Peruvanam Mahadeva shetram

 

Peruvanam Maha Shiva shetram 

Went  5 mths back 

Located near Thrissur ,from NH one turns to right .

On the way we saw the legendary drummer Padmashree Peruvanam Appu Maraar ,he was in his scooter shirtless.

Peruvanam Shiva temple

By Sri Ganapathi Iyer

( I am reproducing a remarkable and very informative account Of Peruvanam Shiva temple as found in 

 My acknowledgements to that web site. P.R.Ramachander)

The Peruvanam temple is at Cherpu comprised in Oorakam village of Thrissur taluk in Thrissur District. It is located about 10km south of Thrissur town on the Thriprayar route, near Thayamkulangara bus stop, at a distance of 100 meters south.

Temple Layout, Structure and Architecture

The temple stands on a sprawling 7 acre ground surrounded by a tall and hefty compound wall. 

The mathilakam (the bounding enclosure) is very extensive and has two dvarasalas, at west and east, the latter in ruins. 

Some 10-15 Aswatha trees punctuate the temple grounds with their wide spreading canopies.

As one enters the western dvarasala, the make-shift Koothambalam on an old foundation is seen in front of the Naalambalam. 

There are two Balikkals (of 2 mt height) in front of the naalambalam coinciding with the axis of the two shrikovils, that of Eratttayappan on the north and that of Maadathilappan on the south. Of these the Erattayappan shrine is raised on a circular base (14.33 mt diameter). It is an ekatala vimana built on a granite adhishtana. 

The superstructure (bhithi) is made of laterite blocks, duly plastered and decorated with Kudya stambhas, niches etc. A recessed mukhamandapa exists, at the top of the flight of steps in the Sopana, with a free-standing pillar facade and shrine door proper at the rear wall. The Sopana is having lateral steps meeting at a common landing, screened by a carved phalaka in front of the western entrance to the Shrikovil.

There are two dvarapalakas on either side of the Shrikovil entry, standing on the coils of a snake. One of the legs entwines the club and the other rests on the hood of the snake. The coil of the snake in turn is placed on a lotus seat. The garbha-grha is square in shape enclosed by the circular shrikovil. Two rows of pillars - the inner row having twelve and the outer row sixteen - have been arranged around the square sanctum. The idol consists of two lingas, contributing to the concept of Erattayappan, the lord in the double, signifying Ardhanareeswara to some and Shankaranarayana to others. The pratishta is also considered as that of Shiva in the role of Thripuradahanan as per some early references.

There are three functional openings and a ghanadvara (dummy door) in the circular ground plan. Apart from the Shrikovil entry on the west, those in the south and east accommodate Dakshinamoorthy and Parvathy respectively. The ghanadvara is on the north, just above the pranala, which is supported on a bhuta-gana figure in the pose of drinking lustral water from a bowl.

There is a spacious namaskara mandapa in front of the circular Shrikovil, built on a square plan. As in all traditional swastika mandapas, there are twelve pillars along the periphery with four numbers larger ornamented pillars inside the mandapa. Its pyramidal roof, like the conical roof of the main shrine, is covered with copper sheets. Beautiful wood carvings adorn the mandapa ceiling as well as the pillars.

The southern side of the shrikovil has Kiratham katha engraved in wood, starting from Parvathi's shrine. Another woodwork which is worth mentioning is that of Garuda swallowing Jeemoothavahana and that of Dakshinamoorthy.

To the south of the Erattayappan shrine is the Maadathilappan shrine, facing west. 

It is a tri-tala-vimana (one of the earliest in Kerala, the others being the ruined one at Uliyannur and the one at Parambu Tali)

 built on a high podium and approached by long flight of steps. Two lateral flights of nine steps (one each in the north and south direction) meet at a common mid landing from where ascends the middle flight of fifteen steps in an easterly direction towards the shrikovil. The ground tala (floor) constitutes the plinth with the shrine on the upper tala (first floor). The ground as well as the upper tala are plastered over with pilasters and panjaras. Wall decorations include ghanadvaras in the centre, kudyastambhas (ornamental pilasters) and false niches with panjaras. Pilasters are tetragonal in the lower half and octogonal in the upper with potikas or bevelled projections on top. The pranala at the first floor level is a plain one without any ornamentation and issues out on the northern side.

Axially, the plan of the first tala consists of a square shrine integrated with a narrow, pillared mukhamandapa in front. The garbha-grha, which is circular inside has a domical roof. Above the first story of the shrikovil, rise in succession the dvitala and tri-tala parts of the vimana. But for the octagonal shikhara with copper roofing, all the floors are made of tiles; in the upper talas, wood has been used profusely with shukanasa projections. There is no namaskara mandapa in front of the maadathilappan shrine. A small Nandi is seen placed on the midlanding.

These two main shrines apart, there exists a flat roofed stone vault like structure, in between the shrine of Erattayappan and Maadathilappan, comparable to the Ganapathy shrine of the Vadakkunnathan temple complex; it used to serve as the treasure chest of the temple, according to local people. The temple complex is surrounded by a nalambalam which houses the shrines of Raktesvari and Manikantan in the north, Ganapathy and Pooru Maharshi both facing east on the north-west and south-west portions of the Valiambalam. There is a separate shrine of Vishnu on the northern side of the naalambalam

Traditions

According to legends, of the 64 gramams which Parasurama created, Peruvanam remained the greatest for centuries.

