KALADY

After the start of my second innings at Palakad I always wanted to visit and spend some time in all the places where I had studied . As my appa was in P&T he was transferred across India and hence we also were able to see new places.
When my parents got transferred to Delhi, I was asked to stay with my Grand parents who happened to be in Kalady , a small village on the banks of Periyar around 30 kms from Ernakulam.
Apart being the place which boosted to have given some schooling to me , Kalady also happened to be the birthplace of Adi Shankaracharya. My Thatha was the headmaster in the Ramakrishna Mutt school and I studied fro class 4 to class 7 in this school.
Life was very nice ans adventurous, not like the present day rush for tutions etc.
My Patti used to go for her bath at 4.30 AM and comeback around 5.30 ,wake me and my thatha . It was now our turn to go to the river and bathe. Swimming in the river and playing with your friends automatically cleansed you both physically and mentally .Evenings also used to be spent in the river along with your friends.
With all this background I wanted to take Uma and visit the place.
So we left from Palakkad and drove to the temples of Adi Shankara, Sharadambal and Lord Krishna and proceeded to the Mutt school. When we were leaving Kalady during my Thatha's time there used to be big photo of my thatha in the school lab. i out of curiosity wanted to know whether the photo was there even now. So we went to the office of the school and started enquiries . All the staff were youngsters and we not in a position to tell me whether the photo was there, but they confirmed that the lab is not there. While we were talking about this a gentleman claiming to be the manager of the school walked in.
I asked : Sir are you aware whether there is a photo of Sri A Subramania Iyer anywhere in the school
The gentleman whose name was Chandru: Who are you and are you aware that there was a grannd son of Subramania Iyer named Raju.
And when I said that I was that Raju he said that he had studied with me in that school. IT was really wonderful to meet your old classmates. We chatted for some time regarding our teachers and left.
Earler while we were praying in the Sri Krishana temple we came to know that the temple is celebrating Kanakadhara Ulsavem somewhere in May 2010. This temple is the Kuladeivam of Adi Shankara. So we decided to visit the temple again for participate in the function. We found out that Sringeri Swamiji was also going to be present for the function.

History
This village was earlier called Sasalam. "Kalady" in Malayalam means footprints.
Legend holds that one day, the widowed mother of Little Sankara, Aryadevi, fainted after walking three kilometers for her daily bath in the Periyar river. Feeling helpless, Little Sankara prayed to Lord Krishna. The tears of the child moved Krishna, who blessed him thus: "the river will flow where your little feet marks (കാലടി വരയുന്നിട്ത്തു നദി ഗതി ആവും). The Periyaar river took its new course in the place marked by the little boy's feet. That place came to be called Kalady.

The Periyaar river began flowing through Little Sankara's home garden. Sankara then installed Lord Krishna into the present temple, and marked the occasion by reciting his famous Ätchutha Ashtakam.

Thus 'Kalady' signifies the love of an innocent child for his beloved mother and the blessings of Lord Krishna


Birth

Shankara's parents were childless for many years, and prayed at the Vadakkumnathan (vRashAcala) temple in Thrissur, Kerala, for the birth of a child. Legend has it that Shiva appeared to both husband and wife in their dreams, and offered them a choice: a mediocre son who would live a long life, or an extraordinary son who would not live long. Both Shivaguru and Aryamba chose the latter. The son was named Shankara, in honour of Shiva.


Formal education

Shivaguru died while Shankara was very young. The child showed remarkable scholarship, and is said to have mastered the four Vedas by the age of eight. Following the common practice of that era, Shankara lived and studied at the home of his teacher. It was customary for students and men of learning to receive Bhiksha or alms from the laity; on one occasion, while accepting Bhiksha, Shankara came upon a woman who had nothing to eat in her house except a single dried amlaka fruit. Rather than consume this last bit of food herself, the pious lady gave away the fruit to Sankara as Bhiksha. Moved by her piety, Shankara composed the Kanakadhara Stotram on the spot. Legend has it that on completion of the stotram, golden amlaka fruits were showered upon the woman by the goddess Lakshmi.

