Indian Coffee house

 · 

The saga of Indian Coffee House ....

Somehow the mallu feels at home in the Indian coffee house .
It has all elements that pleases him
Simplicity
Tasty food
Romanticism with the left
It was in 1936 that the British run coffee board started chain of coffee shops though initially it was for the english later for indians.
This could account for the ornate turban of its white uniformed waiters a memory of the colonial past .
In 1950 s the coffee board decided to wind up its branches .
It was comrade AK.Gopalan the veteran communist stalwart of Kerala who mooted the idea of a workers cooperative taking over the coffee houses and running it .

Thus was born the Indian coffee workers association which started its first branch in Delhi and Banglore in 1957 and 58 .
Now with 400 branches all over India with around 60 in Kerala its known as a meeting place for intellectuals writers and aam admi .

Though not ambient in appearance its simple fare attracts a lot.
The menu too has its specialities like beetroot masala dosa and cutlets which one doesnt find anywhere else .
Maybe devised during potatoe paucity.

They also have other exotic fare not seen in all places like mutton omelette chicken and tomatoe omelette
Thier beetroot cutlets are wellknown too .

In the Trivandrum KSRTC branch which should definitely be in a better location instead of the present unsavoury entrance
i sat amused at a board inviting customers into thier pantry and kitchen .
It is this informality and familiarity of the place and its waiters who sometimes are friends to regulars.
Does that come because the workers are also owners ?

Along with the literacy programme the kudumbhashree the Indian coffeehouse is one of the real achievement of the left in kerala .

Today in Dharmasala near parsinnikadavu adjacent to our stay in KTDC theres a lovely big neat ICH
We had lunch and dinner here
Lunch was just veg biriyani and veg meals with a cutlet each
Dinner was parotta and nei pathiri with tomatoe fry and chicken curry
Just awesome and so economic
Ambience great with AC enclosure
Neat
Xclnt service
Unbelievably cheap prices

neelakurinji

 The neelakurinchi has bloomed in Munnar it does once in 12 years .

This year in lower Eravikulam national park it still isnt a carpet bloom as last months rains washed away a batch i heard .
The Forest dept is doing an excellent job along with tourism dept by clearing the damaged roads
On booking online one can reach the pick up point around 7 km from Munnar town in Rajamala .
After this a forest dept shuttle takes us up as no other vehicles are allowed up.
This is well organised with orderly ques
For 130 Rs to go up and see neelakurinji and Nilgiri thaar its a bargain .

Up in korukumalai or meesamala needing hard trekking the flowers bloom better
It was a breathtaking morning indeed

Mridanga Saileswari temple

we visited an unique small but powerful temple 45 km away from Kannur in the wooded hills of muzhavukunnu the Mridanga Saileswari temple .

It was 11.30 am and bit hot when we reached there.
The green waters of the temple pond was cooling to our eyes .
We entered the temple where renovation work is on .
The inner compound is made of laterite rock with sloping red tiled roof typical of kerala temples.
The brightly polished lamps in hundreds gave a glow to the serene idol looking at her devotees with a benign smile .

We sat for some time absorbing the positive vibrations .

Near the pond in a covered hall there was hot chukku or pepper coffee for all
Even though it was hot as much as the climate it made us cool !and fresh .

We saw pazhasi rajas statue too .

Mridanga Saileswari Temple came to spotlight following a speech by retired DGP Alexander Jacob. His speech went viral over net and whatsapp about the divine power of goddess Mridanga Saileswari and since then folk are flooding towards the temple to seek blessings of Bhagavathi.
Why was that speech so special, that it caught attention of public like a wild fire.
The belief that the idol of Bhagavaty can be never be stolen !!

The idol of 3 feet height is made of Panchaloha, and it costs more than 1.5 crore Indian rupees.
The locals of Muzhakkunnu, Kannur where the temple is situated, believe that the idol can never be stolen.
Even if anyone attempt so, Bhagavathy will bring the idol back to temple. Till a few decades back, there was no security guard in the temple.
Till now three attempts have been made to steal the idol, and it returned to temple very soon or later. It happened in the 1980s when Alexander Jacob was working as the ACP, Thalassery and Commissioner of Police, Kannur and most recently his speech went viral over social networking sites.
When the first attempt was made, thieves manage to reach till Vadakkenada. But they got scared and confused, as weight of the idol started increasing. They also felt dizziness and need to urinate and defecate uncontrollably. By that time, time passed by and at dawn break they had no other option left except to leave the idol.
For the second attempt, the idol was later obtained nearby roadside in Palakkad with a note, “This idol belongs to Muzhakkunnu. Please return it to the temple”.

