Location map: http://goo.gl/maps/2i7Au

(Bonus info: All these photos are straight-from-camera.)

]]> http://www.kottayampattanam.com/parakkal-kadavu/feed/ 0 http://www.kottayampattanam.com/parakkal-kadavu/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/KottayamPattanam/~3/NPpNsp1-plU/ http://www.kottayampattanam.com/jyes-neendoor-farm-park/#comments Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:40:13 +0000 Aravind Jose T. http://www.kottayampattanam.com/?p=804 This place should have been profiled here way earlier. The ‘J-YES Farms’ at Neendoor is freely open to all, throughout the year. Along with the rearing of a variety of animals, fishes and birds, the place has a landscaped garden, swings for kids, a plant nursery, an agricultural museum that archives old and traditional farming implements and household objects. There is an open air cafeteria too.

The locals take pride in this project. During the weekends, the place gets filled  especially with kids!

Location map: http://goo.gl/maps/H98NZ
Timings: 7 days a week / 5 am – 7 pm
Entry: Free
Contact: 0481 – 2712828

– Photos from the event are posted below. Scroll down –

It was heartening to see along the railway station road, good-looking posters of something interesting. Especially when you come back home after being away for some days. Not just the posters of Amen, but CHITFOK – a Children’s Theatre Festival.

Scheduled for 13th – 17th April 2013, everyday at 6.30 pm, the festival is organized by our local National Award winner Mr. Joshy Mathew. He has been actively involved with children’s theatre/art/film for long now.

Entry to the event is not restricted but regulated. You can contact Mr. Joshy Mathew to get the free entry tickets (+91 944 705 6416).
Also, tickets will most probably be available at the venue during the event.

Go over to The Hindu for more information and schedule of plays.
An excerpt from the article:

The five-day festival would open with the Chavittu Natakam ‘Thoma Sleeha Charitham’ to be presented by students of St George’s Higher Secondary School, Kaipuzha.

The following plays will be performed over the course of the five days:
‘Ponmanathu Manikal’, which will be presented by children’s theatre group Arangasree, Thanjavoor, Tamil Nadu;
‘Heddaynana’ by Koshika, Uduppi, Karnataka;
‘Akasha Paravakal’ by Navarang, Palakkad;
‘Chipko Chikpko’ by Mazhavallu, Kochi;
‘Kuttiyum Salabhavaum’ by Rangaprabhath, Thiruvananthapuram,;
‘Cocoon’ by Suhruth Nataka Kalari, Vithura;
‘Lutappi’ by Navyug, Kottayam.

From ‘Ponmanathu Manikal’ by Arangasree, Tanjore

From ‘Thomasleeha Charitham’ (chavittu nadakam) by St. George HSS, Kaipuzha.
(This team has won 1st place with A grade at the State Youth Festival 2012-13)

You can plan a route quickly and it is immensely flexible. You can plan a circular route thereby not having to return via the same places, make a very short route based on your location, mix places up for a longer day-trip, include visits to friends’ & relatives’ places etc.

This would be an answer to the frustrating and not very uncommon situation of “Where to go? What to do?”.

Sample Routes

1. KOTTAYAM-Ettumanoor/Manarcadu-PALA-Marangattupilli-KURAVILANGADU-Kanakkari-Ettumanoor-KOTTAYAM
(View map)

2. KOTTAYAM-Kumarakom-Edayzham-Thanneermukkom-POOCHAKKAL-Thanneermukkom-Edayazham-KALLARA-Ettumanoor/Mannanam-KOTTAYAM
(View map)

3. KOTTAYAM -KUMARAKOM-Thanneermukkom-CHERTHALA-ALAPPUZHA-Edathua/Nedumudi-CHANGANACHERRY-KOTTAYAM
(View map)

4. KOTTAYAM-ERATTUPETTA-VAGAMON-Teekoy-Ayyampara-Teekoy-ERATTUPETTA-KOTTAYAM
(View map)

5. KOTTAYAM/CHRY-Pulikkal Kavala-Kanjirapplly-KUTTIKKANAM-Elappara-VAGAMON-Erattupetta-KOTTAYAM/CHRY
(View map)

6. Here is one Specialty Route that takes you from low-lands to high-range via mid-lands in about 70kms (one way):
Thanneermukkom-Edayazham-Kallara-Pala-Erattupetta-Teekoy-Ayyampara
(View map)

To demonstrate the flexibility of the routes consider this:
In Route 1, from Kuravilangadu, jump to Kallara on Route 2 (Kuravilangadu-Kuruppumthara-Kallara) and proceed to Thanneermukkom/Cherthala.
On return, go via Kumarakom. There you have it – a remix!  Keep making mixes and you won’t easily run out of  routes to go.

The Specialty Route mentioned above will be a suitable addition to the itinerary of visiting friends and family. Give it a little thought and you could sketch up more specialty routes, like a taste-route which link places with good food, a friends’-route or a holiday family-route!

Note

The roads vary greatly in their characteristics – width, quality of tarring, amount of traffic, foot traffic, population density etc.
Never stop being alert, even on familiar roads.

We think this would make a great gift especially during the festival seasons. This would also be a good addition to the welcome-drink counters at receptions and any celebratory event. Not to mention the tasty souvenir-value something like this holds!

This certainly is not a complete collection; it’s more of a sketch. You could hack it into various combinations with different quantities, introduce more items like the Halwa, which wasn’t included in order to stay biased towards Kottayam.

This post is a collaborative attempt. If you have taken photos like these and would like them to be considered for inclusion in this post, please do send them to
mail ^at^ kottayampattanam.com

There stands nothing between you and as-far-as-you-can-see. Just before sunset and during twilight, clouds often stage gorgeous performances. And they never repeat the same moves or hues — the view is unique every evening.

It shows how fun-loving our Earth is!

Goodness inspires. There are now two more spots in Kottayam that are inspired by the change-of-air Naalumanikkattu offered. Kalathilkadavu Puzhayorasahyanam along the Kodoor River on the Devalokam – Kolladu road (view on map) and Aattutheeram along the Meenachil River, between Cherppunkal and Mutholy, on the Ettumanoor – Pala highway (view on map). These are not as elaborate as Naalumanikkattu but are good little open places for some leisure.

Kalathilkadavu

There are about 6-8 benches here, along the roadside towards the bridge. There is an open park for kids with swings & see-saws, a locally-run hotel that serves snacks & drinks and an ice cream counter. The view get more scenic towards sunset.

Aattutheeram

The Aattutheeram project on the Cherppunkal – Mutholy stretch is a kilometre long beautification of the highway. A passionately maintained garden runs along the road on both sides and it instantly improves the feel of the trip. Even the routine, boring commute will feel better as you pass by. Extending the project, there are now few benches along the garden that overlook the Meenachil River with faint & foggy view of mountains far away.