With all these background Uma and me decided to go to Kalady on the Akshaya trithiya day. As usual we left early in the morning and we were IN kalady by 9'0'clock. After praying in the temples we went to the Krishna temple and wanted to buy one golden Amaka which is given that Day to devotees , This day it so happened that Sringeri Shanakaracharya was there and he did the puja on these amalakas nand we got one of them .After giving some money for annadanam in this temple we returned.
All in all a very pleasant Trip

ALATHIYOOR

Alathiyur
After a sumptuous breakfast of iddli, hot vada and dosa at a restaurant at Angadipuram we left towards Valanchery road. We crossed Valancherry proceeded towards Kuttipuram and continued towards Tirur. About 5 kms before reaching Tirur there is a road towards left which takes you to Hanumankavu where the famous temple of Alathiyur is situated. We reached at around 9 o clock and went inside the temple.

History and legends

This temple which is said to be 3000 years old ,is rumoured to be founded by the great Sage Vasishsta The temple in those days belonged to the Alathiyur Namboodiris, subsequently the local Maharaja took over and finally it came to be under the Calicut Zamoorins. And even today this temple is maintained by the descendants of Zamoorin
family

The main deity is of Sri Rama. This Sri Rama does not have Devi Sita next to him. The legend is that after the abduction of Sita by Ravana, Rama is seen advising Hanuman, in the ears, His code word to be passed on to Sita. And hence the deities of Sri Rama and Hanuman are situated in that pose, Hanuman carrying His Gada, bending His head slightly towards Sri Rama as if to listen more carefully. As the words of Sri Rama is confidential in nature, brother Laksmanan is asked to stay little away, as can be seen from the temple of Laksmanan,
There is a granite stone which is supposed to be the ocean which Hanuman jumps to reach Lanka. By jumping this, the legend is that we can overcome all our worries in life. I did the jump.
The most important offering to Sri Hanuman is a mixture of beaten rice with jaggery called “Avilnedyam”. This is in memory of the packet of beaten rice given to Hanuman by Sri Rama when He was going in quest of Seetha Devi.

After this we proceeded to visit the famous NavaMukundan Stemple at Thirunavaya

Angadipuram Thirumandhamkunnu Bhagavathy

After a long gap we decided to continue our temple episodes. When my wife suggested that we go to Guruvayoor for my birthday which was falling on 28th of March, I suggested why we don’t try some new temples. And hence we decided to go to Alathiyoor Hanuman Temple.
During our half pant wearing days appa used to ask us to pray to Hanuman as follows:
“Alathur Hanuman pediswapnam kanatuthe.
Pedi swapnam kandal valu thatti unerthename”
We were all thinking that this Alathur is the one in PGT district about 20 kms from where we stay. When we visited Alathur in some other connection, I enquired about this Hanuman temple and nobody seems to know and hence I decided to do some internet search and it was found that there is a place called Alathiyoor in Malapuram district which housed a Hanuman temple and we decided to visit the same.
After we started to stay in Oceanus there is a very small group of residents (in fact it is only three families) who meet after dinner and gossip. I took the subject of my proposed visit and then Rajkumar whose wife Nisha hails fdrom Nilambur suggested why don’t we visit Thirumandhamkunnu Bhagavathy temple which is in a place called Angadipuram ,on the way to Alaithur. So we decided to that as well.

Thirumandhamkunnu Bhagavathy

We left the house on 28th at 5-30 am and were in Angadipuram by 7 o clock. The route we took was PGT-Mannarkad-Perinthalmannu-Angadipuram.
What abeutiful temple. The temple is on a small hillock,not very crowded.
Angadipuram Thirumandhamkunnu Bhagavathy/Bhadrakali temple,standing on a 60-ft high hillock has an imposing appearance, especially when viewed from the main road (Palghat-Calicut highway).
Its surroundings were extremely scenic once. The rituals here are done regularly and meticulously at fixed timings daily. and the temple's fame attracts a large number of devotees from far and near.
The idol of this temple is almost idential with that at Kodungallur, except that the Angadipuram idol is taller. Due to this, the Angadipuram Thirumandhamkunnu Bhagavathy is considered the elder sister of Kodungallur Bhagavathy. The other difference is that no animal sacrifices are done at the Angadipuram Temple.
There is a possibility that both these temples were originally built by the same king - perhaps Cheraman Perumal. It is said that Pallava kings and Chera kings were traditional friends and when the Pallava king was defeated and sent out of Tamil Nadu he took refuge in Cheraman Perumal's kingdom and they continued to be great friends.
It is also said that the Goddess of these temples, along with many other temples, was Madurai Meenakshi (Kannagi).

