businesses in the US – Paradise Biryani Pointe and Paradise Biryani Grill – locked their horns in a legal battle over biryani at a New Jersey court. Both of these Indian restaurants in New Jersey serve the dish. In 2011, Paradise Biryani Pointe moved the court against its rival Paradise Biryani Grill accusing the latter of infringing the former’s trademark and biryani recipe which the former claimed to have developed over 7 years.

Read More Interesting Food Stories and News

Indian Eagle Travel, a leading air-ticketing partner of Indians from India to America, makes you not only travel on the best flights for low fares, but also have great times over interesting stories of food, culture, and community from India as well as America.

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With a steady increase in the volume of passenger traffic on air bubble flights to India, Kerala has eased restrictions and quarantine rules for international arrivals in the unlock 7.0. Kerala is one of the few states to have scrapped mandatory institutional quarantine for asymptomatic international flyers from abroad. All of Kerala’s four international airports – Cochin, Trivandrum, Kannur, and Calicut – are open for international arrivals and departures. However, travel to Kerala is subject to certain regulations before departure and after arrival amid the pandemic.

Before you undertake travel to India    

After booking air bubble flights tickets to Kerala, international travelers need to fill out a self-reporting form on Air Suvidha (download the app or log on to Delhiairport.in), and register their details on Kerala’s COVID Jagratha portal. They are also required to apply for an e-pass and show the same to health officials at the arrival airport in Kerala. Please note the e-pass is mandatory for you to exit the terminal.

Other than filling a self-reporting form on Air Suvidha, you must fill a self-declaration form provided by the Government of Kerala before departure or after arrival.

If Kerala is your first port of entry  

If Kerala is your first port of entry in India, you need not apply for exemption from institutional quarantine on condition of being asymptomatic. It means you don’t need a negative RT-PCR test report for flying directly into Kerala. You will only undergo 7-14 days of mandatory home quarantine as per Kerala’s quarantine rules for international arrivals.

If Kerala is not your first port of entry

If Kerala is not your first port of entry in India and you travel on United Airlines or Air India’s air bubble flight to Kerala via Delhi or Mumbai, a negative RT-PCR certificate is mandatory for taking domestic connection flights to Kerala from the first port of entry, Delhi or Mumbai. You can either travel with a negative COVID test report from the port of origin/departure or get tested upon arrival at the first port of entry, Delhi, Mumbai, or Hyderabad.

RT-PCR Testing for air bubble flights to Kerala  

If you choose to travel with a negative COVID health certificate, you need to take a RT-PCR test and upload the test result to Air Suvidha within 72 hours before undertaking the journey from the port of origin/departure. Those who traveled before or on November 12 had to get tested for the Novel Coronavirus within 96 hours of their scheduled flights to India. It is now 72 hours, according to the Government of India’s new/revised guidelines for international arrivals. Those traveling with a negative RT-PCR certificate are exempted from both institutional quarantine and home quarantine. All they need to do is self-monitoring of their health for 14 days.

After arrival at Kerala airports   

Carrying e-pass from the origin/departure is mandatory for traveling to Kozhikode/Calicut International Airport (CCJ) in Kerala. The airport has no counters to issue e-pass. If you travel to Trivandrum Airport (TRV) without an e-pass, you are likely to be put under institutional quarantine until an e-pass is arranged for you. Luckily, you won’t be sent back. At Cochin International Airport (COK), a handful of international arrivals can register their details manually upon arrival. Kochi Airport has the provision for flyers from abroad to fill the form manually.

Quarantine rules for travelers on a short trip  

A short visit to Kerala is allowed for only 8 days, while you can make a regular visit to the state for only 6 months. Registration on Kerala’s COVID Jagratha portal is equally mandatory even for a short visit. Those on a short visit to the state are exempted from any sort of quarantine. Those on a short trip for any purpose other than tourism don’t have to obey the Kerala’s quarantine guidelines only on condition of being asymptomatic. Currently, tourist visa to India is suspended.

COVID Testing Facility at Cochin International Airport

Cochin International Airport is the first airport in Kerala and the sixth Indian airport to have launched a dedicated COVID testing facility in the airport premises. In addition to international arrivals and departures, the general public can choose to get tested at the airport’s COVID testing facility where both RT-PCR and rapid antigen tests are available. The RT-PCR test results are delivered within 6-8 hours from the time samples are collected. It takes only 15 minutes to provide antigen test results. A RT-PCR test costs Rs 2100 per individual, while a rapid antigen test is priced at Rs 625, as per the fixed rates from the government of Kerala. The 24-hr COVID testing counters are located in the arrival areas of T1 and T3 terminals.

