Thiruvananthapuram gears up for Deepavali with handmade lanterns, sweets, and hampers

Thiruvananthapuram gears up for Deepavali with handmade lanterns, sweets, and hampers

‘Tis the season of festivities and feasts. And Thiruvananthapuram is getting decked up for Deepavali, the festival of lights. Sweets in myriad flavours, traditional and innovative, savouries infused with aromatic spices, and cakes with an Indian twist are just some of the eats made by enterprising home cooks. Meanwhile to usher in the season’s colours, […]

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Anna Samuel creates hyper reality cakes, crafting edible art like kappa-meen curry and biryani

Anna Samuel creates hyper reality cakes, crafting edible art like kappa-meen curry and biryani

Anna Samuel | Photo Credit: Special arrangement Anna Samuel gifted her a father-in-law a potted succulent on his birthday. He kept it on a shelf with his collection of cacti. “When it was time to cut the birthday cake, I brought it to the table. That is when he realised it was a cake!” says […]

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Lakshmi Madhavan explores identity, heritage through kasavu cloth, bridging art and tradition through weavers

Lakshmi Madhavan explores identity, heritage through kasavu cloth, bridging art and tradition through weavers

For conceptual artist Lakshmi Madhavan, the gossamer fine cotton cloth woven with gold zari (kasavu) is her chosen medium to explore a people’s stories, culture and social mooring. The Mumbai-based artist uses the kasavu-bordered cotton textile to explore her identity, her roots and her efforts to bridge the different facets of her life while juxtaposing […]

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The charm of the 80s school vacation and and the endless triumph of imagination over possession

The charm of the 80s school vacation and and the endless triumph of imagination over possession

May in Ayemenem is a hot, brooding month. The days are long and humid. The river shrinks and black crows gorge on bright mangoes in still, dust green trees. Red bananas ripen. Jackfruits burst. Dissolute bluebottles hum vacuously in fruity air. Then they stun themselves against clear windowpanes and die, flatly baffled in the sun. […]

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Kalliyoor in Thiruvananthapuram ready for unprecedented harvest of ‘kanivellari’

Kalliyoor in Thiruvananthapuram ready for unprecedented harvest of ‘kanivellari’

Kanivellari is an integral part of Vishukkani. | Photo Credit: H VIBHU Vishu is incomplete with kanivellari or the golden cucumber. It is a must in Vishukkani, the resplendent arrangement that one has to see as the first thing on Vishu day. Since this cucumber variety is not commonly cultivated in Thiruvananthapuram, it usually arrives […]

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Kalliyoor in Thiruvananthapuram ready for unprecedented harvest of ‘kanivellari’

Kalliyoor in Thiruvananthapuram ready for unprecedented harvest of ‘kanivellari’

Kanivellari is an integral part of Vishukkani. | Photo Credit: H VIBHU Vishu is incomplete with kanivellari or the golden cucumber. It is a must in Vishukkani, the resplendent arrangement that one has to see as the first thing on Vishu day. Since this cucumber variety is not commonly cultivated in Thiruvananthapuram, it usually arrives […]

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Omalloor Krishi Vaibhavam, the biggest agrarian fair in South Kerala, is a powerful reminder of our roots

Omalloor Krishi Vaibhavam, the biggest agrarian fair in South Kerala, is a powerful reminder of our roots

Tubers in myriad shapes, colours and size fill up every available space at Omalloor Krishi Vaibhavam market, just behind the panchayat office at Omalloor, about five kilometres from Pathanamthitta. It spills out of shops into sidewalks, alleys and streets. I seek the help of Gopalakrishnan, manning one of the outlets, to identify some of the tubers. The abundance […]

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‘Bhagavathi’, a new music video by Sithara Krishnakumar’s band, Project Malabaricus, is an ode to the strength of women

‘Bhagavathi’, a new music video by Sithara Krishnakumar’s band, Project Malabaricus, is an ode to the strength of women

Sithara Krishnakumar in the music video ‘Bhagavathi’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Celebrating the legend behind Muchilottu Bhagavathy Theyyam is ‘Bhagavathi’, a music video by Sithara Krishnakumar’ s band, Project Malabaricus. The versatile artiste, known for pushing her boundaries as a performer, musician and singer, renders a power-packed track, backed by arresting visuals. ‘Bhagavathi’, according […]

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Malayalam documentary ‘Thespians of Aattam’ is a fascinating look at the cast of Aattam film

Malayalam documentary ‘Thespians of Aattam’ is a fascinating look at the cast of Aattam film

A still from the documentary Thespians of Aattam. (from left, standing) Vinay Forrt, Madan Babu K, Sudheer Babu, Jolly Anthony and Sijin Sijeesh; (sitting, from left) Prasanth Madhavan, Sanosh Murali, Aji Thiruvamkulam, Nandan Unni, Anand Ekarshi and Santhosh Piravom. All of them are actors of Lokadharmi in Kochi. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement Malayalam film […]

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RLV Ramakrishnan says he wants to perform Mohiniyattam at every stage in Kerala to protest against racist slurs

RLV Ramakrishnan says he wants to perform Mohiniyattam at every stage in Kerala to protest against racist slurs

Dancer and academic RLV Ramakrishnan wants to perform Mohiniyattam at every stage in Kerala. “That is how I plan to protest against the racist and casteist slurs made against me,” says Ramakrishnan in an interview with The Hindu. Reacting to the unseemly remarks made by a veteran Mohiniyattam dancer and teacher, the 46-year-old dancer says […]

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