In the third attempt, Police got back the idol from a lodge at Kalpetta. Police reached there after receiving a message.

Years later, three thieves got caught for some other crime, and they revealed before the police, their three failed attempts to steal the idol. That’s how Alexander Jacob came to know about this.

It was later revealed that the power of ‘prathishta karmam’ and ‘tantric vidhis’ are the major reasons behind this.

Now for special puja days, thousands of devotees arrive at the temple, which is around 500 years old. Celebrations are grand during Navarati festival at Mridanga Saileswari temple.
The presiding deity is Sangeeta Roopani - Mridanga Saileswari

The story of the temple’s origin is related to music. It’s situated in Muzhakkunnu village of Kannur district. Though not correct date known, the temple is more than 500 years old. This temple is believed to be the centre (Aarooda Stanam) of all Porkkali temples of Kerala, and one among the 108 parasurama temples in the world.

Mridanga Saileswaritemple is also one significant as it is one among the 108 Durga Temples.
She also takes the avatars of Kali, Saraswathy and Lakshmi as per beliefs. Before going to battles, kings used to give animal sacrifice (bali) in the den temple situated at the west side of main temple. As the presiding deity is in Porkkali form (Durga going to battle), it was believed that offerings before going to a battle pleases the Goddess. That den temple is not found now, and only its remains found there.
Muzhangiya Kunnu which later came to be known as Mizhavukunnu

Mridanga Saileswari is one among the 108 Durga idols installed by Parasurama. Goddess assumes the avatar of Durga. This goddess is also associated with music. Mridangam is a music instrument used in Devaloka, and also regarded as ‘Mother of Vadya’. Mridanga Shailam is a mountain born in Devaloka (heaven). It’s believed that idol of Mridanga Saileswari appeared (swayambhoo) in the shape of a mridangam and Parasurama installed this divine power here.
There is also one place called ‘Mizhavu Bhagavathy’ in the south side of the temple. It is believed to be the place where Bhagavathy appeared (swayambhoo) in the shape of a mizhavu – a music instrument.
The surrounding hills also reverberate musical rhythm hence called Muzhakunnu
Muzga is reverberating kunnu is hill in malayalam .

There are two more important facts related to this temple.
Kottayam thampuran (we are talking of kotayam of north malabar )was a creative poet
After watching Ramanattam a form of temple dance from kotarrakara kingdom he wanted to create Kathakali and penned its forms with an introductory treastie or prayer to Devi of this temple which is still sung as an invocation hence its famous .

The thampuran was foxed when he did not know the dress form of lady artistes so he meditated in the temple .
In a trance he saw Devi entering from temple pond in a pristine dress which gave the king the idea of the female charachters dress in Kathakali .
Pazhassi Raja or Veerasimhan or kerala varma who fought both the British and Tipu and Hyder bravely has his family temple here and used to pray to Porkali version of Devi here before he went to battle .

Perlassery Sree Muruga temple

Perlassery is a small town 15 km from Kannur on way to Koothuparamba .
Its famously known for its sree Muruga temple .
The temple is reknowned for worshipping Muruga in naga form and mutta opikkal or egg is given as offering .
The eggs are just bought from a counter and placed in a mandap
No snakes there !

There are naga idols in another place .

Temple has the main deity of sree subramanya
Sree Rama in dretga yuga was supposed to have enshrined the idol along with lakshmana on his way to lanka to retrieve sita .

There us also a sastha idol which has a seperate temple within .

The best part of the temple is the lovely deep stepped temple tank an internet sensation known  for its unique architecture and photo opps.

We reached in the morning around 10 am stayed for around 30 minutes .

Puthen palace and Puthen Bungalow temple

Puthen palace and Puthen Bungalow temple in Thripunithura

Thripunithura was the home of the royals who ruled Cochin kingdom ,
Rama Varma II otherwise called Midhuna masathil theepeta thampuran ( As there were succesive Rama Varmas most were known by this addition in thier title which told which month they passed away )who ruled between 1864 and 1888 built the Puthen bungalow as his palace ,
this was well before the Hill palace was built .

