I came I saw I conquered....

The Kannur I Saw

For a person born and brought up in Trivandrum, as a kid, Cannanore (anglicised version of Kannur) was always a place very very far away.

My childhood memories of Kannur are filled with communist movements and comrades. I remember achan saying about AKG (the legendary communist leader, who is one of his favourite idols and mine too), EK Nayanar etc. Later it was all the comrades or their families who comes for various reasons to Trivandrum (ie visiting secretatriat or PSC or Medical college hospital/RCC/ Sreechitra MC). They would come to our house, usually stay at our place, mummy cooks food for them, especially if anyone is undergoing specialist treatment at the hospital.

Though Kannur has a lot of history and is the land of Theyyams, in recent times it is infamous for all the wrong reasons like political killings, bombs, police firings, 'the kannur lobby' of party etc...

In 2007 we met Chinthu and Manoj and through them many other friends in Kannur. I visited Kannur in 2008 for the first time and stayed for a day with Chinthu's parents.

The people of Kannur, I felt generally were open and simple. The landscape is very green with many rivers, mountains, temples, virgin-beaches etc. I felt it was a mixture of laid back village folks, the colourful Theyyams, traditional temples, red-forts of communism with a bit of modernism in and around Kannur city. No wonder Kannur is said to be one of best ten cities in India to reside! Kannur international airport is coming up at mattanur,once operational Kannur international airport will be the largest airport in Kerala. Kannur is also the place of the only muslim royal family in Kerala (Arackkal)

Chinthu's home is situated near thrichambaram temple. It stands on the top of a small hill with good views of greenery around. It was the peak of south-west monsoon. The rain, calm atmosphere, lush green trees, serene surroundings creates a nostalgic aura.....sort of a romantic nature or indeed the nature felt to be romantic....An ideal place for a writer for some innovative creation.

According to one of my close friends "the homes around 'thrichambaram temple' appear brighter and had some sort of divine blessing; however, houses in the vicinity of 'rajarajeshwara temple' always felt a bit dull and dark"!

So my temple journey during this visit to Kerala started here. The first was Madayyilppara and then by next 14 days I had done a 'spiritual marathon' of 53 temples!! (http://adhvaitha.blogspot.com/2008/12/53-temples-in-2-weeks.html)

1. Madayilppara Bhagavathi temple
Madayilppara is a hilly area (infact there are lots of hills around Kannur including Ezhimala where the Naval academy is situated) located at Pazhayanangadi. The government has a project plan to transform the area into a cultural village.

This temple is supposed to be the most popular Bhagavathi temple of North Malabar (the main Diety is Shiva- East facing): On the Southern side of Shiva's 'srikovil' is Bhadrakali (West facing), the diety with most importance and prominence. The priests are 'Piradanmar' who does Shaktheya puja. Devi is supposed to be in fearsome and fiery mood here who is present in the state after killing demon Darikan. It seems one of the main offerings here is cooked meat.

2. Vadakunnu Shiva temple

The next stop was the famous Vadukunnu Shiva temple on hillock of the Madayippara. This is an old structure and is currently under renovation. There is a beautiful lake nearby. Mythology says that Devi, after killing the demon Darikan, took a dip in this lake. It is said that this lake, situated on the top of a hill, never dries; even in the hottest summer.

3. Cheruthazhom Raghavapuram Hanuman temple:

Though the main diety is Sriraman here, the temple is known for Hanuman swamy. There is a large pond in front of the temple. It was 'ramayana month' (Karkidakam) and so could hear ramayanam being recited..nostalgic....The prasadam ('aval') from here was arranged by uncle previously...

4. Parasshinikadavu Muthappan temple: Arguably the most famous and prominent temple in Kannur. This temple is revered by most religious people of Kannur and Kasarkode. A temple where alcohol is an offering and is not banned in the temple premises!

We parked our car here and walked to the temple. On the way saw a toddy shop and further down a Communist party office...It may be a coincidence (or may be not) that a communist party office, toddy shop and a temple are all in a short distance which was like a snap-shot of Kannur!

