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Paddy field close to Someswaram Mahadeva Temple
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“Mother earth teaches us patience and forgiveness.
But Oh man! Beware the fury of patient souls.”
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Bharathapuzha (Nila) replenished by monsoon - close to Someswaram Mahadeva Temple
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“This temple was earlier in a run-down form. It was
renovated few years back with the fund collected from the public.” – said a local
person we met in the temple. The renovation has restructured the entire
surroundings and has made sure to keep the peepal tree intact.
But if we are asked, unanimously we feel - "It
would probably be a well maintained old structure than the renovated new form
which would complement these surroundings. The soul of the temple is
missing."
The main deity Lord Siva is consecrated in Rowdra
Bhava and is facing East. Sub-shrine of Ganesha is close to the main sanctum.
Sri Ayyappa and Nagas are outside the main shrine. The entry to the main shrine
is a little elevated with a cute narrow passage. The sanctum in the form of
vatta-shrikovil (round) is gold plated. Murals
of deities adorn the outer wall of the shrine. The temple compound is cemented
below and thatched with metal roofing above. There is also a stage close to the
shrine of Ayyappa. There is no flag-mast in this temple.
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Someswaram Mahadeva Temple - View of Western Entrance
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"But everything here - the paintings, the
grill, the stage, the roof and whatever you look at - carry the name of
sponsors devaluing their sponsorship. May temple promote our souls to higher
realms of life rather than promoting our egoistic self.”
“One thing you cannot ignore is the loving nature
of the people here. A two year boy we met in temple came up to us just to give
his birthday chocolate though he is meeting us for the first time. A family
provided water to wash our legs after our giant leap into the muddy paddy
field. And an old woman came all the way with us just to help us with the
direction to reach the main road.” – says Divs
The other side of the paddy field has three more
Siva lingas consecrated beneath a big peepal tree. Though there is a road, we
walked along the brink of the paddy field. In doing so, a couple of times we
almost got struck in wet mud - a lesson learnt - never walk through the mud
with your footwear on!
The Siva lingas - Kothakurussi Appan,
Kirathamoorthy and Vetekarappan, are more than 5-feet tall and are facing West.
The legend says the Pandavas visited Tiruvilwamala to perform the last rites of
their ancestors on the shores of Nila. It
is believed they consecrated the Krishna Idol at Ivar Madam, Lord Siva at
Someswaram and these three Siva Idols.
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Kothakurussi and the half-constructed Temple
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“There was a plan to build a temple for the three Kothakurussi
deities. But it is now abandoned due to several bad omens and few unnatural
deaths. The branches of this big peepal tree you see here started to wilt
without any apparent reason.” – says an elderly woman at the temple. Though the
deity is enraged the people here have great faith as she concludes - “If we
pray sincerely and make a genuine wish it will surely come true and the Lord
here never disappoints. May Lord bless you.”
Foot Note:
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A home on the way - Thiruvilwamala
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Tiruvilwamala situated in Talappilly Taluk of Trichur district is famous for the Lord Sreerama temple (Vilwadrinathan) and Lord Krishna temple of Ivor Madom. It is surrounded by several pristine villages - Ottapalam, Pazhayannur, Killikkurussimangalam to name a few – perfect locations to feel the pulse of Kerala (at least for now).
References: http://pampadydesam.com/someswaram-temple/
In
the Handloom Hamlet - Kuthampully
Henry Ford once said – “Quality means doing it
right when no one is looking.” – This has been what the traditional weaving
families of Devangana community at Kuthampully have been exactly doing for
generations. Even when the ever changing fashion world moved along with the
changing trends, the families of Kuthampully never compromised on the quality
of their hand-woven kasavu sarees and dhotis. Now, life has come a full
circle for them.
From Thiruvilwamala it is five kilometres to Kuthampully. Our auto
(rickshaw) driver, a friendly person in his fifties, took us through a scenic
road seldom used by any. The soothing breeze with the aroma of freshly
harvested paddy was enough to refresh our souls. On the highway hoardings of
Kuthampully handloom dealers throng either sides of the road.
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Traditional Weaving at Kuthampully
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“Kuthampully has now transformed a lot. A decade
back hardly anyone knew about this village. Now people from far off places in
and out of Kerala come here for handloom.” – tells our driver as we watch a white
Ford Fiesta speed past us on its way to this little hamlet. “Several families
here have made big money with this traditional profession. But there are
several others who are sharp in their craft but not good enough to transform it
into business. They still remain moderately poor.” – he concludes.
Most of the families at Kuthampully belong to
Devanga community who trace their weaving tradition to a sage called Devala
Maharshi. It is told that they were brought to Kuthampully by the Kochi Raja
around 500 years back for weaving the costumes of the royal family.
The auto left us at the so called centre of the village.
We are on a narrow road with a bus stop, an ATM and several lanes with series
of households. Rhythmic beats of the treadle from the households resonates all
along the way. In a small building we see the weavers at work. There are three
of them all deeply absorbed in weaving. We tried to start a conversation with them
but they are too immersed like a software engineer working on his evolving
code. At the corner of the street we met Gopalan (name changed) who is free
enough to talk to us. He along with his wife welcomed us to their modest home.
His traditional weaving machine takes up most of the space of his drawing room.
“We have just one chair here. Feel comfortable to
occupy the available space.” – says Gopalan as he pulls out a chair for us.
Gopalan was introduced to handloom by his father when he was just 9 years old.
“I have been doing this for all these years. My wife helps me in my work.”
Gopalan explained us the working of the handloom and gave us a small
demonstration. “In one day I complete two dhoties. For each dhoti I get Rs.150.
It is too little to make any savings for my family but I do not feel to leave
my traditional craft.”
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"Endangered" - A traditional weaver at Kuthampully
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After passing through the middle men, when the
dhoti reaches the end customer its price goes up to at least Rs.700 per piece.
“The demand of hand-woven kasavu sarees is also very high.
The price shoots up depending on the designs involved in it.” – explains
Gopalan. “It will take just three months to learn the basics of this craft even
though to master the designs it will take several years. But if you see the new
generation is neither keen nor patient to do this manual work. My son has not
learnt this. Instead he is working in a textile shop. We hope new entrepreneurs
will ensure this traditional craft is not lost forever. ”
The sun had already set when we started back. But the
treadle beats are still going on. It is meticulously rhythmic. It is deliciously
sweet. We wish it may go on forever prospering these simple people of this
pristine village.
Kuthampully Sarees have got the GI tag (Geographical Indication) issued by the Geographical Indications Registry (Government of India) for products which are manufactured in a particular area and has been exclusive to that region for many years.
Foot Note:
Kuthampully Sarees have got the GI tag (Geographical Indication) issued by the Geographical Indications Registry (Government of India) for products which are manufactured in a particular area and has been exclusive to that region for many years.
References : http://devanga.niranji.com/
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