The temple adjacent was connected to the palace and had most deities of nearby temples in it .
One of the main deities along with Sree Poornathrayeesa is the Palliyarakaavil Bhagavathy idol similar to the one in the temple in Mattancherry Dutch palace given as a gift by the Dutch colonizers to the Cochin Maharajah ,
It was added here as the Maharajah found it difficult to go to Mattacnherry for praying .

The temple also has kodungaloor Bhagavathy, Thiruvanchikulam Mahadevan . ,Ganapathy , Koodalmanickam Bharatan .etc

The temple is still well preserved unlike the palace because the temple is still in the hands of the royal family .

Unfortunately the Puthen bungalow palace was handed over to the Kerala Government in 1982 and that was like handing over a garland to a monkey !!

Some of the most callous ignorant morons should be inhabiting the offices of the Governments that ruled and are still ruling in Kerala to have such an attitude to our priceless heritage .

The palace was built of the finest of materials imported from Europe and built with taste and style ,
the old timers say it was a glorious and beautiful place ,

initially the Radha lakshmi vilasam college of music or RLV College of music was housed in it and one teacher who taught in those days says it was still a grand old building with lot of ambience but with time and neglect it has now crumbled down, with all its costly artifacts swindled ,and the whole place full of thick weeds and heavy undergrowth 😪

Its now a place of rust and decay and the Governments are solely responsible for this state of affairs and this is one more reason that such heritage sites and temples should not be forcibly taken over by these inefficient people from its rightful owners .

I earnestly hope some one litigates against this and the palace is returned to the owners and with participation of corporate sponsorship and public assistance the palace is rebuilt by experts in conservation .

I would like to acknowledge the photos of the palace taken from online sources and if subject to copyright iam willing to delete if needed ,
the temple photos are my own

60 th milestone

The milestone..i turn 60 today sep 12 th

There are some milestones in your age which are significant
When i became 16 i had only one ache
  to get into a medical college .
I knew it wasnt easy for a fatherless boy not remarkable in his studies .

Actually that hardly counted in karunanidhi ruled Tamilnadu .
Entrance exams were yet to begin and medical admissions were based on whims of those in power .
Your PUC marks mattered but it was the all important interview that did the trick and with a malayalee fathers name of Narayanan nair I was sure to be ticked off the list as those days they would remark
 oh  malayalathaana
 as they  werent  great favourites  with the powers that ruled ,
but serendipity was in my favour as Indira Gandhi then PM kicked out the DMK Govt and presidents rule was brought to Tamilnadu .

Medical admissions would be strictly based on PUC aggregrate with double marks for biology ...read zoology and botany they decided .

With 84 % aggregrate i started smiling though it was a long haul ,with 3 months of doubts studying Bsc zoology in  Presidency college but spending time in the beach and eating Buhari samosas with gals and finally joining Kilpauk medical college.

I would become a doctor after all !

In final year I became love mohan and managed to pass too 😂

The next milestone was in1983 the year i got married .

26 years too was important as I had my first child ,our Shilpa though not perfect I will  still give a star to that year .

Eleven years later at 37 I lost my child
But  had 2 children more ....all by 38 years .

And at 48 years I went abroad for 12 years and now the 60 is appearing fast and furious and Iam back to GOC

I have changed
of course
Have i mellowed ?

Dont think so.

On introspection I feel I have become a bit bitter and grumpy .
Thats what the family feels 😥

Somehow couldnt stand unfairness any time  and my trigger posts have irked many though I had been as sincere as possible .

I love food and learnt to cook and serve and enjoy .

And I love to write though many fear to read my long posts 😁

I hadnt fallen to any isms , though Iam highly politically aware .

I prefer individuals rather than parties and Abdul kalam sir stands only next to Mahatma Gandhiji  to me .
Mother teresa was someone I admired till I wondered about agendas behind ,even then she was a great soul .

E .Sreedharan.kurien.Alponse kanamthaanam Krishna iyer are all my idols .

I love good actors like kamalahassan .mohanlal.
mamooty.sivaji ganesan .rajesh khanna .Amitabh bhachan
Rekha asha parekh .