 Four Shasthas - Akamala in North (beyond Wadakkancherry), Kutiran in East (midway between Thrissur and Palakkad), Edathuruthy in the West (2 kms east of Edamuttom Junction in Kodungallur-Thrprayar route) and Uzhathu Kavu in south (near Kodungallur) guarded the boundaries of its domain, roughly that part of central Kerala between Bharathapuzha in the north and Periyar in the south.

In a Brahmanippattu current in the locality, Peruvanathappan (Lord of Peruvanam) is described as the annihilator of the Thripuras. In a shloka attributed to Vilvamangalathu swamiyar, the pratishta is supposed to be of Ardhanareeswara.

"ardhanareeswaram devam poorunancha pratishtitham mateswaram mahadevam parvatheencha ganeswaram"

Certain others claim that the two swayambhulingas reperesent Shankara and Narayana, a pointer to the amalgamation of Shaivism and Vaishnavism. Like in the Vadakkunnatha temple here also a certain order is followed in worshipping the deities (pradakshina krama), which is Erattayappan, Shri Parvathy, Dakshinamoorthy, Erattayappan, Maadathilappan, Pooru maharshi, Ganapathy and Erattayappan.

Historicity

Peruvanam does have some historic references. Peruvanam Kottam, the abode of the Lord of Peruvanam, figures along with nearby Oorakam in the Thrkkakkara inscription of Ko Indu Kothai Varman (No. 37, TAS - Vol III, Part II, p 173) of tenth century A.D.

The earliest historical reference to Peruvanam occurs in A.D. 583 ("Ayathu Shivalokam Nah" - kalivakyam denoting the starting of Peruvanam pooram as per Peruvanam Granthavari) which is also the first record of the oldest pooram festival. 108 temples coming under the Peruvanam Kshetra sanketham, which extended from Bharathapuzha in the north to Periyar in the south, used to assemble at Arattupuzha Shastha temple which was the venue of the gala pooram gathering. This was known as Peruvanam pooram or Peruvanam Pallivetta. Due to the detachment of the various temple participants later for various reasons, the pooram festival faltered some five hundred years back.

 Later, the now famous Thrissur pooram was started by Shakthan Thampuran of Cochin, in eighteenth century overshadowing the Peruvanam pooram which is now a tame affair comprising of only 23 temples.

The temple administration was vested in local Namboodiri chieftains with an elected Yogiyathiri from among them who had his Avarodha as the representative of the Lord in the presence of the ruler of the state (Cochin). 

The King of Cochin had only nominal control over the temple. One pooja in a day used to be conducted by the Yogiyathiri himself. The general administration were looked after by a council of 21 brahmins of Peruvanam village and 21 brahmins from 21 other villages. Administration of the temple affairs under a Yogiyathiri was the order in the nearby Vadakkunnathan temple also.

The temple suffered extensive damage during the invasions of Tippu Sultan.

 For about 6 years from AD 1756, the temple property came under the overlordship of the zamorin of Calicut when he annexed these lands from Cochin. The Zamorin's representative renovated the Maadathilappan shrine as per an inscription seen on its basement. The Cochin ruler defeated Zamorin later with the help of the King of Travancore and consequently Travancore King got some control (of Uchcha pooja) over the administration of the temple. Later due to prolonged disputes with Cochin, Travancore state renounced its rights. 

The temple is controlled at present by the Cochin Devaswom Board.

Rituals and Festivals

Five poojas constitute the daily ritual in this mahakshetra. Special poojas such as Navakom, Niraputhari, Vishukkani, Pradosha pooja etc. were being conducted in the by-gone days. Vaaram (veda parayana) and Oottu (meals) were a regularily feature. The temple had lands yielding 4 lakh paras of paddy annually and a 29 day festival used to be celebrated with its culminating Arat in Arattupuzha - the mother of all poorams, with an array of about 108 caparisoned elephants carrying Bhagavathies and Shasthas of all the temples falling within the extensive Peruvanam gramom of yore. Ardra asterism in Dhanu and Shivarathri in Kumbham are the other important days in this temple. The tantries of the temple are Kunnathur Patinjaredathu Bhattathiri and Kizhakkedathu.

Highlights

The maadathilappan shrine is one of the most outstanding temple structures of Kerala. This type of tri-tala-vimana is known as Meru Mandhara Prasaada which uses the whole bhumi of the ground floor for plinth and placing the shrine proper in the upper bhumi or second tala. The octogonal griva and the shikhara resting on it with beautiful shukanasas on all the eight sides constitutes the most ornate and unique pinnacle found in Kerala temple vimanas.

The temple is also monumental by the presence of exquisite pieces of plastic arts. The bracket figures associated with each tala of the temple are examples of fine artistic tradition. These elegantly executed pieces represent various deities in interesting iconographic forms. Scenes from Kiratarjuneeyam form the core material for the figures around the Erattayappan shrine. On the three sides of the sanctum of Maadathilappan, above the ghanadvara portion, the upper tala displays wooden images of Shiva and Parvathy on the south side, Brahma on the east and Vishnu on Anantha on the north side.

The temple had been one of the sheet anchors for the growth of performing arts. In the old days, Koothu was one of the religious offerings to God with the involvement of the presiding lord in every aspect of the pantomime; right from the lighting of the lamp in Kootharangu aniyara with the lamp provided from within the shrikovil, blessing the dress etc. and even reserving one seat for the lord or his representative (Moothathu) in the Koothambalam.

