Culture
Thiruvananthapuram witnessed a cultural renaissance in the twentieth century. Kerala Varma Valiakoi Thampuran (1845–1914), who spent a major part of his life in Thiruvananthapuram, translated Kalidasa's Abhijñānaśākuntalam into Malayalam which won him the title of Kerala Kalidasa. He is also regarded as the father of modern Malayalam prose.
The contributions of A. R. Raja Raja Varma (1863–1918), known as "Kerala Panini", marked an important stage in the development of Malayalam literature. Another notable writer is C. V. Raman Pillai (1858–1922), who was a novelist par excellence Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (1873–1924) and Mahakavi Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer (1877–1949) were the two outstanding poets from Thiruvananthapuram. Kumaran Asan was the true representative of the cultural renaissance. Ulloor was not only a poet, but also a scholar, researcher and historian.
Shabdatharavali, the comprehensive dictionary in Malayalam, was written by Sreekanteswaram Padmanabha Pillai who hailed from the district. The two all-time great social reformers in Kerala, Narayana Guru and Chattampi Swamikal, also were born here. They contributed much to the Malayalam literature through their books.
A strong film culture prevails in the district. The city is home to animation companies, including: Toonz India Ltd and Tata Elxsi Ltd. The Kinfra Film and Video Park is located near Technopark and is an advanced film and animation production facilities in India. The Malayalam film industry was earlier based in Chennai (Madras). It slowly started moving to get rooted in Thiruvananthapuram towards the end of 1970s. The Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC), which was established in 1975 by the Government of Kerala, accelerated this re-planting. As a result, many studios and related industries started popping up in and around Thiruvananthapuram. The International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) is held in November/December every year and is acknowledged as one of the leading such events in India.
The district gains a festive mood during the festival season of Onam in August/September, and during the tourist season later in the year. The state government conducts the tourism week celebrations every year during Onam, with cultural events taking place at various centres in the city. The other major events include the annual flower show in the Thiruvananthapuram City, the Attukal Pongala, Varkala Sivagiri pilgrimage in December, the Kaalioottu in Sarkara Devi Temple, near Chirayinkeezh, the Navarathri festival at the Poojamandapam near Sri Padmanabha Swamy Temple, the Aaraat of Padmanabha Swamy Temple, the Beemapally Uroos, Vettucaud Perunaal etc.
Read more about this topic: Thiruvananthapuram District
Famous quotes containing the word culture:
“Culture is the suggestion, from certain best thoughts, that a man has a range of affinities through which he can modulate the violence of any master-tones that have a droning preponderance in his scale, and succor him against himself. Culture redresses this imbalance, puts him among equals and superiors, revives the delicious sense of sympathy, and warns him of the dangers of solitude and repulsion.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Our culture has become something that is completely and utterly in love with its parent. It’s become a notion of boredom that is bought and sold, where nothing will happen except that people will become more and more terrified of tomorrow, because the new continues to look old, and the old will always look cute.”
—Malcolm McLaren (b. 1946)
“The white dominant culture seemed to think that once the Indians were off the reservations, they’d eventually become like everybody else. But they aren’t like everybody else. When the Indianness is drummed out of them, they are turned into hopeless drunks on skid row.”
—Elizabeth Morris (b. c. 1933)