To singers Iam partial
 I love them all
of course lataji asha ji rafi saab dasettan jayachandran p susheela vani jairam s janaki

Rehman ilayaraja laxmikant pyarelal viswanathan ramamoorthy Salida
Onv kurup sir vayalar sir kannadasan sir

Even Arundhati roy and Sashi tharoor I like  for thier talents though not thier politics .

I admire many of my coleagues who have achieved so much in health

My mentors are VPG sir ,
Ahmed ali sir ,Alizadeh hussain my hematologist friend ,Amar lal and pawan kumar ,and masood ,nazish Aurangazeb my seniors and my  coleagues.

I was grateful to study under Rajagopal sir to work with coleagues learn a lot to get friends from several nationalities .

My children have turned good on thier own ,which is a grace of God and my 59 th year was another milestone in celebrating my daughters wedding and getting another son our Achyuth .

So all in all not bad  .

Future unknown .

In south india they celebrate 60 th birthday as sastithapoorthi they call it 60 aam kalyanam that means 60 th wedding 😁

For sure I was looking ahead to 59 more weddings but not when i heard it cant be with  different wives 😂

And so 60 is coming

There are advantages

As senior citizen I get some perks...

 lower berths in trains ,concessions in flights ,maybe shorter ques , maybe an youngster will give me his seat in a bus , and I will be forgiven for upstart thoughts in FB and debates as after all they may think ..
Poor  old man let him talk !!

I may be excused if I fart in public with just a guffaw 😂

 But I dont feel old at all and still want to  be a back bencher ,laugh with friends, hitting backs ,do dubsmash ,get high on cocktails , and watch porn ...oops !

Now iam being confessional

Confession isnt a good word these days can never be sure of our backs with section 377 diluted by those horrible sorry  honble judges .

I may get an enlarged prostate as a bonus or a stroke and grin loppishly

Well not worth much then .

Again dont know how long I will last if I stretch maximum it cant be more than 40 years ,since our DNA never lasted so long .

And I wouldnt want that long too which wud just be kiddy care by me ,later home care for me !!

I wud love to go with a bang listening to my sruthi singing me a lullaby .

my Shyam wishing me ....have fun acha or dad wherever u r going

 and wife tellng me ..... so long till we meet again !!

Omg

Kailas tribulations

A trip to mount kailas is a mix of NCC camps when one is woken at predawn to ready the  duffel bags with your head torch .

Use toilet available ,in places luxurious with warm closet covers, in others hole in the ground ,or cold mountain sides in still others ,neat but indian toilets

Bathing after reaching Tibet was only where hot water existed ,which was not in all places.

Food wasnt bad at all with excellent caterers from Rajasthan and mallu crowd were happy to tuck in kanji or porridge , to me rice with rasam was a better option
At some places like Drachen shopping was a great pastime so it was in keywrung where even beuaty parlours and bars were open but in Manasarovar on the banks of the lapping blue lake it was nature with its golden swans to keep us immersed and the etheral mount kailas standing in solitary serenity.

Kailas parikrama or circumambulation

Whats it that makes one complete the circumambulation of the most sacred mount Kailas ?
Its 52 km over rugged plains ,steep stoned elevations ,up mountains to reach Dolma pass ,approximately 18600 ft ASL .

Jets fly in those altitudes upto 30000 ft and we are in pressurised cabins in them , but here exposed to the elements , the harsh winds ,the biting cold ,the icy glaciers ,the huge stones, the thin air ,where every movement is an effort .

Even horses used for climbing up to the pass are at a 45 degree incline and falling down was not at all uncommon.

Though I wasnt man enough to go after day one in Dera pukh where we halted a cold breathless night in a lodge ,with the majesty of the north face of Mount Kailas looming at us deceptively close ,but far enough for a steep walk to reach its foot .

But my wife premila was determined to do it ,not as a challenge ,but as a surrender to the supreme .

76 year old jayachechi of our group did it, all by walk which was a stunning feat of total faith .

12 year old Ivan ,and 82 yr old Clara chechi too completed it .

They are superhumans .

So are the other 36 of the 52 who completed the parikrama .

Our swamiji did it again the 18th time !

His feat is not only that ,but having taken so many yatris to holy kailas over the years safely .

We are indebted to him for this .

After reaching Dolma pass one needs to climb down steeply on foot as horseback would be perilious .
 One would see the crystal clear Gowrikund lake from the pass where Godess Parvati was said to have had her bath gaurded bu son Ganesha .