Forty one days' Koothu from Karkitaka sankramam (mid July) was the routine. Manthrankom koothu was traditionally played at Peruvanam. Two chakyar families Mekkattu and Kuttancherri had the right of conducting koothu at Peruvanam temple. Later Mani chakyar family of Kolathunadu got this right after repeated dissents from a section of the Uraymas. Subsequently the earlier sthani families became extinct and Mani chakyar family is now the sole sthani.

________________________________________

History of the Temple

Legend has it that the Saint Parashurama established 64 Gramams or sections after reclaiming Keralam from sea and Peruvanam Gramam is the 1st and most important among them. It is said that the temple was created by ‘Pooru Maharshi’, the son of the Hasthinapura King Yayathy after propitiating the Load Shiva with rigorous penance and the name of the place derived from the word “POORU VANAM”. Further it is believed that while transporting a beautiful, big Shivalinga received from a lake near Badarinath to this place, it happened to stuck in the branch of a tree and the present Madathilappan Temple has been constructed at this place. Shiva in dual linga form is the main feature of the temple and Lord is called “IRATTAYAPPAN” which denote the duality. The Sricovil of Madathilappan is considered to be the tallest Sricovil in South India. Four Sastha temples at Akmala, Kuthiran, Edathiruthy and Oozath are located on the boundaries of Peruvanam Gramam and Thiruvullakkavu Sastha Temple is located at the centre of the Gramam. Irattayappan is the ‘Gramadhipathi’ and Thiruvullakkavu Sastha is considered the ‘Gramaraskhakan’.

Now the temple is under the joint administration of Cochin Devaswom Board and Travancore Devaswom Board. There is a vast area of land and an office called ‘Cherikalam’ are existed near the south ‘Gopuram’ of this temple. It is important and rare that the Maharaja of Travancore had interest in this temple and therefore, the expenses for ‘Utcha Pooja’, ‘Prodhosha Nivedhyam’, ‘Nira Puthiri’, ‘Koothu’ are borne by him. It still continues.

Darshana Kramam

There are two approaches to the inner courtyard (Chuttampalam) of the Peruvanam temple, from the west and east sides. The main entrance is from the east.

As you enter from the east you are facing Sreeparvathy, the Goddess who is the consort of Irattayappan. You may start the Darshanam there, but, have to come back later. There you are in front of a large circular sanctum sanctorum (Sreekovil) of Irattayappan facing west. It is the custom to start the worship with Irattayappan.

Next, you go behind in an anticlockwise direction (Apradakshinam ) and pray to Sreeparvathy facing east. There is a taboo all over Kerala in crossing the imaginary ray (Soma Rekha) emanating from Siva and going north. Hence, one does not make a complete perambulation in the inner courtyard of Siva temples.

Most devotees at the Peruvanam temple go round the Bilva tree to the north and return clockwise to the south side where there is a shrine of Ganapathy and Dakshinamoorthy. You, then, go back to the west and worship Irattayappan once again.

There is an independent, large, Sreekovil of another Siva, the Matatthilappan, on the south. It is a three storeyed structure and you reach the shrine of Matatthilappan after ascending a flight of over twenty steps. You will find a huge Sivalinga at the back of a large Mukhamandapam (hall). It is believed that the Sivalingam worshipped by sage Puru for long years is beneath that.

The sage, himself, has been enshrined to the south west corner of the inner courtyard (Chuttampalam). After getting down the stairs of Matatthilappan you pay obeisance to the sage.

If you keep to the western border of the courtyard and walk to the north you reach the shrine of another Ganapathy, with his trunk twisted right. You pray to him for the ultimate goal in human life, for salvation and turn to the north side. There you get to the front of the last of the shrines inside the inner courtyard. Two deities are housed there, Raktheswary and Manikantha. The former is a form of Bhadrakali and the latter a form of Lord Siva.

You must worship Irattayappan once again before coming out of the inner courtyard, through the same entrance you got in. There is a shrine, of Gosalakrishna, outside the main structure (Chuttampalam) of Irattayappan on the north side. This is Lord Krishna in the company of his dear cattle. You go in a clockwise fashion to worship Him. That ends the Darshana Kramam at the Peruvanam temple.

There is a verse (Sloka) describing this order of worship, as follows:

“Poorvan Pooruvane janais savinayam dwithwaasrayas sankaro

Vandyah, caatha gireendrajaa, punaratas sanyaasayogee kramaal

Yugmesasca, mahalayoparivasan maateswaro anantaram

Yogeendrasca, gajaananah, punarato yugmeswarasca kramaal.”

Meaning:

First, at Peruvanam, Siva in dual form is to be worshipped humbly by the devotees.

Then, Sreeparvathy and then the Lord in meditation (to be worshipped).

Then, Ganapathy and then the Lord occupying a high abode (to be worshipped).

Next the sage, Ganapathy and finally Irattayappan (are to be worshipped)

We note here that the order of Ganapathy and Dakshinamoorthy is reversed and praying to Irattayappan after this is omitted. The omission of Raktheswary, Manikanthan and Gosalakrishnan must be as they have been enshrined in a later period.

Peking duck

The Peking Duck is a signature dish of China from the 15th century on wards .

Its fattened skinned eviscerated and inside cleaned duck cleaned in boiling water and coated with maltose syrup and other sauces and hung in refrigerator for 24 hours and later steamed in closed or open oven as per the tradition of the restaurant .

