Jai Sriman Narayana !!
My Mom ' Yendi Konthey, namma samye pathi ezhithavey illayedi'
I said ' Don't worry Amma, Ezhuthanam avalavuthaney, Ezhithutta pochu.'
' By the way, Namakkuthan neraya sami irukkaley. Yethu samiye pathi sollarey'
My Mom 'Athuthan di Kalpathy Kovil dimey'
'Oh Okay Okay..Right...I will be writing soon'
My Mom ' Hm.. Appa iruntha Santhoshapattiruppa.'
'Amma...Arambichittiya...Kavalapadathey I remember Appa promised three of us that he would be watching us though he leaves the world. So I am sure, Namma Alu engayachu okkanthu nan pannarathu pathukondu than iruppa. I am very sure about it Amma. He is our darling, Amma and he can'not leave us like that.'
My Mom ' Nee sonna ellam sari than.'
It made me laugh like anything. At times I pretend to be the most genius person to her. Just to make her cheer up. She is a Gem of a person and our strength too.
Kalpathy is my Mom's parents place. My Grandfather lived there after his retirement from Southern Railway. My Thathi was a super woman and good at making us work in her big backyard Garden. During our holidays, we spent a lot of time with Thatha and Thathi. Thatha educated me with the Kalpathy Car Festival and Thathi never kept us idle. Our work from morning till evening will be allocated by her without any mercy. We start our day with cleaning of our backyard, picking dried Tamarind from the ground (azhaga sonna, puli porukal), helping her in digging elephant yam (chenai kilaikkal), pulling out the unwanted grasses (pullu parikkal), mopping the entire backyard ( perukkal koottal), plucking of 'Marthangali' (really boring job) - it takes minimum 2 to 3 hours.
We used to have lunch in the morning, in between we eat some snacks. Immediately after lunch she would arrange for 'Daya Kattam' and 'Pallanguzhi'. Our friends from the neighbourhood also join with us. Thathi is the leader (she was 66/68 years old I believe) she does not like cheating in between the games. We children are expert in doing so. Finally, the game ends up in a big mess.
Thathi's next order would be' Yellarum poyi thoogungodi'.
Our love for gardening is inexplineable. We would pretend to sleep for sometime and go to the Backyard again for playing.
Thathi appears from nowhere and screams 'Ingaya vilayadarel, puli marathila pisachu irukku, pidikka porathu ellathayum'. That's the end of our game.
Rest of the afternoon we have to spend time with her listening to stories. In the evening, immediately after snacks she takes us to the backyard for plucking 'Jasmine' flowers and 'Kanakambaram' flowers. We get plenty of them from our Garden. Thathi would be seated in a place to arrange them in a garland form for two of us (grand daughters) and for the next day's pooja purpose also. We used to pluck buckets and buckets of flowers and she would be doing her job silently and in between checking on us. We also pluck 'Avaraikkai' from her 'Avarapathi' on the roof of 'Rendamkettu' (it is just like another home, having all the facilities used only at the time of weddings and other rituals). It takes nearly two hours to complete this job.
I learned Kandha Shashti Kavacham, Guru Kavacham from my Thatha. His day starts with detailed poojas at home. We call him Southern Railway (chellama), very strict, disciplined and possesses vast knowledge but speaks little. Evening, we spend time with our friends by visiting temples nearby. Our temple list goes lengthy : Manthakara Sri Kshipra Ganapathy Temple, Vishwanatha Swamy Kovil (Kundu Koil), Pazhaya Kalpathy Lakshmi Narayana Swamy Kovil, Govindarajapuram Perumal Kovil, Chathapuram Prasanna Ganapathy Kovil, Ambikapuram Sri Krishnan Kovil. My Thathi says that 'Kasila Pathi Kalpathy'. We used to stay nearly 1 or 1 1/2 months during our school holidays with them. This was one of the best holidays I really enjoyed in my childhood. Before leaving the village (New Kalpathy) the final episode of 'Kanner Samudram' also takes place. I am sure that Thatha and Thathi also must have felt very sad of leaving us and used to eagerly wait for the next holidays.
