Cultural Archive

What if one river could tell you the story of Kerala? For nearly 250 km, Bharathapuzha (Nila) flows from Tamil Nadu into the heart of Kerala. Along its banks grew a remarkable world of mathematicians, storytellers, writers, artists, and traders. From the Mamangam trade festival at Thirunavaya to scholars like Ezhuthachan to the many schools of Kathakali, Bharathapuzha shaped Kerala's culture for centuries. The story of Parayi Petta Panthirukulam that challenged ideas of caste

Imagine a small temple in a regular village suddenly thrust into the spotlight thanks to an award from UNESCO. In 2023 three young conservation architects helped restore a centuries old wooden mandapam in the Kunnamangalam Devi Temple under a project initiated by the Archival and Research Project (ARPO). In Episode 10 of the SAGA series, Manu S Pillai sits down with Swathy Subramanian, Ritu Sara Thomas, and Savita Rajan for a discussion around Kerala architecture, the challen

In Episode 9 of SAGA, we engage with two powerful voices from marginalised tribal groups in Kerala: Manikuttan Paniyan and Bindu Irulam. In the first half of the episode, Manikuttan takes us through the story of the Paniya community, and its past and present. In the second half, Bindu introduces us to the lore, song, poetry, and language of the Kattunayakar tribe. Both ultimately hope their tribal identity will be preserved and protected as younger generations engage with the

Legend places the arrival of Christianity in Kerala in 52 CE. While that date is much debated, for well over a millennium now, Kerala has been home to a distinct Christian community known as the Nasranis or Syrian Christians. Many books and accounts exist on their religious history. But relatively less is known of the social, cultural, and political position of these Malayali Christians in pre-colonial Kerala. In Episode 7 of Saga, Manu S Pillai sits down with Pallikonam Raje

The maharajahs of Travancore are well placed in popular imagination, with their links to the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple. However, the system of succession followed in their family was unusual. For no ruler could be succeeded by his son, and the queen was not the ruler's wife but his sister. As a result, history has focussed more on the royal sisters (Ranis), while the wives (Ammachis) and children (Tampis) of the maharajahs have faded from the record. In Episode 6 of Saga, Ma

Among Kerala's several ritual dance forms, some are well known, and others less so. It is this second space that the Theeyattu, or dance of fire, today occupies. Performed by a small community, with only a handful of Theeyattu-Unnis still practising the tradition, in many ways this is a fading dance form and sacred rite. In Episode 5 of Saga, Manu S Pillai meets two committed hereditary practitioners, Sasidhara Sarma and his son Sreejith Sarma, to discuss the Theeyattu, its e

Paliya Nritham, a dance form practiced by the Paliya community in Kerala in their settlement at Kumali, is an example on how the...