The Chinakathoor Pooram - The Festival of Seven Lands

Kerala is always famous for the festivals that make life, a celebration in this land. The festival of seven lands in Kerala named Chinakathoor Pooram falls on the date of Malayalam star ‘Makam’ in the Malayalam month of Kumbham (English month-February).

Chinakathoor Pooram is always regarded next to the famous Thrissur Pooram.  When two temples fight for their prominence in the celebrations of Thrissur Pooram, seven lands would be trying their best to score in the Chinakathoor Pooram celebrations. The seven lands that participate in the Pooram are Ottappalam, Meetna, Palappuram, Pallarumangalam, Erakkattiri, Thekkumangalam and Vadakkummangalam. 

There are two shrines named Melekkavu and Thazhekkavu at Chinakathoor temple. Usually the shrines are considered inauspicious, if they open towards the South direction. However the shrine of Melekkavu is opened towards the south direction in order to appease the ferocious form of the Goddess inside. Also, the priest in this temple is from the Nair community.  Usually Brahmins have the right for the priesthood in most of the temples in Kerala, a practice still continued from the age of caste system. 

There is a belief that the Goddess resides at the Banyan tree near the ancestral home of Manthredam. A man from the Nair community comes and announces the beginning of the festival standing under the Bunyan tree. The eldest member of the family will give him rice grains in a ‘Para.’ The Chinakathoor Pooram can start then and there. 

The beginning of the festival is commenced with the ‘Para.’ ‘Para’ means taking offerings for the temple from each house in the area. Usually the devotees may go with an elephant to each house in their area to collect the offerings.  The elephant is believed to carry the form of Goddess on him. Each householder may fill the ‘Para,’ a big jar, with rice grains as an offering to the temple.  

The festivities will start with ‘Tholppava Koothu’ before 14 days of the festival.  This play of dolls will take the storyline from the epic of Ramayana. The dialogues will be delivered in the almost extinguished language of Sangara Malayalam (Mix of Tamil and Malayalam languages).

Mangalamkunnu Ayyappan

The main attraction of this 17 days long festival is the procession of 27 elephants in full adornments.  Each land would try to get the best of the tuskers on their side. Now, for many years the majestic elephant named Mangalamkunnu Ayyappan carries the head position for the tuskers from Vadakkummangalam. The procession of tuskers from Vadakkum Mangalam starts from the yards f Manthredam.  The festival will be in its full glory with these tuskers and other traditional folk arts like vela, theyyam, poothanum thiryaum, poikkuthiras, Aandi velan and fireworks in the night. All along these 17 days, the festival will be made notable with the Panchavadyam oraganized with the temple committees.

The play of Poikkuthiras is a special attraction of Chinakkathoor Pooram. In other temples of the area, there would be ‘Kaala Kali’ (The play of bulls) unlike ‘Poikkuthiras (The play of horses.) There will be 16 horses in Chinakkathoor Pooram divided as four for Vadakkummangalam, four for Thekkum mangalam and the rest 8 for other places. Each horse will be played by 16 people. The leading horse named ‘Pandarakkuthira’ wouldn’t be played but stand watching the whole game.

Another unique feature of Chinakkathoor Pooram is the Kalamezhuthu. People will draw the image of Goddess Bhagavathy on the floor with colours made by rice flour, turmeric and other natural ingredients. This will be repeated for seven days. The curious factor is that the measurement of these images will be exactly the same for the seven days and the painters won’t even take the measurement for that. 

Normally, there will be a holiday for all the government offices and Educational institutions of Ottappalam Muncipality on the occasion of Chinakkathoor Pooram. A whole village wait to celebrate this festival with their whole hearts.  Not only the natives but also people from other places drop into witness this unique festival that is claimed to be second next to the Thrissur Pooram. It is believed that most of the prayers will be answered during this occasion. People would cluster in to hear the ‘Velichappedal’ (It is believed that the Goddess will talk to you through a chosen person.) that might give a hint to solve their problems. There will be a huge demand for ‘Thali’ and ‘Pattu’ from Goddess on this occasion.

After the Pooram, people go off keeping the colourful memories in their mind. It is then that the elephants return to Manthredam. Some owners of the elephants find the unkept wilderness in the area suitable for their possessions and people in Manthredam usually don’t worry about the presence of trained elephants in their area. The elephants accompanied by their mahouts come, take rest and rejuvenate here before continuing their journey to the next destinations.

When I went to Manthredam last time there was the elephant named Mangalamkunnu Ayyappan. People were enjoying each of his movements as one would watch the games of a baby. I felt for them as I realized that they might be cherishing the memories of a lost time, when they were able to tend own elephants in their area. 

Afterword: There was a television channel that approached the elders of Manthredam for a programme calling the home as ‘Aana Tharavadu’ (Home for elephants). The elders declined the offer. The presence of elephants must be the best reward for them than the publicity gained through media.