Theyyam: I should write a few words on THEYYAM. This is an art form that has religious, cultural and social dimensions. It is a highly ritualistic folk-dance, well preserved with its rare and gorgeous make-up and costume, lively foot work with lot of verbal and non-verbal expressions. Theyyam is unique to Kannur and Kasargode ('Kolathunadu') and I think represents the glorious past and culture of Kannur.

Though I have seen Theyyam in Tele, this was the first time I was watching it. The belief is, that gods and goddesses come in to our midst through the medium of the possessed dancers and converse with us. The performers usually belong to Vannan, Malayan and Velan communities.
We went to Parashinnnikadavu temple the next morning to catch a glimpse of it. 'Lord Muthappan' probably represents the dual divinity of Shiva and Vishnu. Therefore there are two Theyyams- 'Thiruvappana' and 'Vellatom' (Shiva- cresent shaped crown and Vishnu- fish shaped crown). They come as a long procession with lots of music, singing and performance. The songs were very traditional with folk rhythms.

Thiruvappana theyyam looked and felt more powerful. Aunty said that we could go and speak to the theyyam and even ask questions. After the initial rituals and performance that went for about 30 minutes I slowly headed towards them. The Vellatom theyyam held my hands....looked into my eyes and said that I was coming from very long distance...and also that everything is and will be fine in the future :-). It was really powerful.....
I think if some one wish to learn about the ancient past of North malabar, they should learn about Theyyams. It is so rich in art, culture, heritage, language, rituals and music. Later we went and had prasadam- ie Tea, boiled gram (peas) with coconut slices.

Some distinct features ot temple

1. Dogs are allowed and found inside temple premises

2. Alcohol/ dry fish/ meat are offerings

3. Free food given in temple

Behind the temple is Valappattanam river. It was monsoon at its best and appeared really beautiful

Also went to the famous snake park established by none other than Comrade MVR..Never realised that the park had such a rich variety of reptiles and other animals. Will write on this separately.

That evening went to the famous trinity temples of Kanjirangad, Rajarajeshwara and Thrichambaram.

On the way to Kanjirangad...

5. Kanjirangad Vaidyanatha temple: This ancient temple is situated in Pariyaram Panchayat (6km fom Taliparambu and it seems Kooveri is only about 5 km from this place. Should try to visit there this year) ...The main diety is Shiva (believed to be svayambu or self-originated) in 'physician' form. According to Manoj's dad Shiva here is 'doctor's doctor'. Main festival is on Sivarathri but Thiruvathira in the malayalam month of Dhanu is also very important.

If 6th day of the Malayalam month is Sunday then the devotees will call it 'Six Sunday' ('aarum njayyar')and is considered important. It is believed the same day was the temple installed. Another legend is that as brahmin ladies were prohibited from entering Rajarajeshwara temple(see below) the Kolathiri raja (Shathasoman) constructed this temple.

6. Rajarajeshwara temple:
This was the second temple we visited that evening. Felt very strong vibes at this temple.. Taliparamba is regarded as one of the ancient Shakti Peethams. Legend has it that the head of Sati fell here after Shiva's tandavam following Sati's self-immolation. The main festival celebrations are Shivarathri and Vishu. In olden days there were 64days festival during the interval between Shivarathri and Vishu.

The temple is considered as one of the 108 ancient Shiva temples of Kerala by most experts. It has a prominent place amongst the numerous Shiva temples in south India. If any problem is encountered in temples of South India, the final solution is said to be sorted here by 'prashnamvaippu'

Some unique characteristics:

1.The temple has no kodi maram as opposed to most other temples in Kerala
2.Men are allowed to enter the shrine at any time, but women are allowed only after 8 PM (the belief is that shiva would have gone to Cherukuunu Annapoorneshwari temple by then)
3.It may be that the main diety could be in Shankaranarayanan form or rajaguru Brihaspathy as Rajarajeshwara sankalpam (acceptable to both Shaivites and Vaishnavites). However, it is generally and widely accepted that Shiva is the main diety, though 'Koovalam' flowers that are dearest to Shiva are not used here for pujas
4. Only 'Neyyvilakku' (ghee) is allowed inside the 'chuttamblam' and oil is not permitted
5."Moonnedhathu thozheekuka"- A custom whereby pregant women (except brahmins) visit and pray at three prominent temples in Taliparamba. Apart from Rajarajeshwara temple, the other two temples are Sri Krishna temple at Trichambaram and Vaidyanatha (Shiva) at Kanjiragad. It is believed that Shiva at Rajarajeshwara temple assures the child a high status, Sri Krishna of Trichambaram bestows it with good nature and mental qualities and Shiva at Kanjiragad temple gives the child long life. (Brahmin ladies, instead of this temple goes to Thrichambaram, Mazhoor and Kanjirangad)
6.This temple is also considered as most sacred for performing Koodiyattam and Chakyar Koothu Whenever a new Koodiyattam is being directed, it is first performed at this temple. The title "Vidūshakaratnam" and "Veerashringhala", a Golden Bracelet are given from this temple for acheivements in these performing arts
7.It is also believed that Sri Raman during his victorious return from Lanka, stopped here to offer worship to Lord Shiva. In honor of his presence, devotees are not allowed into the 'namaskara mandapam' even today