Story

A long time ago, Raja Mandhata, a scion of Surya Vamsam, renounced the throne of Ayodhya and started roaming about the entire Bharathvarsha as a Sanyasin. When he reached a village called Angadipuram, in the present District of Malappuram in Kerala, he felt attracted by the beauty of the place. In those days it was a deep forest full of wild animals and thick wild vegetation. It is said that in those forests, all the animals lived in perfect peace.
To Mandhata Maharishi the place appeared divine. The symphony of the sweet chirping of birds, the musical rustling of tree leaves in a light breeze, the tintinnabulation of a miniature water-fall, where a stream with crystal clear water tumbled over uneven rocks, all made him love the place. He went up on a small hillock in the middle of the verdant scene and settled there to do Tapas, thus enhancing the divinity of the place.
After a number of years of penance, Lord Shiva appeared in front of him and asked Mandhata Maharishi what was his wish. The Maharishi said he wanted nothing. However, if the Lord wanted to give him anything at all, then perhaps he could give him the best Shivalingam of the world so that he could do daily puja in front of it. Shiva replied, flustered, "The best Shivalingam is with Parvathi (Durga), so how can I give it to you?" But Mandhata Maharishi insisted that he wanted nothing else.
How could Shiva disappoint his dearest devotee? So, without the knowledge of Parvathi, he gave the same Linga to Mandhata Maharishi. With extreme devotion, the Maharishi installed the lingam on the hill.
The next day Parvathi found the Lingam missing in the morning. Shiva told her that it was handed over to a devotee and now he could not take it back from him.However, if she wanted, she could try to get it back from him. Shri Parvathi immediately ordered Bhadrakali to go and retrieve the Lingam. Bhadrakali, together with her Bhoothagan (soldiers), went to Angadipuram and negotiated with the Maharishi for getting back the Lingam.She did not succeed in her efforts and decided to use force. The soldiers sent arrows at the Maharishi. In return, the Maharishi's disciples started throwing some wild fruit at the Bhoothagan. Each fruit appeared like a Shivalinga to them and so they ran away.
Then Bhadrakali came to the Maharishi and started pulling at the Lingam. The Maharishi held it very tight with both of his hands. In the tug-of-war, the Lingam broke into two.
All the three gods (Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva) appeared in front of Mandhata Maharishi and blessed him. The broken Shivalinga is still there and even now a ritual is enacted on the particular day (mid-October) when two groups, one at the bottom and another at the top of the hillock, throw a fruit (Attanga) at each other. After the Samadhi of the Maharishi, the place remained neglected for a long time and the area became a thick jungle again.
Parwathi also came and found that she cannot take the Sivalingam from such a Bhakta and so she also decided to stay there . As Her son Lord Ganapathy also was there with her in her lap He also stayed there.. Parwathy then tells the Maharshi that since Her daughter Bhadrakali came there first She should also be there next to me, Saying this She dissolved in the lingam.

As you enter the Sanctum sanctum you may have to stand in a small crowd and then see the huge Devi statue from the side . the idol was totally covered with silver covering. The queue went ahead and you are allowed to see the idol through a small opening.
All in all a wonderful experience .We decided to have breakfast and leave for Alathiyur