It was famous during the Ming and the Quing dynasty as an imperial food for banquets

When we were in Beijing our lady guide who was with us for the 3 days told us she will take us to an authentic place near the forbidden palace unlike the usual touristy hotels a bit pricey but worth it

The roast duck has pink or purple crusted skin,its carved into pieces in the table and eaten rolled in a pancake like cover with carrot spring onion radish etc dipped in sauce

some pictures are from online can be removed if objected

 

Distortion of Onam

Its become a pattern in Kerala to distort Hindu mythology and scriptures .

Hinduism is made to appear as a religion of superstition ,orthodoxy,divisiveness, gender restrictive and discriminating by caste .

Concerted studied efforts to belittle its thoughts and messages to make it appear as a pagan religion believed by men and women teeming with class differences and orthodoxy is becoming a habit .

Some are aware its but the opposite in its inner message but the idea is to create an impression itsnt so

Its probably beneath its surface sheen of rituals and customs temple worshiping and pilgrims one of the most broad minded theological concepts delving the most deepest in philosophy psychology logic and most accepting and all encompassing thought process in religions but without the habit of proclaiming it like others do

Amongst the many recent attacks on its beliefs is on the Onam festival in Kerala

Onam has been a celebration whose origin is based on Hindu scriptures though its accepted by all Keralites as a harvest festival

The story of Mahabali the wise and just king who ruled it is given moksha or salvation by the supreme for his devotion and fairness in life though through a ruse to control his ego

Designed distortion ts to make this an example of casteist dominance that existed in ancient Hinduism by the story of a cunning Brahmain Vamana cheat a lower caste Asura ruler ie Mahabali

Vamana is accused of cheating Mahabali the benevolent Sudra king and stamp him to oblivion !! and is made to appear of the habit in the dark casteist Hindu past

This year a nun from Kerala had made these remarks in social media and later made an apology once she knew many were angry and some could take legal action on her

A MP and a state minister too made the same kind of remarks in social media ,such posts evoke lot of support from progressive liberals of the pseudo secular mould and the evangelist forces in the state whose agenda is to divide the people by distorting their beliefs and inducing doubts on them

when one delves a bit deeper one comes to know Mahabali actually was a king and from the Asura clan ie in the puranas they were demons but nowhere does it tell they were lower castes who had fought Indra and Devas in a war after the search for the divine nectar Amrutha was taken by the Devas ,

He conquered Devas and ruled their lands

On the plea of the Devas lord vishnu took birth as a child to kashyapa and Aditi and grew up as a brahmin boy ,

Vishnu agreed to this as he knew Mahabali who was the great grandchild of Hiranyakashpu and the grandson of prahalada and was a just king but needed to quell his ego to reach nirvana the ultimate destination of any realized Hindu free of any more births

in the concept of Karma any remaining sin or vasana like the ego prevents a soul from attaining nirvana or moksha and needs further births and sufferings to destroy it ,

Vishnu wants Mahabali to negate the small ego by a ruse so he is given moksha in that birth itself

so he visits Mahabali during a sacrifice and as

ks for alms as a Brahmin is bound to do so in sacrifices as was the custom those days

Mahabali asks the Brahmin what he wants

Vamana replies that all he wants is three steps of earth

Mahabali immediately agrees though warned by Sukracharya his Guru who had realized that Vishnu was Vamana .

but Mahabali says hes blessed that the great lord himself had come to grant him eternity

Having heard him reciting the Vedas, the bestower of the wanted things (Bali) said to the Dwarf in spite of being obstructed by Sukra (the preceptor of demons), "Whatever (you) desire I shall give (you)". The dwarf asked Bali, "Get (me) three [footsteps] of spaces for the sake of the preceptor. (Bali) said to him, "I shall give (you)". When the water was poured on the hand the Dwarf became a Giant (and) measured the worlds of Bhuh, Bhuvah, and Svar [ground, sky, and Heaven] with the three strides and (sent) Bali to Sutala (a nether world) and (then) Hari (Visnu) gave the worlds to Sakra (Indra). Sakra (Indra) praised Hari (Visnu) along with the celestials (and) remained happy as ruler of the world.

— Agni Purana (unabridged), translated by J.L. Shastri, G.P. Bhatt, and N. Gangadharan (1998), Chapter 4, Verses 5-11

By the first step vamana covers all of earth and by second the skies and all other world as he has grown into a giant

now the question is why did Vamana use a devious method ?

did he cheat Mahabali ?

scriptures are never taken literally but interpreted in many ways .

After taking earth and heaven in two giant steps as part of three foot of land to him by Mahabali the king Vishnu looked at Mahabali in askance for his third foot promised to him .

Mahabali realized God was in front of him .

It was Mahabali who bowed down and offered his head for the lord to place his foot on .

Then he said to Bali: "O lord of Asuras, there is no place for the third step. Where shall I place the third step? Give me the ground." Laughingly Bali said with palms joined in reverence. He was accompanied by his wife.

The entire universe has been created by you, O lord of Devas. I am not a creator. Due to your fault it has become too small, O lord of cosmic identity. Still I have never uttered a lie, nor will I ever utter a lie proving me to be a man of truthful statement. Step on my back

— Brahma Purana (unknown translator, 1955), Gautami-Mahatmya, Chapter 4, Verses 48-52

By this he surrendered in every way with any bit of ego he had and attained Moksha or eternal freedom or nirvana .

The three foots themselves are not taken literally by the learned as in every scripture in Hinduism there are many interpretations literal and abstract for every thought and saying

The three worlds are The organ of speech is this world (the earth), the mind is the sky, and the vital force is that world (heaven).

