Tourism Campaign Video Features Kerala’s Cultural Vivacity, Resilience

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Signalling the on set of another season for travellers, Kerala Tourism has come out with a short video, showcasing the festive spirit of its people in the context of Onam and celebrating their resilience in the face of odds.

Titled ‘Ente Keralam Ennum Sundharam’ (My Kerala is ever beautiful), the musical by Prayaan Band features four singers crooning vibrant lyrics in Malayalam even as the language stands no barrier to the secular spirit of the harvest festival of Onam that follows monsoon.

With Athif Aziz as the director, the video spanning 2 minutes and 24 seconds has the energetic songs rendered by youngsters Arya Dhayal, Gowri Lekshmi, MC Couper and Ajiit Sathyan. The lyrics are by Santhosh Varma and MC Couper, while the video has been shot by producers Maitri Advertising Works Pvt. Ltd. Mix and mastered by Le Charles at Neon Wave Records.

The video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_PXZbMR1kk) was released amid low-profile Onam festivities owing to a natural calamity in hilly Wayanad seven weeks ago. It portrays the resilience of Kerala to emerge back from the devastating landslide.

The release of the video by Tourism and Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas on Tuesday at Mananthavady in Wayanad marks the start of a campaign. Outside the state the campaign will be run with the tagline “It’s Kerala Season”.

“Wayanad has a special place on our tourism map,” the minister said on the occasion, noting that the region, blessed with balmy weather and verdant nature, has “immense possibilities” for tourism.

The video, while essaying the state’s multicultural ethos steeped in centuries of close association with various civilizations across the globe, provides a quick glance at some of Kerala’s colourful performing traditions such as the ritualistic Theyyam, classical Kathakali, folksy Pulikkali and exhilarating Vallamkali (boat race).It is interspersed with the sights of the tropical region’s coastlines, midlands and uplands as well as certain monuments.

The video, set against contemporary ethnic music, was released as a prelude to social media influencers visiting major tourism destinations in Wayanad so as to create content aimed at catapulting the unique but largely under-explored scenic beauty of its landscape.

Officials have conceived the campaign as a counter to recent large-scale cancellations by tourists, following a flurry of negative stories in the wake of the end-July landslide that battered Chooralmala and Mundakkai.

Wayanad was also the first destination chosen for the Safe Kerala campaign launched after the COVID-19 pandemic. The region lost its advantage after the tragedy and ensuing negative news.