KERALA TOURISM NEWSLETTER
Tourism Minister launches e-books
The millennia-old Ayurveda is taking the digital route to reach a global audience captivated by the science of life. Kerala Tourism recently launched two e-books on Ayurveda becoming the first tourism body in the country to launch electronic publications. Mr. A. P. Anilkumar, Minister for Tourism, released two e-books on Ayurveda; besides two other e-books: one on the socio-cultural history of Kerala and the other on yoga and healthy living.
The event, attended by Mr. Suman Billa, Tourism Secretary, Mr. Vijayan Thomas, Chairman KTDC and Dr. N. Prashant, Managing Director, KTDC, also witnessed the launch of a 15-minute film on Kerala's Western Ghats, besides two brochures on the excavation site of the ancient port of Muziris near Kochi and the key festivals and events of the State in 2013.
The e-books on Ayurveda are the award-winning coffee table books 'Panchakarma: Ayurveda's Mantra of Rejuvenation', explaining Panchakarma as a holistic rejuvenation therapy, combining five therapeutic actions to detoxify the body and revitalize the body system; and 'Ayurveda: The Mantra of Niramaya', an introduction to the medicine system using texts from ancient scripts to modern research papers.
The other e-books are 'Kerala: A Poem in Green and Gold', a veritable storehouse of information on Kerala penned by Mr. K. Jayakumar, former Chief Secretary and 'Yoga Sutra: The Art and Science of Living'.
Published by IT solutions provider Invis Multimedia, the four e-books will be available at online stores for easy reading on e-book readers, mobile phones or computer screens. The digitization of the four coffee-table books was sponsored by Kerala Tourism.
"The e-books on Ayurveda are aimed at people around the world, to help them learn about the age-old system of medicine, so that they can come to Kerala and experience its health benefits," Mr. A. P. Anilkumar said.
"The two Ayurveda e-books and the other two e-books are part of our continuing efforts to inform the global audience about Kerala and to help them become a part of the experience that is Kerala," Mr. Suman Billa said.
'Panchakarma: Ayurveda's Mantra of Rejuvenation' had won the prestigious Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold award for promoting Kerala as a destination for Ayurvedic rejuvenation. 'Ayurveda: The mantra of Niramaya' had won the National tourism award for the 'Best Publication in English.'
"Use of modern technological tools is important in today's digital age to reach out to a wider audience who are eager to travel," Ms. Rani George, Director, Kerala Tourism, said. "The e-books, film on Western Ghats and the new brochures on Muziris and Kerala's festivals contain vital information suited to a wider section of people, both at home and abroad, and the young as well as the elderly," she said.
Those buying the Ayurveda e-books will get free e-brochure on Kerala Tourism. At the end of each chapter of the e-books, a link to the website of Kerala Tourism (
www.keralatourism.org) provides instant reference for the readers about Kerala as a top tourism destination in the world.
Titled 'The Call of the Wild', the 15-minute film on Kerala's Western Ghats cover seven major locations and the northern and southern bordering points of the Ghats in the State. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the Western Ghats are one of the world's biodiversity hot-spots. The seven major locations appearing in the film are Eravikulam National Park, Silent Valley National Park, Mathikettan Shola, Pampadum Shola National Park, Anamudi Shola National Park, Myristica swamps and the Palakkad Pass.
The tourism minister also launched two brochures titled 'Muziris' and 'Celebrations'. It is for the first time that a brochure has been produced on Muziris, covering the entire excavation project to unearth the remains of the ancient port city that had trade relations with Rome.
The 'Celebrations' brochure covers the key festivals and events in Kerala that are a huge draw among the tourists, especially from abroad, during 2013. This is the second time that Kerala Tourism is bringing out a brochure on the State's festivals and events. The first 'Celebrations' brochure was published in 2012. Both 'Muziris' and 'Celebrations' will be distributed at national and international tourism fairs and road shows.
