Prince Charles, wife on 4-day visit to Kerala from tomorrow

A visit to the Jewish Synagogue at nearby Mattancherry, the oldest synagogue in the Commonwealth, and a trip to the elephant corridor at Vazhachal will be the highlights of the four-day visit of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla Parker Bowles to Kerala, starting from Monday.

The Royal couple, on their maiden visit to the state, will be reaching Kochi after completing their visits to Dehradun, New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. Some 1,000 additional police personnel have been deployed in various places in and around the city to strenghten security in view of the visit.  On November 11, the Royal couple will be visiting the private Kerala Folklore Museum and Theatre at Thevara, which showcases the rich heritage that the state exudes through its numerous dance forms. Masks and sculptures in wood, stone and bronze, costumes of traditional and ritual art forms, musical instruments, traditional jewellery and rare manuscripts are on display at the museum. The visitors would be taken on a tour of the museum, where a demonstration of traditional dance art forms of the state, including Kathakali, would be held. The Prince of Wales would join urban planners and city dignitaries to view the signing of an MoU marking the participation of Kochi in the 'Future Cities project.'  Later, the Royal couple will attend a reception for civic and business leaders hosted by Kerala Governor Nikhil Kumar. Prince Charles will visit the elephant corridor, a 2,200 acre strip of land with the largest stronghold of Asian elephants in the world at Vazhachal forest range in neighbouring Thrissur district and see the steps being taken to help elephant conservation.  He is also expected to discuss animal and forestry conservation at the Vazhachal Inspection Bungalow after meeting members of the local community and WWF outreach workers. On November 14, the Royal couple would visit the Jewish Synagogue and meet members of the community and receive a traditional jewish prayer of blessing. They would also be taken to the Mattancherry Palace Museum the same day before leaving for Colombo for the CHOGM, where Charles would be representing Queen Elizabeth II.