http://www.lightstalkers.org/galleries/contact_sheet/34035 Towards the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent, in the Gulf of Mannar, there are two coastal villages – Kulasekarapattinam and Manapad – rich in history and culture that celebrates the diversity of the Indian ethnicities. These two parallel universes have just a physical distance of 3 kilometers between them. Each of these two villages has a unique eclectic heritage – one rejoices the world’s oldest religion, Hinduism and the other appreciates a wise man from the west, St. Francis Xavier, to spread love and tolerance. Each of them has their own festivities – one resonates with energy to accept humility and capitulate to the faith; whereas, the other come together in an indisputable belief of owning a piece of the remnants of a holy relic. Read more to find out the intriguing niceties of Kulasekarapattinam and Manapadu. Kulasekarapattinam is a heritage town in Thoothukkudi (Tuticorin) district, tracing its history back as a minor port to have commercial relations with Sri Lanka. Along the seashore, the 300 year old Mutharamman Temple silently witnessing jubilant waves washing its foot. This temple is known for its version of a colorful Dusserah festival. Every year, during Dusserah about a million people swarm this small town to take part in this ten day festival. Folk artists from all over Tamilnadu congregate for this animated festival. Tradition of this temple has that devotees pledge to beg for alms disguised either as one of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses like Kali, Siva, Vishnu or they would opt for a humdrum persona like king, queen, police and so on. They usually would go on a fast depending on their prayers before this festival. Donned with the guise of their vow, they waltz to the tunes of the energetic folk music that reverberates into the sea; they would go in a group to beg around the town. Goddess Kali is the toughest and special of all the disguises. Usually men would cross dress as Goddess Kali with red or black body paint to match their saree. This costume has a wide range of accessories that includes protruding tongue and teeth, handset with 10 hands, a wig with long hair, a garland of false skulls, and a trident. Money collected from the begging will be given as the offering to the Goddess Mutharamman. After the offering and prayers, they would remove their attire and take a swab in the sea. Manapad is a scenic coastal village in Thoothukkudi (Tuticorin) district with a Christian historic background dating to 1542 by the visit of St Francis Xavier to initiate his missionary activities in the peninsula. This village proudly hosts Holy Cross Church since 1581. There is also a St. Xavier cave where the saint took refuge. This grotto is on a cliff and faces the sea. This church is believed to have cross made from the fragment of the True Cross of Jerusalem. This cross will be on public display every year from the 1st to the 14th of September which will be held as the biggest festival for the Roman Catholic community around Tamilnadu. Manapad has one of the pristine beaches made of white sand and the waters reflecting the blue of the sky, almost untouched by the hands of humans. This immaculate village is on the pearl fishing range of Thoothukkudi as the pearl oysters tend to settle in this belt. It abodes a light house with a swirl of red and white colors stands tall picturesquely on a cliff which comes under the control of Government of India. Watching the waves rushing to the shore makes a heavenly blue from this light house. There are also shallow backwaters which lie for about a kilometer from the sea supporting a varied range of marine life. http://www.lightstalkers.org en-us http://images.lightstalkers.org/avatars/30792/peevee_mug_small.jpg http://www.lightstalkers.org/peevee <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352518/kulasekarapattinam1_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352518'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352518 Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:46:00 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352518 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352518/kulasekarapattinam1_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352518'>view full-size image</a> peevee <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1352521/kulasekarapattinam2_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1352521'>view full-size image</a> 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