Related to Air Bubble Travel to India

• No Regular International Flights to India till March 2021
• Qatar Airways may Resume US-India Services in December
• All about Travel to and from India in 2020
• How to Book COVID Tests at Airports in India
• Airlines operating US-India bubble flights

The post Air Bubble Flights to Kerala: Departure to Arrival Process, Quarantine Rules, COVID Testing for International Arrivals appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

Cooking is often looked down upon as a mere household chore. Rather, cooking is an art, a talent, and an accomplishment. This is what 10-year-old Saanvi M Prajit, a budding chef from Kerala, believes with all her heart. Much to the surprise of everyone, she has secured a place in the Asian Book of Records and the India Book of Records for cooking as many as 33 dishes in just one hour. Unbelievable! She now holds a record for a maximum number of dishes cooked by a child.

The platter she dished out in just 60 minutes is nothing short of a challenge to master chefs. Idli, appam, uttapam, fried rice, pancake, corn fritters, chicken roast, paneer tikka, mushroom tikka, sandwich, fried egg, and Papdi chaat are among the dishes Saanvi M Prajit cooked to achieve the feat that many adult cooks would envy. No wonder is she appears on MasterChef India someday.

Kerala’s Ernakulum district seems like home to budding chefs, as Nihal Raj aka Kicha – who was only 6 years old in 2016 – was the youngest Indian chef to feature on the Ellen DeGeneres Show in the United States. He amazed the host and the audiences by cooking Puttu, a traditional Kerala breakfast recipe, live. His cooking expertise made him an internet sensation overnight back then. It was followed by Facebook’s acquisition of his Mickey Mouse Mango ice-cream video for US$ 2000.

Daughter of a wing commander in the Indian Air Force, 10-year-old Saanvi M Prajit gave a demonstration of her cooking talent, in presence of two gazetted officers, at her residence in Visakhapatnam. The Asia Book of Records authorities watched the live recording of the demonstration. She credits her passion for cooking to his mother, a celebrity chef, and her grandmother. Cooking became her favorite pastime at an early age.

Besides running a YouTube channel, Saanvi M Prajit is a trained Bharatanatyam. Horse-riding is one of her hobbies other than cooking. Recently, Aadith Vishwanath Gourishetty, a 21-month-old prodigy from Hyderabad, made it to the World Book of Records for his extraordinary memory power.

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“In India, the calendar of every state is full of only religious events and festivals.” If you think so, you are not absolutely right. Indian states boast of culturally rich dance and music festivals, held in different times of the year. The most celebrated music and dance festivals of India are held at seaside temples, historical sites of architecture ruins and shrines in the cave. The interface between art and history, these festivals are cultural celebrations, ceremonious galas and spectacular events, in the open air atmosphere. Indian Eagle offers an ode to the most famous dance festivals of India.

Soorya Dance Festival, Kerala

Interwoven with the cultural fabric of Kerala, the Soorya Classical Dance Festival is held in the capital city, Thiruvananthapuram, for 10 days every year. The festival is accompanied by some other cultural programs including theatre, photography, painting and seminars. Kathak, Manipuri, Odissi, Kathakali, Bharathanatyam and Kuchipudi are some of the celebrated forms of Indian classical dance which are staged by eminent artists, during the festival. Organized by Soorya Stage and Film Society, this dance festival of India continues from October 1 to 10.

Elephanta Dane Festival, Maharashtra

Among the dance and music festivals of India, Elephanta Festival is a cultural pride of Maharashtra. The festival is held in the cave shrine of Lord Shiva on Elephanta Island, a 10 km boat drive from the Gateway of India in Mumbai Harbor. Illumined with the interplay of various lights, the Lord Shiva temple in the caves of Elephanta Island comes alive as a seat of art and culture, in the month of March every year. Since its inception in 1989 by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, Elephanta Dance Festival celebrates the folk dance form of each Indian state.

Khajuraho Dance Festival, Madhya Pradesh

Khajuraho, situated in Madhya Pradesh, holds the cultural traditions of Central India. A small village in Bundalkhand, Khajuraho is famous for its legendary temples where the dance festival is held ceremoniously, in the month of February every year. The festival is a gripping celebration of Indian classical dances, performed in the backdrop of flamboyantly illumined temples – the Chitragupta Temple and the Vishwanatha Temple under the evening sky. Once upon a time the capital of the Chandela Dynasty, Khajuraho is a dedicated chapter in the thousands-year old Indian history.

