Someswaram Mahadeva Temple, Pambady, Thiruvilwamala, Thrissur Dist., Kerala

It is early hours of Sunday morning and here we are in the valley of Vilwadri Hills, close to Thiruvilwamala, watching the vast paddy fields in front of us.  Layered with thick mud, it is getting readied for the season ahead. Nearby the Nila River is flowing gently with all her garnered grace. Though battered by blatant exploitation, to see her replenished by the monsoon rains is reassuring. So is the greenery over the modest Vilwadri Hills on the South.

Paddy field close to Someswaram Mahadeva Temple
“Mother earth teaches us patience and forgiveness. But Oh man! Beware the fury of patient souls.”

Other than a meandering cow and a couple of farmers at the far end the entire surroundings here is densely desolate. The high pitch shrill of the beetles from the bushes and bamboo groves, occasionally silenced by the chug of train passing on the other side of the river, is constantly resonating in our ears.

Bharathapuzha (Nila) replenished by monsoon - close to Someswaram Mahadeva Temple
In this pleasant valley enveloped in the soothing arms of nature stands the Someswaram Mahadeva Temple, one of the 108 Siva Temples of Pracheena Kerala. If you are about to visualize it in its vintage form, Hold on! We fear you will be disappointed. In fact, we were. The current structure of the temple is in stark contrast to these pristine surroundings.

“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."

Someswaram Mahadeva Temple - View of Western Entrance
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.

"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.

Kothakurussi and the half-constructed Temple
“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.”

A home on the way - Thiruvilwamala
 Foot Note:

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.   

Traditional Weaving at Kuthampully
“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.”  

"Endangered" - A traditional weaver at Kuthampully
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.

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/

***

No comments:

Post a Comment