Lakkidi: Kashi Viswanathan Temple at Home!

Lakkidi, a small village in Palakkad district Kerala, is life-size with its importance in major contributions to the culture of Kerala. I first visited this place as a new bride to my husband’s ancestral home, near Lakkidi Koottupatha. Little did I know about the importance of this place as well as the role played by the family to which I had married into!

The trees in front of Kashi Viswanatha shrine

In the first visit itself the calm but elegant ambience of the family temple enchanted me. Surrounded by shrubs and trees that had their freedom in the carefree wilderness, the temple evoked a sense of divine protection. As I closed my eyes in front of the shrine to Kashi Viswanathan, I felt that his protection will be there to remove all obstacles in our marital life. 

There is a story that is not old for more than a century behind the arrival of Kashi Viswanathan as the family deity. Manthredam, the family where my husband was born had faced a great threat, years before. In those days only the eldest son in Brahmin family was allowed to have marriage from Brahmin families. The younger sons could marry from other sectors of upper caste Hindus but wouldn’t have any right on their ancestral property.

The great grandfather of the present members in Manthredam was a younger brother in his family. As per custom his elder brother had marriage from a Brahmin families and he had a marriage from a Kovilakam¹ named Elyangattu. However even after many years, the elder brother didn’t have any children, so finally they checked the horoscope of the family.

As per the astrologer’s vision, the family would’ve continued only through the younger brother. Also, the astrologer told that someone should go to the holy place of Kashi. There, he should take three dips in the holy river of Ganga. The astrologer had predicted that on the third dip, the person would get the divine Shiva Linga in his hands. Those in Manthredam should worship the Kashi Viswanathan as their family without fail. 

But still, there was a trouble. The astrologer also told that whoever goes for this particular venture would die as soon as he returned home. Now, all were in a dilemma. Who would risk his life for the family?

It was then a poor Brahmin in the neighbourhood, who offered his assistance for the task. He agreed to take this adventure on the condition that Manthredam would take care of his family. It was very much agreeable for the wealthy family of Manthredam and they readily made the arrangements to send the person to Kashi.

The Brahmin went to Kashi on an auspicious date. As per the astrologer’s prediction he took three dips in the Holy Ganga. In the third dip that he had taken, there came Kashi Viswanathan into his hands in the form of holy Shiva Linga!!

The Brahmin came back with the divine presence in his hands. Kashi Viswanathan got welcomed to Manthredam in full festivities. Soon, the younger brother of the family was fetched from his wife and six children of Elyangattu. He got married from a Brahmin family. The divine intervention may be there; soon his wife gave birth to a son to continue the lineage of the family. The lineage still continues through the 21 children of this son and many children of his brothers. That eldest son became the grandfather to my husband too.

The Brahmin who sought the divine presence to the family, passed away two weeks after his return from Kashi. I wonder, whether his sorrow to leave his body looms as a shadow over Manthredam? Or, did his soul gained the supreme bliss through this majestic act?

Continues...

A Taste of Japan from Riyadh

It was our fourth Valentine’s Day after marriage and the one we were celebrating together after two missing Valentine’s Days. Since we are in Riyadh where there is a ban for this American celebration, we never anticipated to celebrate it in a grand manner. The roses or any gifts in red colour would be banned on these days. So, we had planned well ahead to celebrate this day in our own style. We resolved to try out something new-a visit to the Japanese restaurant in town.

I started to Google through Japanese dishes by evening of the Valentine’s Day. All dishes seemed to be so complicated and I stopped to search further. Before starting for dinner I helped myself with a boiled banana in fear of the unknown dishes that might fail me.

An appetizing aroma of dishes was in the air as we entered into the Tokyo Restaurant at Al Arouba Road. It was 9 p.m and already we were in queue.  We were not aware of the reservation procedure in the restaurant and not booked for the seats. We had to wait for an hour till our turn came and the waiting time went easily as we engaged ourselves by watching the other customers in queue.

The ambience in the restaurant was not so grandeur but with minimal touches of Japanese interiors. We got into a family room with 8 seats. The attendant who came to assist us was a Malayalee by name Basheer. (I remembered the joke of Neil Armstrong’s first visit to the moon. People make fun that a Malayalee gave him tea in the moon. The joke implies to the presence of Kerala people all over the world.)

Miso soup and salad

We were clueless on what to order! As a starter, we relished the free miso soup, green salad and Potato Korokke for Shreya. I was skeptical of using chopstick but managed well after two three attempts. The instructions on the Chopstick cover on holding it was really helpful for a beginner like me. Shreya managed quite well with chopsticks in her little hands.

Shreya with her Chopstick

Basheer assisted us to order the main course. We chose to have mixed tempura and chicken teppanyaki. We avoided the menu for Sushi since I was so choosy with fish and cannot have raw fish.  The food arrived in time we finished the starters and soup.