Konark Dance Festival, Orissa

One of the most spectacular dance and music festivals of India, Konark Dance Festival is held at an open air auditorium in the backdrop of the Sun Temple which is also known as the Black Pagoda. The marvelous architecture of the Konark Sun Temple is shaped like a chariot with wheels drawn by seven horses. On the Chandrabhaga beach of Konark, near the holy city of Puri, the Konark Temple offers a wonderful ambience when lit colorfully during the festival in the month of December. Odissi Dance, an age-old cultural identity of Orissa, is an exclusive highlight of the festival. Other dance performances such as Chau dance, Manipuri, Kathak and Bharathnatyam make it a lavish feast for the eyes.

READ MORE Interesting Facts of Konark Sun Temple

Ellora Ajanta Dance Festival, Maharashtra

Held in the month of January, Ellora Ajanta Dance Festival is an interface between culture and history of India. The historic Ajanta and Ellora caves of Aurangabad are in the spotlight during the festival. Organized by Aurangabad Festival Committee in collaboration with Maharashtra Tourism Development at Soneri Mahal, the festival presents the best of classical and folk dance forms in a blend. The glittering beauty of the festival and the splendid architecture of Soneri Mahal make a rare spectacle to behold with wonder. The regional art and craft of Maharashtra is also exhibited at the festival site.

Mamallapuram Dance Festival, Tamil Nadu

Mamallapuram, a seaside temple town in Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu, prides itself on the popularity of the dance festival. The most important port in the Pallava Dynasty of the 7th and 8th centuries, Mamallapuram is a tourist destination known for its stone temples and monolithic rock sculptures. Arjuna’s Penance, a mammoth architecture with finely carved rock sculptures, serves as venue of the Mamallapuram Dance Festival, in the backdrop of the Bay of Bengal. Lulled by gentle breezes blowing over the sea, the atmosphere of the town is suitable for the festive mood. The festival begins in the last week of December and continues for three weeks in January every year.

Modhera Dance Festival, Gujarat

Gujarat does not lag behind other states of India when it comes to claiming fame for art, culture and history. Modhera Dance Festival, an annual cultural phenomenon in Mehsana district of the state, is held at the Sun Temple, an architectural excellence that belongs to the regime of the Solanki King Bhimdev I. Though lying in ruins, the temple exudes its historical charms when the surrounding is illumined for the festival. Dance and music performances by traditionally clad artists add to the spell of the atmosphere. Modhera Dance Festival is held in the month of January.

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Other than the wealthiest temples, India is known for some of the tallest, largest and grandest structures in the world. Now, India is home to the world’s tallest Shiva lingam in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Eclipsing the tallest Shiva Lingam temples across India, the Maheswaram Sivaparvathi Temple of Chenkal near Thiruvananthapuram is looking to enter the Limca Book of Records and the Guinness Book of Records for its astounding 111.2 feet height and and 50-feet diameter in breadth.

Recently unveiled, the Shiva lingam of Maheswaram’s Sri Sivaparvathi Temple has been recognized as the tallest Shiva lingam in India. It has already entered the India Book of Records for not only its height but also its unique cylindrical structure. Travel Beats, an overseas Indian community portal by Indian Eagle, shares some interesting facts about the Maheswaram Sivaparvathi Temple of Chenkal in Kerala.

Surprising Facts about India’s Tallest Shiva Lingam

Attention from all quarters has been pouring in for the Maheswaram Sivaparvathi Temple of Kerala because of the Shiva lingam, which is equal to a 10-storey building in terms of height. The Shiva lingam is neither hollow nor stuffed a piece of sculpture like the erstwhile tallest shiva lingams in India. Rather, it is a piece of architecture in the form of cylindrical structure.

The top of India’s tallest Shiva lingam at Kerala’s Maheswaram Sivaparvathi Temple is accessible to pilgrims through eight floors inside the structure. Six of the 8 floors represent six energy centers in the human body. The top of the lingam features Kailasam (the Himalayan abode of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi in Hindu scriptures) with snow-clad idols of the presiding deities. The inside of the lingam features several marvels.

The pathway from the base to the top of the tallest Shiva lingam in Kerala is decked with eye-catching murals and statutes of meditating monks in a cave-like environment. The passage is designed and constructed in such a way so as to symbolize seven hills of Himalayas. The first floor of the lingam is consecrated to 108 Shiva lingams, where devotees can offer ‘abhishekam.’

India’s Tallest Shiva Lingam is a Seat of Meditation 

India’s tallest Shiva Lingam at Maheswaram Sivaparvathi Temple is expected to become a haven of peace and meditation. The cave-like inside of the lingam houses six meditation halls for pilgrims, devotees and tourists to meditate on human body’s energy centers. The topmost floor features a grand lotus with 1000 petals symbolizing ‘sahasrara chakra’ or pure bliss in terms of yoga.

