Foreigners get a whiff of Tamil culture
The Hindu
MADURAI
It was a surreal experience for Kuravankulam villagers as they prepared delicious Pongal with a group of foreigners in Alanganallur.
According to the Department of Tourism, a two-day trip exclusively for foreign tourists was undertaken. On Monday, a team of 70 foreigners from Germany, United States of America, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Poland, Canada etc., began their journey to discover the cultural hotbed of the State.
At Kuravankulam on Sunday, they were welcomed with women performing traditional dances accompanied by traditional instruments. Later the village folk prepared sweet Pongal along with the foreigners which was later served on plantain leaves to relish, said S.M. Sribalamurugan, District Tourism Officer.
Various performances including karagattam, oyilattam, silambattam, poikkal kuthirai, Karuppasamy Aattam and marakala aatam were showcased which kept the foreigners engaged. A few participants wore traditional attire and toured around the village, visited natives’ homes, temples and the mandhai, interacted and danced with the villagers, added Mr. Sribalamurugan.
In order to witness an intrinsic part of the Pongal festival, the team made their next stop at the famed jallikattu arena at Alanganallur where raging bulls were in contest with tamers. For over two hours they witnessed the spectacle seated in a separate gallery at the venue. They were briefed about the sport by tour guides.
Watching jallikattu, Celeste and Francesco from Italy said that it was a “wonderful experience.” “To witness such an unique event filled with colours and emotions was wholesome,” they said.
he Tamil Nadu Government will take appropriate decision to protect the welfare and livelihood of Manjolai tea estate workers as Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, which is managing the tea gardens for the past 90-odd years, is about to wind up its operations in near future, Speaker M. Appavu has said.