Mixed Tempura

The crispy pieces in the mixed tempura tasted so bland without the tempura sauce. However as per Sreejith’s suggestion, I soaked the pieces in tempura sauce. Wow! It tasted so yummy. The pieces in tempura vanished one by one. Even I who wrinkle nose for fish relished the crispy shrimps. Only once we happened to chew on fried garlic paste in the dish. But the other delicious pieces took over the bad taste soon from our taste buds.

Chicken teppanyaki.

Along with Mixed tempura, we tasted the Chicken teppanyaki.. We were silent while tasting it since we never deviated our attention from its taste. Finally, we finished our dinner with the raw rice and the leftovers in both the dishes. 

It was then time for paying the bills. The price for the dishes seems to be reasonable since we don’t mind spend a little more on special days. Thankfully our Valentine’s Day celebration didn’t flop out owing to the choice of this restaurant.

Additional Info:  Tokyo Restaurant in Riyadh doesn’t open on Fridays. The restaurant is usually crowded and it is always better if you reserve your seats in advance.

Welcome to Riyadh

 Continues from Water, Water, Everywhere...

We didn’t have enough of our time in Fujairah. The morning sky was so clear against the beautiful mountains, when we started our return journey. The travel was uninterrupted until we reached the outskirts of Dubai. Here, we started to watch out for speed checkers and our speed reduced to 120km/hr at these points.

We crossed Abu Dhabi and caught up with our travel companions at Al Sila. All must be so hungry since we couldn’t find a single piece of breakfast left out in the food carrier. We continued our speed since we were anxious of the delay at the border.

The border seemed to be crowded as we approached. Religious Saudi women, who didn’t wish to show their faces, were waiting outside the ‘Women Inspection Area’ with their Iqama. Curiously, that was the only crowd out there. We passed the border with ease. However as we had got back into ‘Abhaya’ I started missing something. I didn’t find the Saudi officer’s cheerful ‘Welcome’ welcoming also.

Sunset at the desert

Soon, it was noon and we had our lunch. Next few hours went in a rhythm. That’s when the scene I had most wished to view started happening-the sunset in the desert. The sky started changing its colors. The silver fire turned into an orange fire. Soon, it started to burn the clouds and turn them into a dark blue color of Lord Krishna. The sand around the desert became golden in color and started vibrating. Finally, the red orb started to roll down. As its tip finally sank down, I realized- one more vacation is over...

There are many things that we missed to visit during this vacation. But...

                                 Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
                                 Are sweeter;

                                                     (Ode on a Grecian Urn: John Keats)

                               The End

Water, Water Everywhere....

 Continues from Fujairah: The Land of Mountains and Beaches

Oh, yes! I had planned to wake up to view sunrise. However it was so sunny by the time we woke up. Well, there was no other plan than exploring the beach.

The parking lots at the beach were almost full by the time we reached Khorfkhan. Luckily, we got a parking space and after changing Shreya into a swim suit we came out. We crossed the green lawns and white sands to reach the water. The water was so green and blue and a wave of excitement came to me.

The Private Beach near Khorfkhan

At first, we planned to go out for boating. It was a fantastic experience to sit at the front of the boat. As I looked away, I saw one private beach amidst the mountains. The beach with its protective mountains walls, white sands and green watery line reminded me of the beach where Arlena Stuart Marshal lied murdered in Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the sun.

Shreya & Anirudh

As we reached back to the shore, little Anirudh and Shreya started excavating the sand. They were in their own world after finding a used fork and barbecue screw. So, I and Sreejith decided to check the rate for water bike rides. Interestingly the price has double up to the normal rate owing again to the Eid holidays. However we got a nice deal for half an hour.

It was my first experience to ride a water bike. The waves shuddered under our vehicle as we started. Soon, we started zooming in and out of them. The big waves started tossing our bike as we started to go further into the sea. I even doubted once whether there were gutters in the sea also!

Water Bike Ride

The last ten minutes of the scheduled time were allotted to me to ride the bike. It was totally a different experience to sit in the front than at the back. As I rode, I felt as if tearing through a green glass sheet with a sharp knife.

After finishing the boat ride, we got into the water with Anirudh and Shreya. Though they were excited in the beginning their small teeth started chattering soon and they wished to get out. After drying them up, we rushed to the shower rooms.

Again, the shower rooms in Fujairah are no different from other public utility areas. As I changed into dry clothes, I felt all the fun of the day draining out! Still, the more powerful moments of fun stay longer than those bad seconds.

Continues in Welcome to Riyadh 

Fujairah-The Land of Mountains and Beaches

Continues from Sahasra Nam

Fujairah, the land of mountains and beaches is like a smart homemaker. The small town, lies on the Gulf of Oman is free from the hustle and bustle of its contemporary emirates. However there are some special features that make this place unique. 

