Payyambalam Beach

I have once written about this beautiful tourist spot in Kerala, Payyambalam Beach. Then it was just mentioned as one of the tourists points in kerala. Last week we went there for a routine weekend outing. And I thought I must share something more about this beautiful beach in particular to you.

It is an emerging hot tourist spot in (God’s own country) Kerala, which  is one of the must seen ten tourists spots in the world. Now the most popular beach in Kerala is Kovalam. I have visited Kovalam twice. I agree, it’s really beautiful. But I think, Payyambalm Beach does have many qualities and features than Kovalam. The first feature that one notice here is its cleanliness and the second one is its calmness and the marvelous sunset.

I hope in the near future Payyambalm will be the hottest beach destiny for the tourists in Kerala. It’s situated in Kannur district, about 3km away from kannur town. You can also have some time pass at the park aside of this beach. But don’t expect much here except one famous sculpture ‘AMMA’, of Great sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman.

Venice of the East

Alappuzha is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala in India.The district is also known for its communist traditions. It is home to the Punnapra Vayalar strikes against the British and also the revolt against feudal raj. It has the highest population density among all districts of the state. Alappuzha is one of the most important tourist centres in the state, with a large network of inland canals earning it the sobriquet “Venice of the east“. These large network of canals provide Alleppey its lifeline. Alappuzha was one of the busiest centres of trade in the past with one of the best known ports along the Malabar coast.

Alappuzha, the Venice of the East warmly welcomes you to the backwaters of kerala. It is emerging as a hot tourist spot of the millennium. It is gifted geographically to spread a unique tourist menu to a tourist. Today Alappuzha has grown in importance as a backwater tourist centre, attracting several thousands of foreign tourists each year. Alappuzha is also famous for its boat races, houseboat holidays, beaches, marine products and coir industry. An important attraction  of this land is the region called Kuttanad. The land of lush paddy fields, Kuttanad is called the rice bowl of Kerala and is one of the few places in the world where farming is done below sea level.

Alappuzha is one of the most attractive and green backwater destinations in Kerala, South India. Take a houseboat cruise on the Alappuzha backwaters with Tourism in Kerala and marvel at the exotic natural luxury that greets you with the warm sunrays dancing on the ripples created by sailing boats on the otherwise tranquil Alappuzha backwaters. Tourism in Alappuzha in Kerala, South India is a flourishing industry with a number of resorts and hotels all over Alappuzha that cater to the needs of the growing tourism sector.

The ‘Venice of the East’ Alappuzha in Kerala has a number of tourist attractions that are worth visiting:  the Krishnapuram Temple, Punnamada Kayal, St. Andrews Church Arthugal, Mullackal Temple, Chettikulangara Bhagavathy Temple, Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple, Devi Temple, Ambalapuzha Temple and Kottamkulangara Mahavishnu Temple etc.

This district is also notable for its numerous pilgrimage centres that draw vast crowds on the festival days and also boasts of having some of the best ayurvedic rejuvenation centres in Kerala. This Venice of the East is also famous for its coir and carpet industries in addition to featuring many other attractions of tourist importance.

Hotels @ Alappuzha

You can easily have accomodations at Alappuzha with four, three star facilities at cheaper rates. If  not satisfied with four star facilities, nearby Cochin city provide the world class accomodation with all luxurious facilities.

How to reach Alappuzha:

Air: Nearest International Airports are: Kochi (65 km) Thiruvananthapuram (150 km)

Rail: Alleppey is well connected to major Cities of Kerala.

Road: An excellent road network links Alappuzha / Alleppey to all the major towns and cities in Kerala and India.

Water: Alleppey/Alappuzha is connected by boat service through the backwaters to Quilon, Changanacherry, Kumarakom, Cochin, Chengannor etc

Paradise !!!

Have you ever seen Paradise? If not yet, First go through this page and then fly to Jammu Kashmir. It is the sixth largest state in India including the area occupied by Pakistan and China. The crown of India lies in the extreme north of the country and is bounded on three sides by China, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The entire state is almost mountainous, broken by stretches of valley and dotted with mountain lakes. The state is studded with a number of hill stations, which are refreshing cool in summer. They offer to the tourists a leisurely or adventurous holiday amidst breath-taking scenery.