History:

The Shiva linga here is believed to be thousands of years old. Legend has it that Siva gave three sacred Siva lingas to Parvati for worship.

1. A sage called Maandhata prayed Shiva and it seems lord Shiva gave one of the Siva lingas to him and said to install only at a place where there was no cremation ground. The sage, after searching all over, found Taliparamba the most sacred spot where he installed the Shivalinga. After his death, the linga however disappeared into the earth.
2. Maandhats's son Muchukunda offered similar prayers to Siva and got a second linga, which too disappeared in course of time.
3. After many centuries the third Shivalinga was handed down to King Shathasoman. He then installed it in the present temple built by him

7. Thrichambaram Sreekrishna temple
This temple is considered the 'grama-temple' of Thaliparambu. The temple is believed to have got the name from Thiru Shambara or the holy shambara in reverence to Maharishi Shambara. Trichambaram Temple has three ponds attached to it, with the temple for Durga(Jaladurga). There is also a belief that as Srikrishna is in 'roudra bhavam' (Fiery mood) praying here early in the morning may not be 'utthamam'

The annual temple festival is for a fortnight-from Kumbham 22 (usually March 6) every year to Meenam 6 (which generally falls on March 20). Elephants are not permitted for the festival celebrations.

On Kumbham 22 'Balaraman' comes from Mazhoor temple . Till meenam 2nd there is 'thitambu-nritham' at pookottunada. On Meenam third there is no major ritual. On the 4th there is 'nadu valamvaikkal'. On the 5th it is 'Chirayil aarrattu'. On the 6th its brothers parting (Koodipiriyyal). This is said to be very emotional.

It was raining heavily when we were doing the pradashinam. It was pitch dark when we came to sree-ayyappan's kovil. But somehow lights came on when we started praying. It was amazing! The lights went off as soon as we left!! The puja for Jala-durga was also amazing. A lot of strong vibes in the vicinity.....

8. Perillasherry Sri Subrahmanya temple
This temple is located at Perillasherry near koothuparambu. I was excited to hear that this is AKG's place; but the journey along the Kannur – Koothuparambu road was Horrible with abundant holes, bumps and 'small rainwater pools'. Literally the roads to Perillasherry were in Perils.

According to Manoj's dad, the temple is said to be consecrated by Sriraman. As Hanuman was late bringing the idol, Sriraman took his bangle ('peruvala') and made the idol...so it is called 'peru-vala-cherri' that later became perillasherry.

There is a huge pool in front of the temple. It had well laiden bricks and steps... After Perillashery went to see Parameshwaran Namboodiri and then it was good bye to Kannur.

On my way to Thrissur now......a short but sweet visit . A kind of Déjà vu......May be I should be saying I came I saw and I got conquered by the beauty and fragrance of north malabar.....

Red faced

Indians have again done themselves proud by 'mature voting' and giving a clear mandate in the recently concluded Elections, the biggest democratic process in the world. In todays unpredictive world specifically in South Asia where she is surrounded by volatile neighbours, India has shown the world the true meaning of 'by the people, for the people and of the people'.

In this 'election cyclone' along with the caste and communal politics, the communists also fell. They were routed in the red fortresses of Kerala, and its own Bastion in Bengal. What has happened since late Harkishan singh Surjeet handed over Party's mantle to the so called young 'Karats' and 'Yachuris'? How come from a tally of about 59 seats in 2004 they came down to a mere 24 in 2009?