After about 4 hrs one could go in horse back till second day night to rest in Zuthulpukh .

The third day was an easy trek back to Drachen but to me after day one its all hearsay .

Kailas parikrama is not anything physical though physical fitness helps a lot .

Its the mental trust ,faith ,determination and something beyond description .

Hindu philosophy says every human being does things when his destiny is ripe for him to do it .

I think its just that too.

Your time has to come

Like in the famous malayalam film actor Sreenivasan  tells his friend Mohanlal
Everything has its time Daasa

(Daasa oraninnum adhindaathaya samayam undu monne )

Everything has its time.

The people who completed parikrama had it in thier time they would complete it .

Thats the Hindu belief in karma not fatality or belief in futility .

Its exotic ,a truth difficult to accept for the west where hard work achieves anything .

Of course hard work and determination are essential for this magic to work too.

The magic of maya
The ultimate trek
The Parikrama of Mount Kailas

60 th birthday tributes

From wife
A man whom I have been with almost my entire life (met him when I was sweet sixteen 💃 ) is turning sixty today !!! We have been lucky to have had a fulfilling life with a satisfying career , great friends and relatives and above all to have had the most loving parents siblings and children and I thank the Almighty for all that he has given us abundantly till date and pray it stays like this forever !!! I also hope we both stop our silly fights and behave more mature ( remember our children asking us when we are arguing to grow up and stop behaving like kids 😄 ) especially now as you turn senior citizen today So no more kids play my mighty senior 😜 Happy birthday mate🎂


From my son Shyam and daughter Sruthi

A letter to my father on his 60th Birthday :-

Hi Acha,

It has been 60 years in your tortuous, but satisfying journey of life. You have achieved so much professionally and personally in this time. Life has not been a piece of cake for you, but that has not deterred you : Whether it was the loss of a father at the age of 12 ; having a mentally handicapped first child( Shilpa chechi) early in your married life ; or losing her at a young age. But it was these hardships that shaped your trajectory, by working hard in school to get into a medical college , or if it was starting a school for the mentally handicapped with amma. Life has thrown at you the toughest bouncers, but you knocked it out of the park in Dhoni style everytime.

For that we will always respect you

As a parent you have provided everything that as children chechi and I can ask for. Whether it is the best education possible in the best schools, or building our overall personality with different training classes be it in dancing, singing or football. You had even managed to keep us alive in the one year amma had gone to Hyderabad for a diploma course (although that was the year I was my naughtiest ). The time you spent in Dubai and Brunei working hard, living alone in a foreign country so that we can have a good education and standard of living. These are all just examples of sacrifices you and amma have made to ensure we have a comfortable life. I can never forget those days in my childhood, when at night I used to crave for jalebis, and you used to go out on your scooter and get me hot jalebis from a far away shop that closes late. For all these unconditional sacrifices you made and continue to make for us, sacrifices we can never comprehend.

For that we will always love you.

As a person you are the wittiest and fun loving person that I know of. Be it in your uncanny ability to make any situation humorous, allowing us to keep smiling. The voracious reading that you do(or maybe used to do) , has had an effect on us intellectually, be it the monthly national geographic and readers digest magazines that you used to make us read, or the myriad of books that we had at home. Your love for Kishore Kumar and AR Rahman songs has reciprocated in my taste in music , with my friends shocked at my perfect knowledge of the lyrics of old hindi songs. The biannual trips to various tourist destinations in India will always be in my memory. All these memories you have given us, and the skills you have inculcated in us:-

For that we will always be indebted to you.

Now it is your 60th birthday, where the central government classifies you a "senior citizen". The stereotypical senior citizen sits on his reclining chair with a hot chai and a grumpy look on his face. But my father is no stereotypical person. So go on enjoy this phase of your life - travel , read, write and have a few drinks. For you have had enough of a tough life full of responsibilities . It is time now for you to sit on a reclining chair on the beaches of Goa, enjoying the sun , while we as your children try to give back at least 10% of how much you have done for us.

The only difference is that I won't be bringing hot jalebis for you, but rather a cold glass of Malibu rum  , because as Ernest Hemingway once said:- " the only regret in my life was that I did not drink enough wine" .   😜😜😜

A happy birthday to you Acha.  😁

Your loving children
Shyam and Sruthi