History

The state of Jammu and Kashmir which had earlier been under Hindu rulers and Muslim Sultans, became part of the Mughal Empire under Akbar. After a period of Afghan rule from 1756, it was annexed to the to the Sikh kingdom of the Punjab in 1819. Jammu and Kashmir came into being as a single political and geographical entity following theTreaty of Amristar between the British Government and Gulab singh signed on March 16, 1846. His feudal dispensation in the State was too harsh for the people to live under and under the inspiring leadership of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, rose against the autocracy. The autocratic rule came down heavily on the people’s freedom movement. The high point of the movement was July 13, 1931 when 22 protesters were martyred. The event strengthened the movement and contrary to the expectations of the then rulers, the peopled emerged more determined in their resolution to seek an end to autocratic rule.

Jammu & Kashmir in the year 1947 was an independent country for all practical purposes. The Maharaja who ruled the State had signed agreements with both Pakistan and India to remain neutral and not be part of either country. India honoured that agreement but Pakistan did not. Pakistani raiders and soldiers attacked the state in 1947 forcing the Maharaja to flee to India.  He  agreed to make Jammu &; Kashmir part of India. The Indian ruler at that time was Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He accepted Jammu &; Kashmir’s accession to India and agreed to rescue his people from the Pakistani attackers.

Indian troops were flown into the Kashmir Valley and they managed to drive away most of the Pakistani raiders from the state. But a large area of the state remained under the control of Pakistani soldiers.  Heavy fighting took place in 1947-48 between the Indian and Pakistani forces over Kashmir. On January 1, 1948 India took up the issue of Pak aggression in Jammu and Kashmir in UNO under Article 35 of its charter. After long debates, cease-fire came into operation on the midnight of January 1, 1949 which created the first Line-of-Control.

At this moment let’s leave all political complications and disputes about this state and think only of its beauty. In tourist point of view, Jammu Kashmir is regarded as the Paradise on Earth. I think a single passage will be too small  to go through at least the Top Tourist Points of this state. So let us now begin with Srinagar.

Srinagar

Srinagar is the summer capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India, and is situated in the valley of Kashmir. The city lies on both banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus River. The city is famous for its lakes and houseboats floating on them. It is also known for traditional Kashmiri handicrafts and dry fruits. Srinagar is 876 km north of Delhi.

Tourism is the most significant segment of the city’s economy. The city of Srinagar is a gateway to some of the most scenic and beautiful places of the Indian subcontinent. For decades, tourism has been contributing massively to the economy of the city for last several decades, but it has been adversely affected on account of insurgent activities by certain elements.

Srinagar is well known for its lakes. Dal Lake with its houseboats is famous all over the world. Srinagar is a small and beautiful city with a wonderful climate in the summer. Just outside the city are found the beautiful Shalimar Gardens created by Jehangir, the Mughal emperor, in 1619.

Houseboats were introduced accidentally to Kashmir: members of the Indian Civil Service serving in the plains who vacationed in Kashmir were not permitted to build permanent homes because of the then Maharaja’s suspicion of a British presence in Srinagar. They thus chose to live in houseboats. The first such, named Victory, was designed by Mr. M.T. Kenhard in 1888. There are now about five hundred on the Lake.

Srinagar has several gardens which are part of the several such gardens laid by the Mughal emperors across the Indian subcontinent, and which are known as Mughal gardens. The Mughal Gardens located in Srinagar and its close vicinity include Chasma Shahi (the royal fountains); Pari Mahal (the palace of the fairies); Nishat Bagh (the garden of spring); Shalimar Bagh; and the Nashim Bagh. The Tulip Gardens have been recently opened to public by Smt Sonia Gandhi. The gardens has rows of Tulips of different colurs and shades.

NEELAKURINJI

In God’s Own Country, a very special creation takes place once in twelve years. A mesmerizing natural wonder, that is witnessed through the mass flowering of a single plant species – Strobilanthes kunthianus, popularly known as Neelakurinji.

Neelakurinji is a shrub that used to grow abundantly in the shola grasslands  of Western Ghats in South India above 1800 metres. The Nilgiris, which literally means the blue mountains, got its name from the purplish blue flowers of Neelakurinji that blossoms gregariously only once in 12 years.