These are the three Vedas. The organ of speech is the Rig-Veda, the mind is the Yajur-Veda, and the vital force the Sama-Veda.

These are the gods, the Manes and men. The organ of speech is the gods, the mind the Manes, and the vital force men.

These are the father, mother and child. The mind is the father, the organ of speech the mother, and the vital force the child.

— Brihadaranyaka Upanishad with commentary of Shankaracharya (translated by Swami Madhavananda, 1934), Section 5, Verses 4-7[74]

Again the three foots covering earth sky and all worlds is not literal but symbolic of other hidden meanings to instill goodness in the living

He was said to be banished to Sutala and its believed he was allowed to come once in a year to see his subjects and that is Onam

Mahabali was not stamped forcibly as made out by some .

Its again a message to tell us to forego our ego and surrender to the almighty

not the idiotic caste story created to divide people by castes .

Castes came by professions initially but perpetuated and much maligned by humans by exploitation and discrimination and today by politicians to keep us divided

The almighty is beyond castes

In his cosmic creation humans and their idiocies are insignificant

its time those who use their own interpretation on other s beliefs to ponder well and do some search before they do so

again the fact that these worthies never dare do the same with the other religious beliefs as it doesn't fit in their agenda of dividing Hindus and ridiculing their traditions and heritage by shallow distortions .

Hinduism has never relied on militant imposition and violent replies to those who malign it but have done it over the ages by debate and education and correcting misinterpretations

but in these cases the motive is not realizing the truth it is the squelching of truth for achieving destruction of the ideals of a religion in a systematic manner

Hence this post is not to convince the perpetrators of such rumors but to convince those who are fair about the unfairness of such agendas .

 

Tibet autonomous Region

 The Tibet Autonomic region or TAR is part of Peoples Republic of China .

In reality China usurped Tibet from Tibetians who had ruled the Himalayan nation from the Potala in Lhasa ruled by the holy Highness Dalai Lama .

He had to escape to India and settled down to run a Govt in exile at Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh India .

The 1962 Chinese agression in Arunachal Pradesh was said to be because of an angry China to Nehrujis giving Dalai lama refuge .

It had plans to keep the spiritual head in its custody to quell Tibetian nationalism .

For years democratic fights raged and China used an iron hand to supress it .

It also created an alternate figure head for the Dalai lama the Panchen lama .

Slowly and steadily it made Tibet an imitation China with broad roads ,a railway line from Beijing to Lhasa ,dams, buildings and towns .

People got jobs , money ,monasteries were opened up .

Slowly they accepted the inevitable .

TAR has became a reality

Younger gen are fully for Tibet getting more modernity like in other parts of China .

Even his holiness the Dalai Lama in 2017 did not talk of freedom for Tibet but for greater development being part of China !

Where does that leave India ?

By giving refuge to Dalai lama it got eternal anger from China which invaded us in 1962 giving a shock to pandit Nehrus Indi chini bai bai slogan

China still keeps knocking our borders over the years in Nathulla pass in Dhoklam and now recently in Ladakh .

We only earned displeasure from a powerful neighbour and helped Pakistan get a strong ally in the process .

Dharamshala too is more Tibetian than Indian !

We also liberated Bangla desh ,earned eternal revenge from an already angered Pakistan

strangely Bangla desh itself is not a close friend to India now .

Nor is Nepal one .

Sri lanka after our IPKF adventure is wary of India so is Maldives after our forces landed in Mali in thier presidential struggles .

In SAARC nations that leaves only Bhutan which is not angry with India .

What does that tell us ?

Be selfish

Dont interfere in other countries but just safegaurd our nation .

Retrospective looking into history can bring such notions ,yes , and we never know the compulsions on those times

We also never took advantage in our efforts like post Bangla desh freedom we had 1 lakh Pak POWS with us and Bhutto was ready to eat out of Ms indira Gandhis hands but we just gave them away with no benifits to us in Simla accord and Pakistan continues its regular harassement of India and needles us with terrorist incursions .

We could have got back full Kashmir in post bangla desh war .

The picture shows me in Keyrung customs building between Nepal and China in Tibet and one entry point to Kailas pilgrimage .

I had also been to Arunachal pradesh and Nathulla pass and to mainland China and to Dharamsala though Dalai lama was not around then .

Ladakh and Lhasa are waiting !

9Girish Kartha, H. Shahana Shahjahan and 7 others

Jaishalmer

 Though i had seen many parts of India i haven't been to Gujarat ,Rajasthan and madhya pradesh and interiors of Maharashtra

After our three days in Ahmadabad which we enjoyed we were off to Rajasthan

We planned three days in Jaishalmer ,two in jodphur and two more in Udaipur ,we had a day free which we would go to Mount Abu .

as you can see from the map Ahmadabad was south of Jaisalmer which was near the Pakistani border almost ,it was around 536 km away and we went by an overnight train .

We had a booking in Mahindra resorts in Jaisalmer which we found was nowhere near the town on our inquiry ,we knew checking in there and coming back for sight seeing would be a costly affair as we would needed to depend on resort cabs which are generally priced more .

So we did some online search and found a

father son duo running a family enterprise established in 1987 named Adventure travel agency .

Their office is near Jaisalmer fort first gate .

They are ranked no one in Trip advisor and recognized by Dept of tourism Rajasthan .

