Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Kozhikode District - Art & Culture , Festivals

Art & Culture

The temple and mosques of this district contain sculptures and inscriptions which are of considerable interest to the students of art. Kozhikode town itself has many temples, the most important of which are the Tali temple, the Tiruvannur temple, Azhakodi temple, Varakkal temple, Bilathikulam temple and Bhairagimadom temple. Some of these temples contain sculptures and paintings of very high artistic order. The Thiruvilangad temple contains many ancient sculptures. Its gateway is interesting because it is built in the same style as the Jain Bastis.

At Meppayur, 16.09 kms. southeast of Vadakara, is the Elavattara temple of Durga, in the grove attached to which are some sculptured images. Southeast of Vadakara by 4.92 kms. is the Lokanarkav, in the vicinity of which there are rock-cut caves. There is an art gallery and Krishna Menon Museum at East hill in Kozhikode city. Lalithakala Academy also has an art gallery adjacent to town hall, Kozhikode.

In the field of Malayalam Language and Literature, Kozhikode has made most significant contributions. The district is famous for folk songs or ballads known as Vadakkam Pattukal. The most popular folk songs among them are those which celebrate the exploits of Tacholi Meppayil Kunju Othenan, ‘the Robinhood of North Malabar’.

During temple festivals and important social functions entertainments like Koothu, Kathakali, Ottanthullal and Kaikottikali are performed. There are also ritual dances such as Thira and Theyyam.

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