The low-profile Peruvemba village near here, where dexterous hands of Kadayan community members transform hides into leather-based musical instruments, may find a place on the global travel map with Kerala Tourism bringing the village under its responsible tourism initiative.
Globetrotters can descend to government-approved home stays there to experience the best of village life. They can interact with craftsmen of the village apart from spending a day at their workshops and buy the products there.
The craftsmen make instruments such as mridangam, chenda, shudda maddalam, thoppi maddalam, tabala, thimila, edakka, ganjira and udukku .
Along with Peruvemba, the Tamil Brahmin Agraharams of Kalpathy with a long history of culture and art will also form part of the project.
The third village selected for the project is Vellinezhi, which evolved Kalluvazhi Chitta, a popular and refined style of Kathakali.
Vellinezhi has a rich cultural heritage and over 40 performing art forms are practised there. The village has over four dozen Kathakali training centres and hosts many Koodiyattom and Thullal training centres.
“We have identified people in these three villages who can implement responsible tourism practices to attract interested foreign tourists. The local culture and heritage will be promoted without sacrificing the key value systems of the local community. There will not be large-scale commercialisation,” said K. Arun Kumar, district coordinator of the project.
In March, a team of 25 tourists from Spain and Mauritius reached Kalpathy on an invitation from Kerala tourism. They were given a traditional welcome and served filter coffee and Mysore Pak, a local sweet. A walk through the village was organised for them apart from providing a chance to observe the traditional pickle-making process.
“The villages will ensure both homestays and farm-stays to visitors apart from providing opportunities to buy handicrafts and traditional music equipment. Visitors can imbibe local tradition, culture, and heritage,” said Mr. Arun.
