Festival

On the Tragic Fate of Temple Elephants

India Onam elephants 2

Well, we haven’t had a Festival Friday for a while. To celebrate World Environment Day, this week we would like to offer something different. An article on the Onam festival in Kerala, and some thoughts on the fate of temple elephants.

India Fatehpur Sikri elephant carving
Elephant carving in an Indian temple

Kerala has something different from the rest of India. A mellow, slower pace of life. Touts won’t bother you, rickshaw-drivers are likely to be napping on the back of their vehicle. If you have read Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things, you’ll know what I mean. Kerala is a place of crumbling colonial architecture and steamy forests, criss-crossed by canals and fringed by beautiful beaches.

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I Ceri di Gubbio

Ceri Di Gubbio Yellow and Blue at the Corner

Festival Friday is back! Today we would like to share with you a photo story of one of the best festivals we’ve been to; la Festa dei Ceri di Gubbio, a beautiful town in Central Italy.  Imagine one of those picturesque Italian villages, cobbled streets and winding roads on a hillside. Green hills and pastures, … Read more

Thaipusam: Piercing Devotion

Thaipusam Red Powder

Today we travel back to Penang, to share with you our experience of Thaipusam, Malaysia’s biggest Hindu festival. Warning: the following post contains images that some people might find disturbing.  My grandfather lived in Malaysia in the Fifties. Among the mementos of his time in the Far East I remember an old video showing a … Read more

Chinese New Year in Penang

Penang Red and Yellow Chinese New Year Lanterns

After a week’s break, Festival Friday is back with yet more colourful revelry. We continue our Penang series with a photo story of Chinese New Year in Penang, with celebrations around the streets of Georgetown. Penang’s charm comes from the diversity of people and cultures that over the centuries have called this place home. Walking … Read more

Mamuthones and Issohadores

Issohadores Mamuthones mask

This Festival Friday we’ll take you to Mamoiada, a village in inland Sardinia. Mamoiada is the home of mamuthones and issohadores, mysterious masked characters whose origin is all but unknown. We visited in occasion of St Anthony’s festival on January 17th, when mamuthones and issohadores parade around burning bonfires. “I can’t let you in. I … Read more

Carnevale di Venezia

carnevale di venezia Bad Bird

Carnival time is over, and after getting our hands dirty at the Battle of the Oranges and dancing the night away at Carnaval de Gualeguaychù, we’ll take you to the oldest and grandest carnival of all, the wonderful Carnevale di Venezia. Take our hand and let us lead you on a wander of the backstreets … Read more