Sri Kashi Vishwanatha Sametha Sri Visalakshy Temple - Sthalapuranam
Sri Vishwanatha Swamy Temple - Dakshina Kashi - New Kalpathy - Palakkad
Presiding diety - Vishwanatha Swamy (Bana Lingam) and Visalakshy Thayar
Sthala Vruksham - Baniyan Tree
Sannidhis - Gnana Nandikeshwarar, Surya Bagavan, Sri Dhakshina Murthy, Ambal, Lord Shiva in Linga form, Subramanya Swamy with Sri Valli and Sri Devayani, Chandikeshwarar, Kala Bairavar, Vinayaka, Serpant Gods beneath the Baniyan tree in the outer praharam.
Festival - Annual celebration of Kalpathy Car Festival in the month of November, Pradosha Poojas, Vishnu Pooja, Vaikasi Vishagam (Thirukalyanam of Lord Subramanya), Navarathri Pooja, Annabishekam in the month of Aippasi, Rudrabishekam in the month of Ani and Panguni, Masi Makam.
This temple is situated near the banks of Kalapathy River, a tributary of Bharathapuzha - Nila Nadhi. This temple dates back to the early 15th century. It is also known as 'The Varanasi of South'. This is one of the oldest Shiva Temples in Malabar, Kerala. The temple is situated in the beautiful vicinity of Agraharam of Tamil Brahmins. The Villages are New Kalpathy, Old Kalpathy, Govinda Rajapuram and Chathapuram. The New Kalpathy and the surrounding Agraharams are The Fortresses of Vedic Culture and Sanathana Dharma. Veda and Veda Ghosham are an eminent part of this Agraharam. This village and its surroundings like Old Kalpathy, Govindarajapuram, Chathapuram, Kumara Puram has brought many Sanskrit scholars of Veda, Sastra and Purana. They are still providing a great service to the society. The Uncha Vrithi, Margazhi Bajans are still cementing the culture to a great extent.
The legend has that, there lived a widow named Lakshmi Ammal. She brought a Lingam from her Kasi visit. On reaching Kalpathy, she had a desire to install the Lingam near the banks of Nila Nadhi and a Temple for Lord Shiva. At that time Palghat was ruled by the Rajas. She approached the Raja of Palghat with this request. The Raja readily agreed to her wish and a large temple was constructed - Sri Vishwanatha Swamy Temple. Lakshmi Ammal offered the King her 1320 gold coins to manage the affairs of the temple.
In this temple of Vishwanatha Swamy, 'Swarga Vasal' is situated on the west adjacent to Sri Gangadhareswarar next to Sri Subramanya swamy with Sri Valli and Sri Devayanai. The pooja pattern of this temple is same as the Mayuranathar Temple in Mayavaram.
The ten day long Kalpathy Car Festival is an important and the most jubilant occasion during the month of Aippasi in New Kalpathy. Ratholsavam is the pulling of a huge Chariot, beautifully decorated and connected with heavy ropes made of jute with thousands of people lined up in both sides. In addition to this, there will be an elephant to push from the back of the Chariot, balanced by the brave men. It is the most brilliant sight no doubt about that. The day starts with ceremonial Poojas and the night ends with Carnatic Music Concerts. The first day of Ratholsavam starts with Dwajarohanam and ends with Ratha Sangamam and Poo Pallakku on the tenth day.
There is a 'Madam' just nearby the Shiva Temple assisting with Shesha Kriya rituals in a perfect way. Shesha Kriya - the rituals for the peace of departed souls can be done here in the Madam. The Madam has all the facilities to perform the rituals at a reasonable cost. The contact person of the Madam is Sri. Rama Murthy 0492-2576791 or Mr. Ramachander at his mobile 09447202300.
Jai Sriman Narayana !!
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