The construction of India’s tallest Shiva Lingam in Kerala began in 2012. It went on for 6 years. Water, sand and soil from various holy places including Kashi, Gangotri, Rishikesh, Rameswaram, Badrinath, Gomukh, and Kailash across the country mixed with the construction materials. The 108-feet-high Shiva lingam at Kotilingeshwara Temple in Karnataka was the tallest in the country until the Maheswaram Sivaparvathi Temple of Chenkal unveiled the 111.2-ft-high lingam recently.

Reportedly, the temple authorities are planning to approach the central government to confer the status of a national pilgrim center upon the temple where India’s tallest Shiva lingam represents spiritual energy preservation.

The Maheswaram Sivaparvathi Temple of Chenkal in Kerala is just a 45-minute drive from Thiruvananthapuram. Trivandrum International Airport has good connectivity with the rest of India, the neighboring countries and the Middle East.

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We must say that India is a most progressive country in the current decade though certain gender-biased practices are still prevailing in some parts of rural and semi-urban India. The Supreme Court of India made a historic ruling against the age-old ban on menstruating women’s entry to the Sabarimala Temple of Lord Ayyappa in Kerala.

The Supreme Court’s Sabarimala Temple verdict lifted the ban and held gender equality above religious barriers. A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court discarded the temple authority’s arguments that protecting celibacy of the Sabarimala Temple’s presiding deity from women of 10 to 50 years was a Constitutional norm.

One of the largest Hindu pilgrimage centers in India, the Lord Ayyappa Swami Temple is known for its universality. Thousands of NRIs book cheap flights to Cochin Airport from the United States and other parts of the world for pilgrimage to the temple every year. The Sabarimala Temple exemplifies the virtues of the Vedic philosophy “Thathvamasi” which asserts that the Lord and devotees are one and the same within the temple premises. The devotees, rich and poor, elite and ordinary, educated and illiterate, all are called swami like the presiding deity. It is said to be the only Hindu temple in the world that houses a shrine dedicated to a Muslim who made friends with Lord Ayyappa during his journey.

On one hand, the temple epitomizes religious and social harmony. On the other, the temple’s practice of barring menstruating women from worshipping the deity had been questioned until the Supreme Court ruled in favor of gender equality and women’s right to worship. Here’s what you should know about the Sabarimala verdict:

Chief Justice Dipak Misra on the Constitution bench said, “Religion cannot be the cover to deny women the right to worship. To treat women as children of a lesser God is to blink at constitutional morality.” He remarked that women’s constitutional right to worship in India could not be subjected to religious patriarchy on the pretext of biological or physiological reasons. “Women are neither lesser nor inferior to men. Devotion could not be discriminatory,” he added in the judgment.

The Rule 3 (b) of the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship Rules of 1965, which disallows women from puberty to 50 years of age to enter the Lord Ayyappa Swami Temple in Kerala, has been scrapped as an unconstitutional violation of the right of Hindu women to worship and practice religion under Article 25 of the Constitution of India. “Women’s right to worship guaranteed under Article 25 is independent of physiological and gender-based factors,” Chief Justice Dipak Misra said in the Sabarimala Temple verdict.

The five-judge bench on the Sabarimala Temple did also criticize the 1954 five-judge bench decision on the Shirur Matt Case and described it as a ‘problem with our jurisprudence.’ The verdict on the Shirur Matt Case in 1954 ruled in the essentiality of a religious practice based on the tenets of religion rather than the principles of the Constitution.

The Sabarimala verdict 2018 made it clear that the ‘essentiality’ of a religious practice should neither encourage gender-based discrimination nor violate the basic structure of the Constitution. “The ban on menstruating women’s entry to the Sabarimala Temple is not an ‘essentiality’ of the religion,” said the Chief Justice of India.

Justice Indu Malhotra, the only woman on the five-judge Constitution bench, differed with the majority citing that the Sabarimala verdict could be a challenge to other religious practices across India and a threat to the secular fabric of the country. She argued that the essentiality of a religious practice in question should be defined by a particular religious community, not the court in a country of diverse faiths and traditions like India. She opined that matters of religious sentiments should not be messed with notions of rationality.

However, the Sabarimala verdict opened the door to the Lord Ayyappa Swami Temple for women of all ages. At the same time, the verdict has elicited a mixed response across Kerala. Some are of the opinion that the hilltop temple, which is visited by 45 million pilgrims during the peak season (mid-December to mid-January), has inadequate infrastructure (lack of toilets) for female devotees.

Currently, Kochi is the nearest international airport to Sabarimala. The temple has the same distance from Trivandrum International Airport. The project “Sabarigiri International Airport” which was proposed in 2017 has been approved for millions of pilgrims and the Central Travancore.

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