Family reunion!

It’s been a while since the last blog entry – in fact not a single one in 2013. Thought it would be apt to restart my blogging journey with a reflection on the year gone by (2013) and a small travelogue on a recent (extended) family trip.

For me, 2013 whizzed past like a speeding train. At work, there was a change in the line of work whilst on the personal front with two growing kids at home, there never was ‘enough’ time.  I don’t expect 2014 to be any different either. On a sad note, 2013 also saw the passing away of quite a few loved ones – five close relatives of mine lost their final battle.

The last two weeks of December however were very different.  Got a chance to take some time off work and spend time with the immediate family. And then towards Christmas time, there was this trip to Nilambur along with my extended family from my great grandmother’s side.

Enroute we visited a couple of temples that are associated with the family. The first stop was  Kottuvatu. We visited my ancestral temple (Kuladevatha) for the first time in my life. Till a month back I did not even know that this place existed and believed my ancestral temple to be a different one. The story goes that the Kozhikode Samudiri (King) gave land in the Malapuram area to a family for upkeep of Kottuvatu temple and asked them to move there. Subsequently one of the daughters settled down in Kandugapuram (near Angadipuram) that lady happened to be my maternal great grandmother.

Kottuvatu is a quaint little village in Malapuram, district. Visiting it felt like being transported back thirty years in time. The pictures speak for themselves. Surrounded by greenery, nestled in between two hillocks, Kottuvatu is hidden away from civilization. 

 Kottuvatu temple

 The 'kodimaram'

Original 'tharavadu' or what is left of it

Our bus load of city bred folks were surprised to encounter the hospitality of our thrice removed cousins who showed typical Malabar style hospitality. They had arranged for special puja and payasam in anticipation of our visit.

Visit over, we proceeded to Angadipuram to visit the famous Thirumandamkunnu temple.  Enroute we had an interesting mythology lesson from my uncle. The gist is in this wiki link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirumanthamkunnu_Temple) but my uncle’s re-telling of the story was special.

Once we reached Nilambur we did the usual touristy stuff – visited the waterfalls at Aadyampara, the teak forest at Connolly plot and the teak museum. 

 View of the Karimpuzha river

 Aadyampara

 Connolly's plot

 No caption needed !

Garden adjacent to the Teak museum

But the highlight of Nilambur for me was the visit to Nilambur Kovilakam and the Vettakarumakan temple.

Through an acquaintance, my uncle had managed to get through to the present resident of the Kovilakam –the present ‘thampuran’ so to speak. Once our antecedents were checked, we were invited inside and the thampuran himself gave us a conducted tour of the kovilakam and its history.  I will recount a couple of interesting tit-bits here.

The first one is about how the Kovilakam itself came into being. In the early 1700s , fearing Hyder Ali would invade his kingdom through the Nilambur forests, the then Samudiri of Kozhikode, asked a member of the royal family to settle down in Nilambur and hold ground with an army. Neither Hyder Ali nor his son Tipu eventually invaded Kozhikode through the Nilambur route but Nilambur Kovilakam, a vassal of Kozhikode was formed.

Even more interesting was the story about the famous Guruvayur elephant – Guruvayur Kesavan. It is common knowledge that this famous elephant was an offering from Nilambur Kovilakam. But what is not so common is the background to this event. Around the time of the Mapilla revolution, the senior most lady of the Kovilakam was in the Vettakorumakan temple adjacent to the Kovilakam when the whole area was attacked. Though the doors of the temple were immediately closed, it was not expected to keep out the attackers. The lady prayed to Vettakorumakan that if the temple doors kept the attackers away, she would arrange for a baby elephant to be gifted to Guruvayur. The temple doors did not give way and a relieved royal family later gifted a baby elephant named ‘Everest’ to Guruvayur. This elephant was rechristened as Kesavan and the rest of the story is well known to all of us! The present Thampuran regaled us with a few more stories from the past.

 Vettakorumakan temple @ Nilambur

The oldest building in the Kovilakam complex (225 years old)

The best part of the overall trip was not the ‘sights and the sounds’ we encountered but the fact we could spend quality time with ‘long lost cousins’. It was even more heartening to see how well the younger crowd (many of whom were meeting each other for the first time in their lives) jelled with the rest of the group and had a good time.

All in all, the trip was short but sweet. At the end of three days, when we were parting ways to go back to our respective lives, there was an empty feeling in our hearts. That in a way augurs well for the family as it means that there will definitely be a re-run of the get together next year! And if that happens, rest assured that I will blog about it!