A lot of questions to be answered by the official leadership of all left parties, though it is generally felt that the attitude of the so called 'young brigades' that were much more theoritical and inflexible led to this huge defeat. The National left front leaders forgot the key lesson in politics ie to have your house in order before you attack the UPA with matters like Nuclear pact; the left specifically CPM totally turned blind eye to the deepening crises in both Kerala and Bengal. The 'new breed of young' CPM leaders rather than being pragmatic and dynamic went for the rigid communist policies. They lost touch with common man and were more involved and infatuated with the outdated anti- imperialism.

Interestingly a lot of policies that paid rich dividends to the UPA govt are 'left' policies. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the National Old Age Pension Scheme, National Maternity Benefit Scheme, Mid-Day Meal and Integrated Children Development Scheme, the Targeted Public Distribution Scheme, National Family Benefit Scheme, Right to Information, Forest Rights Act, farm loan waiver etc. The left never made any attempt to high light this in their campaign and instead went after the blind propaganda of an 'unreal' third front based on an anti- left, anti BJP platform. The common people soon understood the stand taken by the third/ fourth front that they were trying to get as many seats as possible to be in a good bargaining post-poll position; but alas all their dreams were shattered by the convincing outcome of 2009 elections!


In Kerala it was clear that people were fed up with the infighting between the two major factions in the ruling CPM. The present leadership in Kerala were totally egoistic, autocratic, arrogant and aggressive against anyone who they felt were not supporting them. It is sad to note that the party which was once led by the legendary leaders like AKG and EMS are now in hands of a bunch of 'pseudo-comrades'. One person who came out relatively unharmed in this whole debacle is the Kerala Cheif minister Mr VS Achuthanandan.


The common man who supports the communist party is not unhappy with this defeat. In fact one of the Kannur comrades told me it was a 'good shock treatment' given by the people of kerala to a party which is a part of their life. May be this statement reflects the general feeling of the party supporters in the state.


There will be a lot of 'post-mortem' meetings and analysis of this whole result scenario. Though it is clear that the 'SNC lavlin case', the marriage of conveneince with PDP, the aggressive stance take by the CPM against the smaller parties in LDF, alienation of general public and anti-media stance were the main resons in the party's failing, the leadership may take some other 'vague' explaination line and get away this time. But its better to accept the mistakes, make necessary changes and attitude by a clear introspection...the sooner the party realise and correct this the better it is for Kerala....

ഇന്ത്യന്‍ കോഫി ഹൌസ്

Thampanoor ICH


Indian Coffee House or popularly known as ICH is one of my favourite coffee shops in Kerala. I remember dad taking all of us to the coffee house at medical college junction. There used to be two Coffee-houses at that time(one opposite the Casualty and the other near the petrol station/taxi stand. The second one is closed now and the one near Casualty is the only one that exists here.

My favourite food here is mutton cutlet and my favourite drink is rose milk (as a child). Masala dosa is also a popular item and the uniqueness of this is that they put beetroot also in the masala and whole stuff looks reddish rather than the usual yellow masala colour. Some people like that very much, though I am not a great fan of ICH masala-dosa; but I like the plain dosa here very much.


















The Shangumukham beach ICH( we went here in June 2007 as our flight to London via Colombo was delayed)

Steamed hot Coffee is the trade mark of this shop; having a cup of ICH-coffee is something one cannot experience any where in the world. Its not just the coffee but the whole atmosphere makes it a unique experience-the rich aroma, the strong flavour, the white cups and saucers, the classical uniform of the waiters and royal service gives us an unforgettable feeling.


