| "We, the fortunate" |
| We, the people of Chettikulangara believe we organise one among the largest
and most diverse annual festivals in the world. Our Kettkazhchas are accomplishment
of implausible dreams of the humanity – unbelievably enormous artistic
creations carved by the hard physical exertion and commitment of a whole
community. |
| It is the passion, devotion, and willingness to toil hard for a common
cause that instills the community feeling in us, and to rejoice with our
traditional food, songs, dance and music. |
| Is there any such place in the world where festivities last for almost
half part of the year? Our varied and ethnically rich customs and festivities
related to our Chettikulangara temple Goddess start by Vrichikam (November-December)
and lasts upto Meenam-Medam (April - May), the time of harvest and rejuvenation.
In between, we have similar small, medium and big festivals with slight
variations in our suburbs, like at Valiyakulagara, Puthiyakavu, Koyippalli
Karazhma, Evoor, Chamakkavu, Vettiyar, Mullikulangara, Malanada etc., all
helping us to feel proud of that rich cultural inheritance from our unknown
forefathers. |
| "Our mission" |
| We fear our next or their next generation might lose or
ignore to celebrate the richness and finer aspects of our festivities; the
cultural inheritance what we have at present, and above all, the passion
involved in our celebrations. Already we have some what lost the originality
of our song and dance – Kuthiyottam; we lost some of the unique words
and terminology we use during the making of Kettukazhchas, and so on….
The time has come to preserve (either digitally, in print, or in other medii
as a guidance for next generation) what we have and its history. |
 |
| More than that, we feel it is our duty to invite
others to come, see and enjoy these rare festivals, and revive the rich
cultural tradition of Onattukara. (Mind you, revered guests, kindly make
sure not to violate the divinity associated with our customs and traditions).
We feel the world has not yet known deservingly and enough on our festivities.
|
| With this mission, we at Erezha North No.41
Haindava Karayogam - the creators of one among the largest of the 13 Kettukazhchas,
decided to disseminate information about our bhagavathy, customs and to
preserve the pulse of our festivities for our next generations by incorporating
the website www.chettikulangara.org. |
| Our objectives |
 |
To disseminate information on Onattukara, Chettikulangara
Bhagavathy temple and its festivities globally. |
|
To preserve the rich cultural tradition associated with Kettukazhcha,
Kuthiyottam and other festivities related to the temple and surroundings |
|
To piece together and publish even the minute aspects of the customs and
traditions related to Kettukazhcha, Kuthiyottam, and other festivals, both
in print and digital versions. |
|
To entrust established scholars and historians to research and codify
the history and cultural links to establish the rich cultural heritage of
the region. |
|
To codify and publish an elaborate digital/print book with guidelines
and detailed aspects of Kettukazhcha making and its architecture, Kuthiyottam,
temple related other customs and festivities. |
|
To act as a catalyst for the cultural renaissance of Onattukara |
|
To conduct seminars/programmes to expose the rich cultural depths of the
festivities prevalent in the region. |
|
To work in co-ordination with other similar agencies to have national
and international fame for Kettukazhcha, Kuthiyottam and other festivities
of the Oonattukara region. |
|
To help various Karas to make Kettukazhchas by way of exploring
ways to mobilize help from various possible sources. |
|
To make the Government authorities realize the importance of this festival
and its cultural importance in the history of Kerala. |