KALPATHY THERU

Kalpathy Car Festival, or Chariot festival, which is held during the last week of Tamil month Aipassi (October – November) at Kaplathy near Palakkad in Kerala reminds one of the world famous Puri Rath Yatra.. Kalpathy and its 18 Agraharams is an early Tamil Brahmin settlement and is known as the ‘Varanasi of the South.’ The 10-day Kalpathy Ratholsavam is the most important festival of the year here. In 2009, the Kalpathy car festival is being held from November 8 to 16. The Rathasangamom is held before the Sree Viswanathaswamy Temple in Kalpathy on the evening of November 16. The Dwajarohanam (flag hoisting) was held on November 8.
The epicentre of the Kalpathy Car Festival is the Sree Viswanathaswami Temple in Kalpathy. Temples in New Kalpathy, Old Kalpathy and Chathapuram joins in on simultaneous days for the celebrations. The most important days during the 10-day festival are the last three days. And on the final day there is the Rathasangamom at Sri Viswanathaswami Temple, which happens on the last day of Aippassi Month.
Let me try and give some details as we perceived the great Kalpathy Ratholsavam which today is considered second only to the Puri Rath Yatra and a great tourist attraction. Kerala tourism board also participates and you may see some foreigners astonished watching this.
The Heritage village and the surrounding are cleaned and spruced up, stalls of various items, steel vessels, bookshops (we could see Hindu, Mathrubhoomi and MalayalaManorama stalls along with Brahmana sabha Publications) soap-cheep-kannadi stalls, eating joints ( from bhel puris , popcorn to Vadais) ,ballon wallahs, peepi wallahas etc. Reminds you of your young days. We saw a stall selling mridangams ,chenda etc which we understand are made at Peruvambu. There was a stall selling the “Kalchattis”. In fact a street adjacent to the agraharam is named Kachatti theruvu . We saw vadyars moving about briskly; in fact we witnessed a modern young gentleman vadyar crash landing in a 3.5 h.p Bullet motorbike in the centre of Kalpathy Agraharam.
Each participating temple like Mandakara ganapathy and Lakhsminarayan swamy temple have everyday separate processions across the agraharam and each day it will be in different “vahanams”. We were able to see,Garuda Vahanam, Gajavahanam, Sarpavahanam , Horse vahanam etc.
During the seven days before the Ratholsvam, music festival is conducted. It is said that earlier years big names in Carnatic music participated.
14th Nov was the first day of the Theru. On this morning at 9 o clock was the the Royal marriage of Sri Viswanathaswamy with Meenakshi. We went to attend this. The crowd was too much and the place where the marriage was taking place was too small for comfortable viewing. In spite of this, we witnessed the marriage. The mamis of Kalpathy were in their elements singing Gowrikalyanam in all srutis.
After this, the deities are mounted on the chariots , this is known as Ratharohanam and the three Chariots are pulled to the centre of the agraharam, the two smaller chariots are pulled by group of persons and the biggest one is pushed by an elephant. Uma also contributed in the pushing.
The three chariots carrying the deities of Sree Viswanathaswamy Temple is taken out in procession. The first chariot is of Lord Shiva (Shri Viswanathaswamy) and Parvati. The second chariot is of Lord Ganesha (Vigneshwara) and the third is of Lord Muruga (Subrahmanya or Kartik along with his consorts). The chariots set out on Grama Pradikshinam, which is the village tour, around 10 in the morning and return by sunset.
On the second day, Lord Ganesha (Manthakara Mahaganapathy) which is the presiding deity of New Kalpahty temple is taken out on procession. As this temple was next door to Uma’s house we decided to participate in this fully, Instead of the usual morning walk we decided on seeing all the temples and we set forth in the morning .We visited all the temples and as we were too tired we decided to have b/fast at Sri.Krisnha . I had idly, Vada and Uma had Kozhakattai. We rushed back carrying some idlys for amma .As we were approaching the temple we saw the elephant Manikandan all decked up . On enquiry we were told that this elephant will visit all the participating gramams to invite people for coming and witness the Ratharohanam at the Mandakarai Ganapathy. We rushed back to the Mandakara Ganapathy temple to get a balcony seat for amma. When we reached we were told that the procession of the Vinayakar has gone to the Siva-parvathy temeple on the other side of the Puthiya Kalpathy Gramam to seek His Parents blessing before getting on to the Ratham. The deity is brought back and after some puja is put on to the Chariotes amidst chanting by the big crowd. The entire Palghat and more were there to witness this. Meanwhile in front of this huge charirot four lanes of people, both ladies and gents of all ages were qued for pulling the chariot. Both Uma and me also pulled a little. It was fun. We picked up Puliyan Chadam and Thair Chadam from Aiswarya Mess and came home.
Aiswarya mess and the hotels around are doing brisk business as there is a big group of floating population staying in the village for witnessing this. We understand that houses in the Agraharam are available for rent for this period only
On the final day, the deities of the Old Kalpathy Temple and Chathapuram Temple are taken around the respective villages on their chariots. The deity of Old Kalpathy is Lakshminarayana Perumal and that of Chathapuram is Mahaganapathy (Ganesha).
In the evening on the final day, the ‘Rathasangamom’ – the congregation of all the chariots – will take place before the Sree Viswanathaswamy Temple in Kalpathy.