ICH has strong presence across India in almost every city. The one in Calcutta (near Presidency college; a coffee-house, I very much want to visit someday) is quite famous historically because it used to be a popular hangout for the 'Bengali intelligentsia'

There are over 400 branches in India and the maximum number ( more than 50 are in Kerala). The Coffee Houses were started by the Coffee Board in early 1940s, during British rule. In the mid 1950s the Board closed down the Coffee Houses, due to a policy change. The thrown-out workers then took over the branches, under the leadership of A.K.G( Comrade: A.K Gopalan) and renamed the network as Indian Coffee House. The Coffee-house movement/society is wholly owned and managed by the employees. The movement marked its golden jubilee in the year 2007. The only published book on its history is written in Malayalam by Nadaakkal Parameswaran Pillai called 'Coffee Housinte Katha' or History of Coffee House

There is more to ICH than coffee and snacks. Its the meeting place of a number of people. A number of political and cultural movements have started from small meetings at the ICH. Its a rendezvous for Politicians, Students, Intellectuals, Writers, Artists, Lovers, Businessmen, Executives etc. I still remember that a lot of our student meetings at Medical College (social, political and cultural) used to take place at the ICH opposite Medical College Hospital casualty. "will meet you at 4:00at ICH" was a common phrase during our student days....



















ICH branch at east nada, Guruvayoor temple (note the name is written as India Coffee House rather than Indian Coffee House)

I got the following list of ICH branches in Kerala from the net. It was a bit odd to note that there are no branches for ICH, north of Thrissur especially in AKG's own place, Kannur!

Trivandrum

Kachery Junction, Attingal

Jyothi Building, Ulloor
Corporation Office Building, Tvm
M.L.A Hostel, Tvm
M.G.Road, Tvm
Secretariat,Tvm
Maveli Cafe,Thampanoor
Pazhavangadi, Tvm
Transport Bhavan, East Fort, Tvm
I.R.C Sanghumugham, Tvm
St.Jude medical Center,Karamana
Assembly Complex(Under ICH,MLA Hostel)
KOLLAM
Chinnakkada, Kollam
Pulamon Junction, Kottarakkara
PATHANAMTHITTA
M.C.Road, Thiruvalla
Municipal Junction, Pathanamthitta
ALAPPUZHA
Near K.S.R.T.C, Cherthala
Mullackal, Alappuzha
Palace Road, Alappuzha
N.T.P.C, Kayamkulam
Beach, Alappuzha
M.C.Road, Chengannur
Muttom Bazaar,Cherthala
Medical College,Vandanam,Alappuzha
Canteen,Alappuzha Beach(Under ICH,Mullakkal Branch)
KOTTAYAM
West Nada, Vaikom
Main Road, Pala
Paranani Arcade, Erattupetta
Mohana Shopping Complex K.K Road, Ponkunnam
Medical College Campus, Kottayam
T.B. Road, Kottayam
M.L.Road, Kottayam
M.C.Road,Near K.S.R.T.C ,Changanassery
Salim Complex, Perunna, Changanassery
ERNAKULAM
Kalady Junction, Perumbavoor
A.M Road, Kothamangalam
Cochin University Campus, Thrikkakkara
C.S Road, Ernakulam
Sudheendra Hospital, Ernakulam
D.H.Road, Ernakulam
Indiragandhi Co-op.Hospital, Kadavanthra
East Fort Gate, Thripunithura
High Court,Ernakulam
THRISSUR
Road South, Thrissur
P.O.Road, Thrissur
C.D.B North Bus Stand, Thrissur
East Nada, Guruvayoor
Herbret Road, Kunnamkulam
M.G.Kavu M.C.H, Thrissur1st
M.G.Kavu M.C.H, Thrissur2nd
J.M.H.Ist, Thrissur
J.M.H.IInd, Thrissur
By Pass Junction, Mannutthy
Kerala Agri University, Mannuthy
Muthuvanchira Towers N.H Road, Pattikkad
Nada Near Bus Stand, Irinjalakkuda
Municipal Office Compound ,Chalakkudy
Canteen,Patturaikkal.

The poly-tricks in Kerala

Kerala has a lot of firsts to its credit. First Indian State to achieve total literacy/ State first to implement land reforms/ State with highest life expectancy/ State with lowest birth rate/ State with lowest infant mortality/ Only state with hospital facility in every village/ State in which the communication infrastructure is the highest.

Every political party in power, will high-light these 'firsts' as their own achievement...But there is also another side...ie its the state with the highest suicide rate, highest alcohol consumption rate, highest morbidity, highest unemployment rate and probably the home of caste, communal and coalition politics......

In Modern Kerala the usual trend especially in the last 25 years is to vote in either of the two 'democratic' coalitions (Interestingly in the dictionary coalition describes a temporary group or union of organisations usually formed for a particular advantage!). The two fronts are the LDF or the Left Democratic Front headed by CPI(M) or Communist Party of India( Marxist) and the UDF or United Democratic Front lead by the Indian National Congress or simply the Congress party.

