Report of Day 4- Christmas Day

Report of Day 4- Christmas Day

By Sara Philip- Group 4

The day began with the assembly programmes presented by Group 2. It was followed by the Christmas Celebrations. “Peace on earth and Goodwill to mankind" is the message of Christmas. This was depicted through the Nativity scene and the melodious Carols glorifying the new born King - baby Jesus, presented by Lavina and team. The vibrant Santa Claus, Deepak Pandey filled the ambience with the true spirit of Christmas. As a gesture towards spreading happiness,plum cake was distributed which added the taste of Christmas.

As decided earlier, Christmas would be a day of mirth and joy,we proceeded towards OlapamannMana at Vellinezhi by 9.35am.

The sacred and serene ambience of the mana had a hypnotic effect on each one of us.The mana has been converted to Olapamann Devi Prasadam Trust.We were welcomed by Sri SankaranarayanNambuthiri,the manager of the trust, who briefed us with the history of the mana.It is a heritage building,the ancestral home of a Nambuthiri family by name Olapamann.The building, anEttukettu, constructed in kerala architectural style is situated in Vellinezhi,a village in Cherpulassery of Palakkad District.We were humbled by the humility and magnanimity of Sri. Navneeth Nambuthiripad,the owner of the mana.

The participants were enchanted by the Carnatic recitals of Dr.Vellinezhi Subramanian,vocalist and trainer at the teacher training institute of the sadanam,as well as those of his children- Master Bharadwaj and KumariBhavapriya.The participants attained the rare opportunity to witness the 200 years old art form of Kerala- TheKathakali dance form by the team from the sadanam.

The venue principal,himself a trained artist in the musical instrument,Chenda offered prayers to Lord Ganesha - the Vighneshwara- on the Chenda before the start of the Kathakali performances.

Kum.Srilakshmi daughter of sadanamManikandan,MasterAdarsh and Master Pranav - his disciples showed us the Thozhuthkoombidal - which was paying respects or saluting the guru,God,Goddess.They also performed the basic steps of Kathakali art form,which could be mastered only through continuous practise.

The splendid performances by guru sadanamManikandan and his disciple sadanamVipin Chandra left us spell-bound.We were mesmerized by their enthralling performances,depicting various stories from the sacred Bhagavadgitain the dance form.In the non-technologicaldays, the local people around would be heralded about Kathakali performances through 'Keli' which would be on the Kelipara(Keli Rock).The Keli was performed by sadanamJithin - a Chenda artist and sadanamAneesh- a Madalam artist.The Chenda and Madalam are the two major components of Kathakali, which takes the art form to a much higher level.The vocalist for the Kathakali performances was sadanamShivadas.The twenty four expressions or mudras were explained through performances.The icing on the cake on the Christmas day was the Navarasa and RoudraBheemaperformances, which was breathtaking.

We also got the rare opportunity of meeting our Danish brothers and sisters at the mana,who came as part of ITACH- International Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage,led by Sri Arun.

The Kerala Sadya made by Chef Kunjunni Nair was a Feast on Christmas day that added flavour of unity in diversity, as participants of different faiths ate together under a roof on Christmas afternoon. This was possible only because of the in-service course.

After the delicious and sumptuous Sadya we proceeded towards Kava, the reservoir of Malampuzha.The place has gained fame by being shooting location for blockbuster films.With its scenic beauty,the place attracted us and we let ourselves free in the lap of nature.

The beautiful Greenland surrounded by mountains all around was an awesome experience.

We then proceeded towards the largest reservoir in Kerala, the Malampuzha dam.It is located in the lower hills of the Western ghats and are the only rock cut gardens in South India.The flowering beds, fountains, rosegardens, aerial ropeway, picnic spots and the MalampuzhaYakshi by KanayiKunhiraman add to the allure of Malampuzha.

Overall the one day trip was an invigorating experience to all. There was no dearth of energy among the participants as they gyrated to the scintillating fast music numbers and kept up their spirits till they deboarded the bus.

On the whole the day was fun filled and truly entertaining. On behalf of all the participants,I thank the Course Director,Associate Course Director, Resource Persons and Sri.Krishnan ,WET of K V Ottapalam for making the day a memorable one to cherish forever.