Seeveli - Elephant Procession At Vaikom Temple, Kerala

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Seeveli at Vaikom Mahadeva temple! Click on the pictures to have a better view please.

A relative of mine is from Vaikom (Kottayam, Kerala) and she had been asking me to attend the famous Vaikkaththu Ashtami festival at the ancient Shiva temple there.  As you know by now, I am a fan of elephants and was happy I attended this festival, because the main attraction of this festival is Seeveli - the procession of the temple deity (Utsava murthy), on the temple elephant.  

The temple is quite huge and the details of the temple is here.

Vaikom Mahadeva Temple.

The temple is believed to be built in Treta yuga. The area of the temple is huge and very well maintained - mainly, it was very clean even during the 12 day festival with so much crowd attending it.  The main deity - Shiva linga is 6' high with ornaments for eyes, nose etc.  The details are in the above link. I went there in the middle of the 12 day festival in November last.  The whole town had a festive look with many pavement shops on the roads surrounding the temple.  The temple had a huge auditorium where dance and music programmes held from morning to night continuously.

Dance programme at the temple. I couldn't get a place even to stand and watch!

I was there for two days and went to the temple three to four times.  I saw the crowd like this, nearly all the times!  In this age of cinema and TV, I was surprised to see so much crowd coming to the temple and watching dance and music (classical music) programmes. My niece also gave a programme of classical music here, her first stage performance, alone (she had performed in her college earlier, though).

The round garbha gruha is covered by this mural paintings of stories from mythology. I took this picture...a better version is given below!

The very very old mural paintings were redone and the details are here.  I got the above picture from here

Vaikom Shiva temple is considered as one of the largest and the oldest of all Kerala temples.  Vaikom Mahadeva Shiva Temple, along with Eddumanoor Shiva Temple and Kaduthuruthy Mahadeva Temple, is considered a powerful trisome! We visited all the three temples before Uchchi Pooja (before noon pooja), which is very auspicious!

As in Vaikom temple, Eddumanoor temple also had round garbha gruha and beautiful mural painting on the wall!

I noticed one more custom here! Normally, we do pradakshina (walking around the temple) in a complete circle.  Here, we were asked not to cross the place where the water from the garbha gruha is let out.  We had to go back and complete the other half of the circle!

This is called 'poram vilakku' (outside lamp).  This is kept in the praahara of the temple.  If we pay certain amount of money, the temple authorities will light the diyas in our name! It is fully booked for the next two years, it seems! Looks beautiful!

The outside praahaara of the temple.  Many people were carrying their footwear in their hands!

All sides of the temple walls were lighted with diyaas like this in the evenings.  It was drizzling on the day of my visit - you can notice it!  So, less lamps were burning.  Simple architecture unlike Tamil nadu temples but clean.  No pesterings from the priests or other employees of the temple too! I was in a very happy mood here mainly because of this reason.

The elephants are waiting here to join the procession, until the main elephant gets ready!

The main elephant, which is the elephant of this temple with the uthsava murthy on it!  I noticed that the elephants were fed often during the waiting period!

Uthsava murthy means, a miniature of the main deity.  Most of the Kerala temples have got their own elephants.  During Vaikkaththu Ashtami festival, the elephants from the surrounding temples too join here. We see around 7 elephants in the picture.  12 elephant procession is conducted on the 12th day, I was told.

Ankush for controlling the elephant!

I noticed the ankush with every mahout but they were not raised/used, even once when I was watching.  I saw many policemen inside and outside the temple.  The policemen who were on duty inside the temple were wearing dhoti and angavastra with a neck band which had a 'Police' tag! They were very polite while asking the devotees to move on!

Most of the people of the town never cooked at home during the festival days, it seems.  The prominent people of the town fed people in different places every afternoon.  Typical temple festival! Once my relatives lost me in the crowd...I was going behind the elephants with the camera and they were worried worried for sometime! I must go back again and watch the 12th day festival of Vaikkaththu Ashtami next year!

Wordless Wednesday!

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Edited to add on 19.1.12: Please don't forget to read my friend, Ugich Konithari's beautiful lines in the comment section! I am overwhelmed!

Noiseless, Pollutionless Holiday Story, Part III - Green, Green, Everywhere, At Munnar!

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This post about our trip to Munnar, is due for the past few months! This is my first post for the new year!

When I said 'Green, green, everywhere', I meant it...you can see the proof in the pictures below!

This is the bungalow, called Nettikudi bungalow, where we stayed! The picture was taken from the backside road, when we went for an evening walk!

View from the Bungalow!

Partial view of the bungalow! The picture of the giant butterfly was taken from the left side roof of this bungalow!

Full view of the bungalow! We loved this secluded place without any interference from the outside world...heaven! Not even street lights were there in the evening!

We went to Munnar, after visiting Aathoor.  I had written two posts on the above title and posted a couple of pictures also from Aathoor and Munnar here.  We didn't visit the normal touristy places (visited Top slip and Kannan Devan tea factory, that is all!) but stayed at the bungalow we had booked and enjoyed the surroundings! Sometimes it was drizzling and quite cold but not unbearably cold. We went for long walks on the narrow roads which were meant for just the jeeps which were taking the labourers for plucking the tea leaves and taking the bags of the day's collection of the plucked leaves in the evening!

This is an old typical English Bungalow, which was built in 1927,  for the Tea Estate Managers.  You can read more about this bungalow with pictures, here!

They have got 3 rooms with old type furniture with clean linen.  Our family and our friend's family took two rooms.  One had renovated bathroom and one had old type bathroom...! The dining room had good cutlery and the food (vegetarian) was quite good! We still remember the taste of the Tea, they served there, which was very good! The staff were polite and seemed to work there from many years from generations! Have a look at their kitchen:

They use this choolha even now! They had a huge boiler in the corner too, which supplied water to the rooms! The light switches were of the old type, in the kitchen... round black one!