Fathers name is Indar ujjwal and sons name Vikram ujjwal .

Phone no 00912992252558

info@adventurecamels.com

Website ..www.adventurecamels.com

We explained our plans and asked him to advise best way to see jaisalmer in 3 days ,Inder told us the main sight seeing was around fort very close to the Railway station ,it had inside several houses and havelis and then here was a lake ,then the most important sight would be a trip into desert ,he told us his jeep will pick us take us to his office near fort where we keep luggage see the fort have our lunch and his jeep would drop us in resort after seeing lake and the next day by evening his jeep would take us to a desert safari in a desert camp he owned and return by night and a price was fixed it all went like clock work

The fort itself was in an altitude with very narrow streets huge havelis or heritage houses and ornamental balconies the kings palace which was huge and gave a wonderful view fro top reached by a lift ,there were lot of jain temples inside too ,after coming from fort we went to a very famous hotel for our lunch and then were driven to the resort after seeing Jaisalmer lake

next day we went to the

The deserts of Rejisthan .

The diversity thats India is waiting to be explored .

Off the distant outpost a 100 km from Pakistan border and near Pokhran where our atom bombs burst ,with freezing winters, fuming summers ,amazing sunsets,and shrub ridden sand dunes .

The desert safari is a very common outing from Jaishalmer .

once famously known for its being in the silk route but once Pakistan was formed the border effectively cut off the land route .

It became just a lonely desert outpost .

the jeep and driver Devi singh recounted us with tales we went around 50 km away through a self contained village with its own school and electric connection ,Rajasthan was not at all a backward state but a reasonably prosperous state culturally and artistically inclined hospitable people

Devi sing took us till we reached the camp from where we climbed into a camel each ,we were told the names of the camels were Al

pacino and mackennas gold ! it was a happy ride in the evening into the sand dunes through the shrubs and we waited in the sands to watch the sunset ,after getting back into the camp we sat around a fire to listen to folk music and dance eating rich Rajasthani food ,we too took part in the dancing ,we were then dropped back into our resort

Later they allow you to ride a camel each for one hour into sand dunes to watch desert sunset .

They drive you back to resort, for music dance ,drinks if one wants ,and return you to your hotel .

Every single thing they promised they delivered .

Private exclusive tour

Excellent drivers and camels

Sunset in real dunes far into desert

Delicious veg food

Music dance to a small crowd

Drop back

We were picked up in jaisalmer station in afternoon on Saturday taken to adventure office .

We kept our bags there went into fort an 800 year old one still alive with more than 2000 people living in it

We went around had late lunch in a famous restaurant Thakurjees .

Later we went patwon ki haveli a very old house of a very rich family and also a famous lake .

It was in eighties that Indar with his world wide travelling experience started a desert resort .

Today his son Vikram is an efficient partner and like most in Rajasthan live happily as a joint family with Indars brothers etc .

We were dropped into mahindra resorts later in evening .

Next day we were picked up by Devi singh in his jeep at 3.30 pm for desert safari .

Devi singh gave us a lot of insights into Rajasthani life specially in villages .

He told us of the changes that had happened .

How even far flung villages had piped water and almost 95 %had electricity .

Most or all had primary schools in their village with high schools quite close.

Most girls too studied these days as TV brought to them life and luxuries after education .

But they loved their culture of joint families ,simple nourishing food ,respect to elders and weak,village rules,festivals etc

They would vote with great common sense these days for center for Modi as they know he brought development to their far flung villages

To state they would vote those who did good mostly not the one ruling center

Though BJP had both center and state they rejected Vasundhroa scindia who did nothing and elected congress with Asokh gehlot s CM though with a strong opposition by BJP .

And we in south think most of north India has uneducated masses whose votes are casteist and communal

Actually its more fitting to states like Kerala which preens itself as an educated state with evolved voters .

What a misconception .

People here are not at all rolling in poverty

They are happy cheerful and delighted with thier way of life .

After a long camel ride on Al pacino my camel and Michael jackson premilas we sat on the sand dunes waiting for the sun to set.

A hot chai given to us invigorated us

It was cool and breezy .

We went back by jeep to desert resort for excellent music dance and food and returned to mahindra by 10 pm .

Anyone going to Jaishalmer and i feel all should please use the services of this travel firm .

You will not regret it

Photo story again

 Stories from photos

His Royal highness Rawal Sunderlal Singh was part of a long line of rulers from 12 th century AD when his great grandfather Rawal Jaisal Singh had started the empire of Jaisalmer pushed through war from the great swathe of land they ruled starting from  Afghangistan .

They were a salute state of the British empire ie a state that deserved a gun salute .

Singh looked  at the man sitting across him , from the hard glass  of frosted exteriors as the icy rocks sloshed the brown liquid the fine whisky .

He sipped into it savouring its oaky casked flavour and swished its rye raunchiness of a true scotch .

The man with the hat in his jeep he had glimpsed in the courtyard surely wasnt a tourist he played to convey .

The suns burnish in the coppery skies and the chill of a november evening in the desert with him sitting on the sandstone turret of a towering fort .

He looked down to the teeming market as busy as ever at this time .

And then he heard a distant rumble of the sturdy jeep the man with the hat drove and saw a fine haze of dust bellow as it wound into the desert  .

A silhoutte of slowly lumbering camels on the dunes never hid the by now tiny jeep steaming ahead .

Was this the man from RAW he was tipped about

The one whose mission in life was definitely not what he feared but still his focussed gaze when they met had  disturbed him .