The first coalition was in 1967 when the Communist party under the late EMS (Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad) led a seven-party coalition including the Muslim League (now called by the Communist party as a communal party) to form the government. Before that in 1957 he had led the Communists to victory in the first election for the state government, making him the first communist leader anywhere to head a popularly elected democratic government. It is said that that government was probably one of the better ones that Kerala had as each and every minister with a couple of exceptions were experts and specialists in their own field like Prof Joseph Mundassery for Education, Dr AR Menon for Health, Mr VR Krishna Iyer for Law etc. This government soon introduced the land Reform Ordinance and Education Bill and subsequently was dismissed in 1959 by the Central Government, which invoked the controversial Article 356 of the Indian Constitution following what became later known as the 'Liberation Struggle' or വിമോചന സമരം ...

Over the years coalition governments with and without the Communists or Congress and with the help of so called 'communal parties' (overtly or covertly) came to power in Kerala. The most popular and deep rooted political party in Kerala is the Marxist party or CPI(M), (though the CPI or UDF wouldn't agree to that)... Their policies have a big influence in the daily life of Kerala. The other parties tends to follow or react to what Marxist party does. However, the CPI(M) tend to exhibit their basic instinct of study and struggle (as the "kutti" comrades of their student faction) even when they are in power. The CPI(M) since the demise of EMS have been searching for a theoretician who can lead them and this remains as one of their main problems. When I recently visited Kannur, Karunakaran Uncle told me that EMS was good in Tharkashasthram ie creating a debate out of context and from no-where, winning the debate and reaping the benefits. The vacuum left by EMS is yet to be filled.
At the other end what the congress party (and UDF) does, is to wait for every alternate 5 years to get into power. The UDF and their supporters love to be in power as it's the 'harvest time'. They become cold as soon as they are in opposition and take a break or holiday for 5 years before coming back into power on an anti-incumbency wave. There is nothing much to say about this party which has been slowly degenerating over the years. There were two major factions the Antony and the Karunakaran group. But now it's all the Antony group, which is being led by Mr Oomen Chandy who is probably one of the better Congress leaders. It's good for kerala and specifically Congress party, that Karunakaran group has lost it's stranglehold in the party.

The 100% literate Keralites are very happy to vote either the LDF or the UDF alternately every 5 years, who are not much different from each other. So Keralites literally and figuratively follow the words of de Tocqueville, who said “in a democracy, the people get the government they deserve.”

Three letter acronyms

BBC, ABC, DNA, RNA, ATM, USD, INR, GBP, LCD, TLC etc etc.

What is common in all this?
They are all Three Letter Acronyms(TLA!). So, Why are the three letters so popular? Why can't it be two-letter or four-letter?

Let us take some examples: If we look in Medicine which has a long list of acronyms; 3 letter ones stand out....For eg: CAD(Coronary Artery Disease), TOF( Tetralogy of fallot or Tracheo-esophageal fistula etc) or FSH ( follicle stimulating Hormone) or DNA, RNA etc

In Clinical-Genetics there are a group of disorders called "Trinucleotide repeat disorders" (also known as trinucleotide repeat expansion disorders) caused by trinucleotide repeats (like CAG, CGG etc) in certain genes exceeding the normal, stable, threshold, which differs per gene.

Countries, Cities, Airports all have popular 3 letter acronyms like USA, NYC, JFK, TRV, DBX etc etc. If we look at the names of politicians; its AKG, EMS, PKV etc or political parties---BJP, CPM, CPI, or INC. The list is endless.

Is this because our brain has some sort of inherent tendency to remember and recollect acronyms especially 3-letter acronyms? I looked in Oxford dictionary and also 'Googled' this: In English language, it says, as literacy rates rose, and as advances in science and technology brought with them more complicated terms and concepts, the practice of abbreviating terms became increasingly convenient especially from the mid 20th century. I am not sure whether this trend is also seen in other languages.

Its interesting to think about the Malayalam saying in this context- ഒന്നില്‍ പിഴച്ചാല്‍ മൂന്നു!!!