Fujairah was our last destination during the Dubai vacation. The travel from Dubai to Fujairah usually takes one to two hours. However as soon as we left the picturesque squares of Sharjah, our pace started to slow down. The speedometer showed 3km/hr for the next two hours. 

Fujairah Mountains

We were exhausted after the previous day’s desert safari and late night party. The sun beams started burning through the car windows. Hunger started gnawing our stomachs. In between we rarely paid attention to the Desert Mountains and the winding roads of Fujairah. After the tiring slow drive we finally spotted the sign post of Friday market from where our speed picked up.

Finally, we reached Fujairah after a tiring journey of four hours. However the peaceful streets of the city and the availability of ample parking space cajoled us.  Our tiredness left us after a delightful lunch with our cousin’s family. By the time, it was evening and we planned to get out for snorkeling. However, the crowd at the beach of Khorfkhan made us to move ahead towards Dibba beach. Again, Eid holidays have made the road so blocked and we took a turn and entered to a small beach.

The wind was very chilly as we got out. The beach wasn’t kept neatly and we gave up the ideas of getting into the water. However I and Jayada gave in to the excitement of little Anirudh and Shreya to wet the feet. 

The flashy car on Fujairah road

After half an hour we returned! Though crowded, the roads looked comfortable as in a small town. All of a sudden, it gave me the feeling of Pondicherry ambience. Then, in that small crowd, we located a sports car. The three wheeler car in flashy red color started showing off next to our car. That time traffic block became a blessing in disguise and we started taking photos of the smart vehicle. The boys in the car must have felt happy and as they sped up they waved to the babies in our gang.

Before I slept, I just peered out through my window. The night light reflected at the mountains on one side and the sea on the other side. I never expected a gulf country to be this much a nature beauty. I made a note in mind to view the next day’s sunrise.

Continues in Water, Water Everywhere...

Sahasra Nam

Continues from Desert Safari

Some people make an impression on us from the very first meeting itself. For us (I and Sreejith), Mr. Sahasra Nam is someone like that.  Before I start writing about him, let me tell you! I don’t know anything about him apart from the glimpses of our short meeting.

We’d heard so much about Sahasra Nam and his wife from our family friends Kunjanietan and family. We went to meet Kunjanietan in the morning before desert safari. So, when he told us about meeting Nam, we were absolutely fine with the idea. Even I, who usually hesitate to get introduced to strangers, agreed to it.

We were left alone in the living room before meeting Nam. The living room decorated with a mixture of modern and traditional taste made an impression on me before meeting its owner. Nam soon greeted us with a wide smile and I felt so comfortable.

As Nam drove us for lunch, I started to feel that I’ve met this person somewhere before! It was only an intuition. That’s because he talked subjects very familiar to me and I was at ease. Soon, I realized that if he meets some other person, he might talk topics familiar to them also. I got convinced that indeed talking is an art itself!

After the desert safari, we directly went to Nam’s house. I felt like going to a friend’s house that is familiar for years. At Nam’s home, I and Sreejith had our own fun time to pursue. Shreya lapsed into a good sleep after the tiring day. It was around 2am that we’d decided to have our dinner. The dinner comprised of hot rice, dosa and Sambar in the background of Indian classic music was very much unlike any other dinner I had during late night parties. 

I don’t remember when I hit the bed and woke up! As I finished mine & Shreya’s bath, Nam was ready in the kitchen. As we sat in the kitchen as he prepared the breakfast, we actually felt like sitting in the kitchen of a close relative. 

After breakfast, it was time for us to leave. Nam introduced us to his neighbors. Soon we got dressed up and Nam helped us with our luggage. He presented Shreya with a handy tiger toy and asked her to take care of him well.

As we bid good bye to him, I made a note in mind that if ever we come to Dubai again, we’ll visit him for sure.

                                                           ***************

The second leg of Nam’s story happened after we reached Fujairah. As soon as we got our luggage out, we realized that the laptop bag is missing! I must have misplaced it in the visitor’s lobby when we came out. What more? Our passport and multiple exit entry passes are inside it! 

We were lost. We were not in India, not in Saudi Arabia but in a third country! We won’t get entry to Saudi Arabia without entry passes!!All the fun we had out of the trip drained out from us. As we called Nam, there was no hope in getting back the laptop. Nam called back within two hours. His security had retained the bag and kept it safely. I had nothing else to believe than that all people associated with him must be extraordinary.

As I called him to say thanks, he laughed again with his natural humour. I, who always find it difficult to express my feelings through talks, felt so easy with him. As I kept the phone, I just remembered-I, who photograph each special occasion, hadn’t photographed our time with Nam.  But some special moments have to be cherished in memory, right?

Continues in Fujairah-The Land of Mountains and Beaches