He turned to his old retainer standing with his walrus moustache 

Oh kon he ?

Oh ....... laughed Hukum Singh

Oh tho ek malayalee aadmi he 

Idhar se uski daddha rehte he 

 pehle saal phir ,

unka uske baath enquire karne ke aane he ,

Koi RAW aadmi ,aur police waale officer nahi ,maharaj

Ye tho maamuli aadmi he 

Koyi gadbad nahi he saab !!

 

I just heard all this in my custom built Bose  ear piece

 one of a kind .

The same mini mike Hukum singh was given to plant on the king  😊😁

It was good indeed .

Jeeves in Syria

 At times in life we meet familar characters in say a book we read ,or a film we saw .

Most of you know or would have read of Jeeves the famous Butler in the series of Bertie wooster and Jeeves by the famous humourist P.G.Wodehouse one of my favourite authors .

Plum as Wodehouse  is still fondly called had an excellent talent to caricature characters in words , so much that it was etched for eternity .

Most of his characters are live to his readers , be it the pig loving Lord Emsworth who pottered around his Empress of Blandings in his sprawling Blandings castle  , 

There was Roderick Glossop known as a reputed neuro phycician with an uncanny knack in causing many who detested him to hop like frogs but in reality was just a dismissed attendant from a loony hospital !

Or take Bertie wooster himself whose umblical cord was connected to  Jeeves brains and was needed for him to escape the attention of his bevy of aunts  ,

or think of chef Anatole the excuisite French chef whose dainty dishes were waited upon to be tasted by many 

Or the uncle who owned him always wary of his Anatole being kidnapped by other envious eccentric millionaires  .

Amongst all  Jeeves is one of his creations who reached celebrity status.

The sauve cool operator with brains fed on fish who knew he needed to loan his grey matterto a boss and his friends of the idle rich who spent thier afternoons and pound sterlings in the Drones clubs if they werent taking the afternoon train to some castle in villages around London or having thier gin and tonic gazing from the balustrade of a transtlantic steamer wearing a top hat or in the streets of Manhattan over a cup of cofee and a bite of an yankee burger closing a deal with a Hollywood producer in writing a script .

Most stories did echo the life the author himself  had led too .

 Coming back to my post this day we saw this sombre waiter when we stayed in sepulchurous old hotel in central Damascus in Syria in 2012 before it became what it would become ,a hell created by mindless fanatics .

The hotel itself was as ancient as the city and had its glory in the past but our room in top floor was huge like a tiny suite and gave an excellent view of the old Railway station just opposite to it .

Breakfast came with the room and it was nothing to talk about as we were the lone guests in a regal dining hall filled with ornamental metal tables and chairs .

Boiled eggs and untoasted breads are unimaginable topics to be mentioned by foodies whose breakfasts are worthy of emperors ie ME .

But the man who brought it with his uncanny resemblance to favourite Jeeves saved my day , though his monotony and lethargy , drove away any thoughts of a Jeeves we had in mind !!

Lady in a Hood

 Lady in a hood....

The dusk had fallen

The moon peeped through the white domes of the magnificient Sheikh Zayed mosque in Abu Dhabi

I quickened my pace to catch a glimpse of an etheral beauty in black purdah !

The cold of the desert on a december evening was felt in my bones ....

There was a stretch  of fine sand I had to cross to reach the milling crowds , but by then the damsel had melded into the horizon , disappearing like a mirage in the desert .

I waived my way through jostling the crowd to angry stares !!

No i cant miss her again !

It was my soul that was calling me not my mind for I was numb for long .

The long lines parted .

The sombre altar of spirituality was serene in its peace .

The marble reflected the purity of divinity .

There was an aura of inner solace undescribed in the bowels of the monument .

The whispering shuffle of foots on the Iranian carpets hardly broke the sepulchural silence .

The kaleidoscopy of the chandeliers reflected the multiplicity of humans milling below .

Where can I search for the elusive her in this hall of mirrors ?

It was like in a dream

The fog of time crept into eternity .

Awareness extended to infinity

I was lost in a trance .

I walked away

I came to stand in the moonlight .

For a change I was alone far from the crowd inside the mosque .

The dew of the grass touched my bare foot

It cooled my insides

I wanted to lie down

When I felt a presence

I knew who it was

It was her standing before me the veil removed with a beatific smile on her face !

And then I woke up it was deja vu 

Iam in Umayyad mosque in ancient city of Damascus ,Syria .

I knew i will find her 

I had searched the sepulchured city of Damascus ,its inner streets domed in ancient tunneled walkways ,sandstone fountains,walked its cobbled streets with a distant mandolin sounding its haunting strains .

The devout moved in silent piety 

I too walked and searched

I climbed a camel in sandy palmyra 

I saw Roman ruins sat in its broken strps of stadiums where gladiators had stabbed into giant lions or convicts and slaves fought to death

The hills of Sydnera and maloula searching for the hood and the lady

I was cold tired hungry and gazed into the fog and the distant city of Damascus from the Cassion hills 

I had limped through the bullet ridden walls of the old city nd its narrow streets where sufi dances and dervishes swirled on esctasy

I looked carefully amongst them for hooded mysteries 

And the i saw her standing in front of me 

The end if a search 

We walked out our hands interwined gazing into the moonlight and disappeared into the darkness .

Spun this from our visit to Sheik zayed mosue in Abu Dhabi and to Syria  .