This old picture was there at the reception!

The beautiful dining room!

The front lawn of the bungalow! My husband and his friend were exercising here in the mornings!

The 'walking' bird!

The bird in the above picture was walking all the time! I saw it flying only to the beam of the building and started walking there again with a funny sound!

I didn't see much birds except the bulbuls, some humming birds and koyals! Majority were bulbul birds.  I am very fond of them and feel them like members of our family, the reason is here!

Now, to the sceneries! Nature at its best!

 

It was drizzling most of the time.  We saw these clouds in the mornings and evenings and sometimes, in daytime too!

Green, green...!

It looks as if the clouds bit the mountain partially!

Again, the clouds, mountains and valley!

Tea pluckers!

We saw these wild elephants on our way to Top Slip. 

We don't have good photographs from 'Top Slip', a beautiful place at Munnar.  It was cloudy or drizzling and the pictures were hazy.  Went for elephant rides.  Found a Jain hotel for lunch, where the food was quite good. Came back, played cards, had a good chat and slept comfortably! A typical holiday!

Now, have a look at a small clip of the video, we took it there! Click on the pictures to have a clear picture!

You can watch this video in higher quality on YouTube

Edited to add (11.1.12): The video was taken from the front side of the bungalow.  It starts from the narrow lane, which is the way to the building.  As I told you, it is situated in a remote area, pollutionless   area! At 1.26 mts. you can see a beautiful white patch in the right side top corner, which is a waterfall!

Hair Offering Custom...Do You Believe In It Now?

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Picture is from The Hindu.

When I read the news in The Hindu, the caption, 'Tale of a hairy sale', which said that 'Trumala temple has got a huge stock of 471 tonnes of hair, offered by devotees, for disposal, profitably (!)', I remembered taking my sons to Tirumala long back for their hair tonsure!

As per our family custom, we had to tonsure my sons' heads, first at Gunaseelam temple, Trichy and then at Tirumala, Tirupati. This god (Gunaseelam temple) is supposed to be the elder brother of Tirumala's Venkateshwara. Read the rest of the details in the above link.  We were supposed to do the first one, in the 3rd year for the first baby .  Only 'odd' years! Until this was done, we could not visit the temple, both temples, Gunaseelam and Tirumala, for any reason...even for attending a wedding or for darshan! My first son had long hair (double plaited) when we went to Gunaseelam! The second son was some 8 months old. The babies were made to sit on their father's lap while tonsuring.  I remember my husband telling me that both of them cried a lot! In those days, there were only male barbers for doing this job.  Women/mothers were not allowed inside the room.  Now, we can see women also doing the job (Picture above). After tonsuring, the babies should be bathed and some priest would apply sandal paste on their heads.  Some devotee would apply the 'naamam' on their forehead too...like Lord Venkateshwara wears, like this:

I have got their pictures with shaven head and naamam on their forehead...I laugh and they glare at me, whenever they see it!

I was just wondering what our wikipedia says about this and yes, I got the story and only now I know why I offered my sons' hair to the god!

When Lord Balaji was hit on his head by a shepherd, a small portion of his scalp became bald. This is noticed by Neela Devi, a Gandharva princess. She feels "such an attractive face should not have a flaw". Immediately she cuts a portion of her hair and with her magical power she implants it on his scalp. Lord Balaji notices her sacrifice. As hair is a beautiful aspect of the female, he promises her that all his devotees who come to his abode should render their hair to him, and she would be the recipient of all the hair received. Hence it is believed that hair offered by the devotees is accepted by Neela Devi. The hill Neeladri, one among seven hills is named after her.

Some of my relatives (husband's side - Tamilians) offer their babys' hair at Vaidheeshwaran temple. But as far as I know, every child's first hair was offered to some temple, mostly Tirupati. My Maharashtrian friend said that they don't have this custom. My mother's side (Udupi) too, don't have this custom! Is it just the custom of the Tamilians?

I don't know if I would ask my son to do this ritual and the ear-piercing ritual for his children. The babies are too small while doing this and I can't bear the crying of small babies.  Or as an elder, I might like them to do so...I might think it as the family custom and might be good for their well being! I think the younger generation would abhor this custom. They say that the hair will grow thicker if it is tonsured completely in the early years, do you think so?

What is your opinion?


Edited to add on 26.5.13: Profit for Thirumala from selling of hair!

Picture courtesy of Lord Venkateshwara: Google

Be Happy Always!

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This song, based on raag Ananda Bhairavi, was composed by music director A.R. Rahman.  He won the National Best Music director Award, Tamil Nadu State Award and Filmfare award for the songs in this movie, 'Minsara Kanavu' (Tamil). It was directed by Rajeev Menon.  Vairamuthu was the lyricist. Kajol,  Prabhu Deva and Arvind Swamy were the main actors.

I love this song by Anuradha Sriram, for the softness in her voice and the soulful melody of Rahman.  The orchestra is with very less instruments. The picturization also blends with the softness of the song.  And Kajol's eyes...expression in her face...great! Kannada actor Shankar Nag's wife, Arundhati Nag acted like a typical, devoted nun, here.

Hindi version of the song is equally good.  Anuradha herself has sung this song and lyrics by Javed Akhtar:





They always say when they mention about Christmas, 'Merry Christmas' and 'Happy Christmas'.  I like it very much.  I noticed that everybody whether they are Hindus or others, wholeheartedly greet everybody with this greeting, here, in our blogosphere too! Let me also join in!

MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

LET US ALL BE HAPPY & LIVE IN PEACE!