Street scenes in Aluva on Shivaratri

by Jennifer Kumar, Cross Cultural Coach
https://www.facebook.com/authenticjourneys

Aluva is a 'suburb' of Kochi in the state of Kerala, India. Every year for Sivarathri, the celebration for Lord Shiva in February/March, Aluva streets become crowded with devotees. We decided to check out this festival as we had been seeing it on Kairali channel while living in US the past few years. This video is of the street sides leading up to the bridge that crosses Periyar River to the temple complex. We tried the sugar cane juice, and that is what you see being made in the pressing machine. The sugar cane juice we drink is 100% juice, so foreigners can drink it because it's safe (no local water is used). It was Rs. 15 per glass. Sugar canes are also chewed like gum (and then spit out because it can't be swallowed) and the plant itself can be used for decorations for festivals (like Pongal) or other celebrations. People use the stalks to decorate doorways, etc.
You can also see all the stalls that sell pretty much the same kinds of fried snacks, popcorn with a change being some sold halva (a thick, sweet desert).
There was also a vendor selling some kind of jalapeno snack- see this photo- http://www.flickr.com/photos/kris_kumar/5493428357/


Jennifer Kumar, CC, videographer, is a cross-cultural coach helping people find comfort in foreign lands through multicultural advising, interfaith coaching, expat mentoring, English as Second Language conversational and life skills coaching and more! Contact her for more information at authenticjourneys at gmail dot com.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Aluva
• Kochi
• Cochin
• Siva
• Shiva
• Rathri
• Ratri
• Sivarathri
• Mela
• Festival
• Fair
• Holiday
• Hindu
• Kerala
• 2011
• February