NEW YEAR AT FORT COCHIN I.
Supported by the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF), last year’s Pappanji was being made under the supervision of artists K. Reghunadhan and K.G. Anto, who were guiding about 20 workers and art students working day in and out to ready the massive figure.
Burning of Pappanji is a public celebration on the midnight of December 31 to usher in New Year’s festivities and carnival at Fort Kochi. “We’re being treated with much love and affection by the people living nearby; they even bring delicious home-made food for us while we are at work,” says Mr. Reghunadhan, who was a participating artist in the first edition of the Kochi Muziris Biennale.
Pappanji, Portuguese for ‘old man', is the effigy of a suited and booted, old man symbolising the passing of the old year, and is rooted in the Portuguese, Dutch and other European influences on Fort Kochi, says the KBF in a press release.
While the tradition started among the local people of Fort Kochi in the 1980s, the Biennale Foundation has undertaken the building of the Pappanji since the first edition of the art exhibition in 2012.
The construction of last year’s Pappanji, which started just five days back, was hold some surprises, says Mr. Reghunadhan. “It was challenging to make a huge Pappanji in less than 10 days,” says the artist. “And unlike the models from the earlier years, we are making a totally different Pappanji, one with an international appeal.”
The Pappanji stands on a strong base, five feet from the ground, with a steel frame stuffed with eco-friendly material, such as jute and cotton to enable the burning process.
Founder & Director of Ayurveda Trails, healing collection of (extra)ordinary people and their stories, whose experiences are transferred into various trails shared by travelers.
Seeks to invoke the cosmopolitan spirit of the modern metropolis of Kochi and its mythical past, Muziris, create a platform that introduce contemporary international visual art theory and practice to India.
A journey in to an ancient world of India, divided in 10 short-films. It was not only a journey to India but more a journey in to another world. For some reason I was literally falling in to an unknown world touched by all that beautiful things going on in this world.
Deities associated with sacred forests transformed and evolved according to different historical eras. It is believed that the main original forest deity was Mezguasche (Forest-lady). Mezguasche was responsible for the forest and fauna.
RISHIKESH: Breath Of Himalayas
Rishikesh, a town in the foothills of the himalayas. It's a pilgrimage place since thousands of years, where the yogi's gather before they continue their journey in to the mountains on their path to the ultimate liberation.
02: Circassian’s Belief System
Since time immemorial, the Circassian native tribes did not follow a script or a holy book, nor erected praying temples, but rather, they have formed an unwritten philosophy based on their collective outlook on life, and worshiped in the arms of nature.
Trees stand as a magnificent reminder of one of God’s infinite masterpieces, they are like the silent observers of time, wordlessly conversing with life as eons go by. Trees can be regarded as the wardens of earth, unconditionally giving life, sustenance and shelter.
Time of year when the city of Kochi transforms into a madhouse! The Cochin Carnival is the biggest gala of Fort Kochi and a great time for merrymaking and feasting along with hundreds and thousands of people before stepping into the New Year.
Burning of Pappanji is a public celebration on the midnight of December 31 to usher in New Year’s festivities and carnival at Fort Kochi. It is a symbol of Kochi’s secular and festive spirit. The tradition started among the local people of Fort Kochi in the 1980s.
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Celebrating the Jewish Fall Festivals - Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkoth and Simchat Torah - with Cochin Jews, a small community trying hard to keep alive the most sacred and revelous days of Jewish life in Kochi.
Sisyphus: Time as a Rolling Witness
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01: Ayurveda in Travancore Kingdom
If you expect stories which starts: Once upon a time, there was a princess... stop reading. Her Highness Princess Gouri Parvathi Bayi of the Travancore Royal Family will introduce us very modern and open minded view on today's Kerala society and ayurveda.
NAVARATRI
Festival of Nine Goddesses
Navaratri is a nine night festival that honors the Mother Goddess in all her manifestations. The worship, accompanied by fasting, takes place in the mornings. Evenings are for feasting and dancing. Each day has a different ritual associated with it.
THE TALK Nº3:
SwaSwara A Woman
SwaSwara reminds me a woman, she can be moody, but still you feel her openness and free flow of all-encompassing energy. She is a mother, a sister, a healer, it's all there! I think, this is Swara of Swa, you can hear that echo in the whole way it's built.
ONAM
The Harvest Festival in Kerala
Onam is the most popular festival in Kerala. It can be traced to the primitive harvest festival and also to the myth regarding King Mahabali - the benevolent asura ruler who brought peace and prosperity to his country. It is celebrated in August and September.
Narendranath is the guardian of a dying heritage. At his tiny shop in Fort Cochin, shrunken in the course of time, he reigns as the devoted practitioner of an age-old system of medicine, a rich and valuable legacy left with him by his forefathers.