Neelakurinji is the best known of a genus that has flowering cycles ranging from one to 16 years. Plants that bloom at long intervals like kurinji are called plietesials. The genus has around 300 species, of which at least 46 occur in India. Besides the Western Ghats, Neelakurinji is seen in the Shevroys in the Eastern Ghats. It occurs at an altitude of 1300 to 2400 metres. The plant is usually 30 to 60 cm high on the hills. They can, however, grow well beyond 180 cm under congenial conditions.

Terminology

It was the Geman botanist Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck (February 1776 – March 1856) who nomenclatured Neelakurinji as Strobilantehs Kunthiana. The standard botanical author abbreviation for him isNees. He classified Neelakurinji to be of : -

Kingdom : Plantae
Division   : Magnoliophyta
Class        : Magnoliopsida
Order      : Lamiales

Family     : Acanthaceae
Genus      : Strobilanthes
Species    : S. kunthiana

Binomial name
Strobilanthes kunthiana

On the hills, the plant usually grow 30 to 60 cm in height, but under more favorable conditions they can grow well beyond 180 cms. It can be found only in high altitudes between 1,600 metres and 2,600 m and what makes it so special, apart from its beauty, is that it blooms only once in 12 years. The mass flowering and subsequent death of the Kurinji is the subject of hill folklore.

Although Neelakurinji has flowering cycles ranging from one to 16 years, it has been flowering every 12 years since 1800. What triggers the massive flowering every 12 years is not known. Plants that bloom at long intervals like this is called plietesials. But stray flowerings do occur in between. The flowering season comes between August and November and peak in late September and October although some varieties exhibit little variation. It looks light blue in the early stage of blooming and has purplish blue colour when aged.

Neela means blue in Malayalam language and Kurinji is the local name of the flower. For those in Munnar, the blooming of Kurinji flower is a reminder that their lives have gone past another twelve years and for those from far off places it maybe once in a life time opportunity to witness the Kurinji flowers covering the hills of Munnar in a blanket of blue.

The Nilgiris, which means blue mountains, got its name from the blue flowers of Neelakurinji. Once they used to cover the entire Nilgiris like a carpet during its flowering season. However, now plantations and dwellings occupy much of their habitat. The departments of Tourism, Forests and Wildlife have initiated a campaign for the preservation of Neelakurinji and its natural habitat.

The Blooming of Neela Kurinji in 2006

In 2006, Kurinji (neelakurinji) bloomed gregariously at several places near Kodaikanal (India) and Munnar. The biggest flowering was at the Eravikulam National Park.

At the National park, carpets of flowers formed at the Turner’s Valley (about 16 km inside the park), Poovar and on the hills near the Lakkom Muthuvakudy besides the tourist zone at Rajamala..

It also bloomed gregariously on the hills between Klavarai in Tamil Nadu and Koviloor in Kerala, especially in the Kadavari area. These areas are now within the newly formed Kurinjimala Sanctuary.

Patches of kurinji occur in the remaining sholas near Koviloor. Koviloor is a few hours drive from Munnar in Kerala. A jeep road connects Koviloor to Klavarai and Kodaikanal (Tamil Nadu). Theroad need not be motorable all the time (especially during monsoon).

Trekkers could spot kurinji by the sides of the old Munnar Kodaikanal road. Trekking would require permission from the Forest Department. The plants can also be located at places such as Yellapetty and Kanthalloor outside the protected areas. At Yellappetty, you have to trek to the hills south of the Yellapetty estate.

Some areas of the Mukurthi National Park near Ootty also have the plant. Besides, blooms have been reported from Attappady and Mangaladevi. Flowerings occur at Shevroys in the Eastern Ghats also.  The next mass flowering is expected to take place in 2018.

Damage

The last few decades witnessed impairment to the habitat of Neelakurinji. Plantations of tea, cardamom and timber devastated stupendous range of pristine forests home to this rare bush. Vast stretches of virgin rain forests got drowned by some Hydro-electric projects. Tea plantations engorged the most of kurinji filled hills. Now the kurinji thrives in the valleys and gorges that remain undistorted.

Another anthropogenic threat witnessed this year is the indiscriminate collection and destruction of bushes and stocks of Neelakurinji by some unaware and unruly visitors. This is particularly noticeable in some of the Nilakurinji habitats around Ooty in the Nilgiris. In the last week of September many tourist were observed to make rampant inside Neelakurinji thickets at Kodanadu in Kotagiri. They were also found to collect bunches of these flowers.

