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| Fairs and Festivals |
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Onam-The National Festival of Kerala | Vishu | Navarathri | Mahasivarathri | Makaravillakku at Sabarimala | Thrikarthika | Thiruvathira | Christmas | Easter | Ramadan | Eid-Ul-Fitr | Eid-Ul-Zuha | Milad-Ul-Nabi | Muharram | Gramam(Village Fair) | The Great Elephant March | Nishagandhi Dance Festivals | Flavour Food Festival | Attukal Pongala | Vetta and Arattu | Sarkara Devi Temple, Chirayinkeezhu | Sree Subramanya Swamy Temple, Ulloor | Aruvippuram Siva Temple, Aruvippuram | Thiruvambadi Sree Krishna Temple | Christ the King Church | Beemapalli, Trivandrum
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| Gramam(Village Fair)(14-23 January) |
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An entire Kerala village is recreated on the beach during this ten day long festival. The traditional nalukettu (the quadrangular upper class house with a central open courtyard) and its premises become the venue of the fair, where the culture, arts and crafts of Kerala come alive.
Festival highlights Arts and crafts fair, Kathakali, Thiruvathirakali, Mohiniattam, Oppana, Kalaripayattu, Sarpapattu, Theyyam, Kummattikali, Panchavadyam, Chakyarkoothu, Ottanthullal.
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| The Great Elephant March(9- 12th January) |
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The Great Elephant March is a major tourist attraction that brings in visitors from all over. It is a four day program organized by the Department of tourism, Kerala.
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Elephant pageantry, boat races and folk art performances are specially arranged in a four-day period for the tourists to have a glimpse of the Kerala culture.
On the fourth day, the Elephant pageantry is held at Trivandrum. Here tourists will have an occasion to witness Kerala's folk art forms and its ancient martial art display, Kalaripayattu. The grand finale is at Kovalam Beach. It concludes with the seaside barbecue.
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| Nishagandhi Dance Festivals(21- 27th February) |
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This week long festival of Indian classical dances is held at the Nishagandhi open air theatre. Kanakakunnu Palace grounds, Thiruvananthapuram.
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Indias leading exponents of almost all classical dance forms including Bharathanatyam, Odissi, Mohiniyattam and Kathak perform at the Nishagandhi o p e n-a i r auditorium at Trivandrum. A grand treat for lovers of dance.
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| Flavour Food Festival (5 - 11 April) |
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This is an Indian food festival in which renowned hotels in Kerala participate. Continental, Chinese, North Indian and South Indian and many more varieties of food are also available. It takes place at Trivandrum in February every year.
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Attukal Pongala
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Attukal Bhagavathy temple (Mudippura), knows as the Sabarimala of women, is in Attukal 2kms from Thiruvananthapuram. Attukal Ponkala, the annual festival commences on Bharani day in Kumbhom (February - March) and continues for nine days.
Ponkala is an offering usually made in Bhagavathy temples, prepared in the form of payasam ( a liquid food in Kerala), ingredients are rice, jaggery, coconut kernel and plantain fruits.
The festival begins with thottampattu (a song about Bhagavathy) which is being chanted for nine days continuously.On the ninth day, women throng the temple with ponkala pots and ingredients for cooking.
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Ponkala preparation starts morning and by noon would be over, then the melsanthi (chief priest) carrying Devi's sword goes around the temple sprinkling holy water and showering flowers over the preparation.
After this, the idol of the Devi is being taken in procession to the Manacaud Sastha Temple with the accompaniment of thalapoli, kuthiyottom, annam, vahanam and, caparisoned elephants. Percussion in the procession include chenda, nagaswaram, band and neyyandi melam.
There will also be Kumbhakudam (pageantry) during the procession. En route, the procession is received with nirapara (a pot filled with paddy and decorated with flowers usually arranged in front of traditional Kerala houses). The procession returns next morning.
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| Vetta and Arattu(1- 10th November) |
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The 'Vetta' and 'Arattu' processions are held twice a year from Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple. The 'Vetta' symbolizes Vishnu hunting down the demon of evil in a forest.
The climax of the hunt takes place at a spot in front of the Sundravilasom Palace in the Thiruvananthapuram Fort.
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On the next day the famous 'Arattu' processions takes place in the late afternoon. Images of Sree Padmanabha, Krishna and Narasimha are carried along the 5km route to the edge of the Arabian Sea at Shangumukham beach, escorted by the members of the royal family and armed police contingents.
At sunset as per custom and tradition handed down through centuries, the images are ritually bathed in the sea after prescribed poojas. A procession illuminated by traditional torches, escort the purified idols back to the temple, marking the conclusion of the grand event.
Elaborate poojas and ceremonial processions are held every day of the festival. Several cultural programmes including all-night Kathakali constitute the culture fare.
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