Vaikom temple 2020

 

Vaikom Sree Mahadeva shetram is in Kottayam district .

One of the oldest temples in Kerala its lingas are said to exist since Tretha yuga .

It has lot of stories and legends of origin and period of worship to fit in here .

Its described in Bhargava purana and Sanal kumara Samhita as Vaiyagrha puram  or Vayahreha geham .

As its lingas was found and worshiped by  Vaiyagrapada maharsi it was called Vaiyagrahapadapuram and later with time as Vaikom .

The association with Etumanoor and Kaduthuruthy temples also of lord  Shiva is remarkable and being equidistant from each other its said its 3 lingas which were consecrated at same time and its good to visit all 3 by afternoon .

We went to Vaikom temple only today as allowed respecting Covid protocols .

Its a huge temple with mammoth structures  supposed to be consecrated by Lord Parsurama himself at the very spot where one of  the three lingas given to  Khara an asura by lord Shiva for his devotion .

Khara carried one in right hand one in left and third around neck .

In this area the idols fell and could not be removed from  the spot

Khara knew it had to be left there so he requested a holy man Vyaghrapada to continue doing puja to the lingas 

He attained moksha too

Later Lord parasurama consecrated the three temples 

He gave it to Brahmin families to manage them 

Later Vaikom had 108 families to do this and they were divided as half into two factions .

One faction morally had upper hand and were more sincere and was with the king .

The leader of the other faction Njallal nampoothiri fought with them .

Nampoothiri spat on the nivedhiya or Gods offering to offend the rival faction .

Immediately a poisonous snake bit him he dropped in the ground crawled out through western door to die .

The door they say shut automatically with angry voice emanating from temple never to open it again 

The Etumanoor and Kaduthuruthy temples are other two spots of the dropped lingas .

Vaikom temple is vast with huge grounds arounf 8 acres  and being empty looks bigger .

The lord in Vaikom is worshipped in 3 forms daily Dakshinamoorthy in morning

Kiradha moorthy by noon and Dhatipanchakshari by dusk .

Its inner sanctum sanctorum is actually elleptical but looks circular .

Only a skilled craftsman can do that .

Its supposed to be none other than the famed Perumthachan himself who was its chief architect and creator .

The Sreekoil walls are decorated by kerala temple art and an ornamental lamp in the back .

The linga itself is 6 feet in height .

To see the deity one needs to climb six steps symbolic of shad vikaras or six emotions like kama ,krodha,'lobha,moha,madha mathsarya or thanthrik chakras as per thanthrik kalpanas .

The Mooladhana chakram,Swadhistana chakram ,Manipurakha chakram ,Anahsta chakram ,Visudhi and Jnana chakram .

On eastern side is the Manya sthana or big kitchen where Vilvamangala swamigal was supposed tp have seen lord Shiva as a brahmin eating Prathal or nivedhiya 

Today its the famous annadhaana to all 

The usually crowded temple was literally empty

We were allowed inside with covid protocol .

As crowds less we could pray well .

The roads around the temple too have lot of history in them .

Kerala was once called as pranthalayam or mad house by Swami Vivekananda when he visited it and felt disgusted with the caste discriminations and untouchability prevalent then .

Vaikom temple and roads around were prohibited for the lower castes .

It was in those roads that leaders and Gurus like  Sree Narayana Guru ,Mannathu Padmanabhan ,Dr Palpu inspired youngsters to protest against caste discrimination in famous Vsikam satyagraha along with our freedom struggle .

Mahatma Gandhi too requested  Maharani Sethu Laksmi bayi too remove the restrictions ,though she started the changes it was after the young Maharaja came to throne the famous temple declaration came to be a law allowing all Hindus regardless of castes into temples by his authority which as a regent the maharani did not have powers to do so .

Vaikatthu Astami is a very famous 10 day festival of this temple .

The drive too was pleasant but for a road block caused by an overturned lorry lying on its side after hitting an electric pole and breaking it .

By the time we returned the lorry was back on road straight though traffic was blocked still .

 

Thirunelveli Halwa

 Halwas are thickly deliciously wickedly tasty sweet dripping with ghee .

To me one of my favourite sweets 

Amongst the very many varieties of halwas  the king or queen shuld be the famous Thirunelveli Halwa .

Strangely this epic sweet originated in this hot Tamilnadu town all because of a north Indian Rajasthani settler .

In 1882 Jegan Singh one of the many settlers and business men of Tamilnadu went to his home town for a holiday .

When he returned he brought back a cook who amongst other Rajasthani food could cook an excellent Halwa and Jegan singh just loved it .

He started a small shop in the center of town with wooden shutters ill lit and mostly open in dusk to sell this Halwa .

They say it still hasva 40 watt bulb !

Slowly people started liking it so much the sweet even got Thirunelveli as its name tag 

Other shops too started selling with thier names and some like Shanthi sweets became popular too but not like the iconic irruttukada .

The very fact wheat is used for this halwa tells us its not a local delicacy in the predominantely rice eating region .

The wheat is cleaned in the pure waters of Thamarapani several times and allowed to settle down before its skimmed husk seperated and boiled

Sugar and plenty of ghee and other flavours added till it drips with ghee and tastes delicious .

The irrutkada or dark shop still continues to be so managed by the same family even today .

I used to know a family coming from Thirunelveli to Cochin for treatment in my hospital and they will bring this halwa faithfully  every time for me .

I had one of the best Thirunelveli  halwa from in a wedding of a family friends son .