The app will bring data about the folk art form to tourist’s fingertips
With the Theyyam season round the corner, it was quite timely for the Bekal Resorts Development Corporation Ltd (BRDC) to plan the launch a first-of-its-kind ‘Theyyam Calendar Mobile App’ to tell the tales of over thousand years folk art form to tourists from across the world.
The app is aimed at bringing the performance dates of Theyyam and Kalliyattom as well as tales associated with each Theyyam to the fingertips of the users. In the first stage, BRDC will utilise the services of entrepreneurs who will undergo training for this.
It would be through the circle of SMiLE entrepreneurs deployed across North Malabar that the news and stories about the art form would be brought to the attention of the tourists. Small and Medium Industries Leveraging Experiential Tourism (SMiLE) is a pioneering project of the Bekal Resorts Development Corporation, under the Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, to promote and facilitate tourism-based small and medium entrepreneurial ventures. It offers experiential tourism to travellers. SMiLE ventures include budget resorts, homestays, farm tourism, Ayurveda centres, houseboats, handicrafts and souvenir industry, indigenous art/ culture centre (Kalari, Yoga, classical dance etc.) and so forth.
There are 93 SMiLE entrepreneurs working in the north Malabar region. The SMiLE entrepreneurs would strive to bring the Theyyam and Kalliyattom happening in various ancestral houses in the region to the tourists and be interpreters and mediators for them. This is part of the move to discourage bringing Theyyam out of its customary places in ‘readymade’ and ‘capsule’ forms.
Training for SMiLE entrepreneurs was organised in Payyanur recently. Mr. K. Mahesh, App Technology expert, trained the entrepreneurs in managing the Theyyam app and also on data collection. This will soon be available to the travellers. Dr R.C. Karippath, a well-known Theyyam exponent, spoke to the entrepreneurs about Theyyams in North Malabar.
Lectures and training by other experts on the field would be held in November. The date and places of various Theyyam performances would soon be available through the app. The circle of SMiLE entrepreneurs will collect and update the data on the app.
SMiLE Virtual Tour Guide (VTG) links tourists with places of attraction and providers of facilities to stay and experiential activities. The SMiLE VTG bestows one with information on the culture, tradition, heritage and unique experiences of North Malabar.
The website of SMiLE Virtual Tour Guide offers the features and details of various tourist attractions in North Malabar, Kerala, India along with a 30-second video. It also includes a list of SMiLE (Small and Medium Industries Leveraging Experiential Tourism) units within 30 km from the tourist attractions and provides information on accommodation and experiential activities available at each destination.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKgG_4VP8E4&list=PLcjK_FEaQfQOOM31isNPsSYK_xgcibT8g&index=2
https://tourismindiaonline.com/trac-rep-will-market-maldives-tourism-in-india/
