Kerala Tourism puts Peruvemba, Kalpathy and Vellinezhi villages on global tourism map

Kerala lovers can now get more of God’s own country, thanks to the new project undertaken by Kerala Tourism under its responsible tourism drive. According to news reports, Kerala Tourism is making efforts to put three villages in Kerala, namely Peruvemba, Kalpathy and Vellinezhi on the global travel map.

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Wayfarers can opt to stay in government-sanctioned homestays to experience village life. This will also give them a chance to communicate with local craftsmen, spend time at their workshops, and shop for their products.
In Peruvemba, the local craftsmen of Kadayan community excel in fashioning traditional music instruments like mridangam, shudda, chenda, maddalam, toppi maddalam, thimila, tabala, kanjira, edakka and udukku from animal hides. In addition to Peruvemba, the Tamil Brahmin Agraharams of Kalpathy, boasting of long lineage of art and culture will be included in the project.

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And finally, the third village chosen for the project is Vellinezhi, quite known for expanding Kalluvazhi Chitta, a more subtle form of Kathakali dance.
The village of Vellinezhi is unique for its cultural legacy, and therefore can be counted among one of the best places to visit in Kerala. More than 40 performing art forms are practiced in the village, and it has more than 48 Kathakali training centres. It even plays host to several Koodiyattam and Thullal training centres.

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“We have identified people in these three villages who can implement responsible tourism practices to attract interested foreign tourists. The local culture and heritage will be promoted without sacrificing the key value systems of the local community. There will not be large-scale commercialisation,” K. Arun Kumar, district coordinator of the project, told the press
This March, a group of 25 tourists from Mauritius and Spain travelled to Kalpathy following an invitation from Kerala tourism. The hosts served them Mysore Pak, a popular local sweetmeat, and filter coffee, a local beverage. They were given a tour of the village and an opportunity to witness the time-honoured method of making pickles.

The tourists will be provided both homestays and farm-stays, besides giving full scope for purchasing local handicrafts and locally-made music instruments. This will also give the guests a fair chance to absorb local culture, heritage, customs etc.