Believe it or not, Kerala has around 20,000 Hindu temples and shrines and in almost all the villages there is at least one place of worship for Christians and Muslims.
These major and minor places of worship had contributed significantly to the development and continued maintenance of the rich cultural heritage of the state through the vibrant annual festivals.
Although some of the major festivals are known at the national and international levels, many of them are not known beyond the boundaries of the state.
The organisers of these celebrations are not publicity-conscious. As a result, the efforts to keep track of these festivals have become very difficult.
Obviously, neither the State Tourism Department nor any individual have tried to systematically bring out the detailed information on these cultural festivals till recently.
Kerala Festival Message 2008’, a directory of festivals in Kerala, edited by C A Menon, is a major work which provides detailed and systematic information about the festivals in Kerala.
The directory was first published in 2004 figuring out the details of around 1000 festivals across the state.
The latest and updated version lists out over 2500 festivals in the state in the year 2008, with eye-catching pictures to provide a glimpse of the richness of these festivals to its reader.
The latest volume also covers all the festivals beginning from January 2009 as well as major festivals next year.
The compilation is a valuable addition to the material that helps both domestic and foreign tourists to acquaint themselves with the festivals and rituals in Kerala.
Aimed at facilitating travel agents, tour operators and tourists, especially foreign tourists, to plan their programmes well in advance and to synchronise them with the festivals of their choice, the author is at present engaged in bringing out a directory of festivals in the state in the next five years shortly.
source:http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IER20080527001853&Page=R&Title=Kerala&Topic=0
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