Kerala High Court says COVID-19 protocol was violated at Guruvayur temple during wedding of son of industrialist Ravi Pillai
The Hindu
A Division Bench made the oral observations while considering a suo motu writ petition regarding the decking up of the nadappanthal in connection with the ceremony
A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday observed that the COVID-19 protocol was violated during the wedding ceremony of the son of industrialist Ravi Pillai that was held recently at the Guruvayur temple, and that the temple nadappanthal (roofed footpath) became an auditorium in the process.
The Bench made the oral observations while considering a suo motu writ petition regarding the decking up of the nadappanthal in connection with the ceremony. Though the protocol stipulated that only 12 persons shall attend the ceremony at a time, a huge crowd attended the function, which was evident from the visuals, the court noted.
Hampi, the UNESCO-recognised historical site, was the capital of the Vijayanagara empire from 1336 to 1565. Foreign travellers from Persia, Europe and other parts of the world have chronicled the wealth of the place and the unique cultural mores of this kingdom built on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. There are fine descriptions to be found of its temples, farms, markets and trading links, remnants of which one can see in the ruins now. The Literature, architecture of this era continue inspire awe.
Unfurling the zine handed to us at the start of the walk, we use brightly-coloured markers to draw squiggly cables across the page, starting from a sepia-toned vintage photograph of the telegraph office. Iz, who goes by the pronouns they/them, explains, “This building is still standing, though it shut down in 2013,” they say, pointing out that telegraphy, which started in Bengaluru in 1854, was an instrument of colonial power and control. “The British colonised lands via telegraph cables, something known as the All Red Line.”