Tucked into the verdant greenery of the Western Ghats in North Kerala, the district of Wayanad derives its name from ‘Vayal Naadu’ which translates into the ‘Land of the Paddy Fields’.
Though predominantly tribal in culture, and hence generally considered backward when compared to other districts in Kerala, this ‘picturesque plateau’ never fails to enchant a visitor with its quaint tribal ways, lush forests and breathtaking scenery.
And it is just this that the Wayanad District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) taps into, when it decided to bring out an enchanting video to celebrate its revamped user-friendly website, that comes with a whole new logo and an apt tagline that goes ‘Way Beyond’.
Just hours after the video was uploaded by the department on their Facebook page, it garnered almost 2.5 lakh views (still counting), with both actor Manju Warrier and Collector Bro -Kozhikode district collector Prashant Nair- sharing the same.
The DTPC underwent a complete image makeover with a host of branding exercises by the Identiti Advertising based in Kochi. Speaking to The News Minute, Sarat Prakash –Creative Producer & co-owner of Identiti- says that their attempt was to capture the intrinsic ‘Wayanadan’ spirit that can be experienced through the hilly forested terrain, the plantations that dot the landscape, as well as the natives who offer you the welcoming warmth of their homesteads.
“Even the tagline ‘Way Beyond’ was chosen to convey that the essence of the journey through Wayanad is every bit as beautiful as the destination itself,” he shares.
Directed by Vivek Thomas Varghese -Creative Producer of Global United Media- the video follows three travellers -an air-hostess looking for a break from her hectic work schedule, an army officer on one of his repeated ‘Wayandan’ sojourns, and a ‘parkour’ artiste on the lookout for challenging terrains.
“The parkour artiste is Lebanese, someone we zeroed in on to convey the myriad adventurous options available to those on the lookout for an adrenalin rush,” grins Sarat.
So we see the air-hostess aboard a bamboo raft leisurely drifting to the Kuruva Island at one moment, while the next catches her breezing through the water on a speedboat at the Banasura Sagar Dam which incidentally is the largest earthern dam in India.
The parkour artiste is seen effortlessly flipping off verticals, as well as zipping across the over the Karlad Lake which has the longest zipline this side of the Vindhyas. The army officer reconnects with his local pals, partaking of their daily lives and simple joys.
Accompanied by a zesty background music score, the video does succeed in grabbing the attention of the nomad hidden within you.