In addition to habitant destruction, such impudent activities may well prove serious threats to this long term survival of this important member of the biodiversity of these mountains.

TAJ MAHAL- “The Symbol of Love”

TAJ MAHAL is one of the seven wonders of the world. Any one who knows India is familiar with the name Taj Mahal . The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, that was built under Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage.”

While the white domed marble and tile mausoleum is most familiar, Taj Mahal is an integrated symmetric complex of structures that was completed around 1648. Ustad Ahmad Lahauri is generally considered as the principal designer of Taj Mahal.

History of Taj Mahal

It is a symbol of the eternal andeverlasting love that Shah Jehan showed for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Mumtaz Mahal married Shah Jehan in 1612 . This was his second marriage, and the couple loved each other greatly. Mumtaz Mahal had fourteen children while with Shah Jehan, and died in child birth in 1630 while away on a battle with Shah Jehan . Legend has it that Shah Jehan was so devastated by her death that in the course of only a few months, his beard and hair had turned completely white. Mumtaz Mahal’s body was buried for six months, then was returned to Agra, later to be permanently buried in the Taj Mahamumtaz1.

The Taj Mahal, designed by two Persian architects, was built by Shah Jehan to create a memorial for Mumtaz Mahal. This monument was constructed as a display of Shah Jehan’s eternal love for his wife . The building of the Taj began in 1632. An army of 20,000 workers labored on this structure . The Taj Mahal is often referred to as “the greatest single work of Safavid art ever constructed”. In 1648, on the exact anniversary of Mumtaz’s death, this wonderful monument was completed . The Taj Mahal is located on the river Yamuna in Agra

The garden

The complex is set around a large 300 meters square charbagh, a Mughal garden. The garden uses raised pathways that divide each of the four quarters of the garden into 16 sunken parterres or flowerbeds. A raised marble water tank at the center of the garden, halfway between the tomb and gateway, with a reflecting pool on North-South axis reflect the image of Taj Mahal. Elsewhere, the garden is laid out with avenues of trees and fountains. The charbagh garden, a design inspired by Persian gardens, was introduced to India by the first Mughal emperor Babur. It symbolizes four flowing rivers of Paradise and reflects the gardens of Paradise and derived from the Persian paridaeza, meaning ‘a walled garden’.

Tourism

The Taj Mahal attracts 2 to 3 million visitors every year with more than 200,000 from overseas. Most tourists visit during the cooler months of October, November and February. Polluting traffic is not allowed near the complex and tourist must either walk from the carparks or catch an electric bus. Lists of recommended travel destinations often feature Taj Mahal, which also appears in several listings of seven wonders of the modern world, including the recently announced New Seven Wonders of the World, a recent poll with 100 million votes.

For security reasons , only five items – water in transparent bottles, small video cameras, still cameras, mobile phones and small ladies-purse – are allowed inside the Taj Mahal.

Career in Travel and Tourism

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Travel and tourism trade has become a major foreign exchange earner in the recent years in India. While we have a 1500 km. coastline for beach tourism, palaces, forts, temples, historical monuments and ruins, over 200 wild life sanctuaries, deserts, mountains and many other endowments the number of tourists visiting India annually is still very low. But there is a tremendous chance of this scenario changing for the better as travel and tourism has acquired the status of an industry and the Central & State governments are promoting tourism in a planned manner. If you are a person who is a globetrotter and just cann’t be at one place for long then this exactly is the place for you to be. But its not just travelling, ticketing also is a part of travel & tourism.

CAREER PROSPECTS

Travel and tourism trade gives you a varied and tremendous choice of working with various industries. As this industry is inter-functional in its operation various overlapping industries such as the hotel industry, airlines, surface transport and catering constitute an important and integral part of it. Among the main job options are Travel agencies, National / State tourism departments, travel desks in five-star hotels, ground job in International / Private airline offices. You can also work as tourist guides or set up your own travel agency.

COURSE DETAILS

At the undergraduate level the eligibility criteria for admission to Travel and Tourism courses is to have passed the 10+2 examination. After graduation in any discipline one can pursue the postgraduate level courses. There are many short-term training programmes offered by several institutes and travel agencies. The training may last six months to two years depending on your choice of the course. Fluency in at least one foreign language gives you an edge over the others.

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