Alukkal Paradevatha Temple- Nostalgia relating to Kottapadi& Vavu Vela.

. Kottapadi is a place which considered to be the Gateway of Guruvayur where the most famous Krishna Temple of Kerala Is situated.I have a special attachment to the place simply because I was born in this small village( now a fairly big Town).My parents also belong to this place.My father was a teacher and a Kathkali singer .My mother was a prominent social worker and a prominent person well known in the place .My father had his own school also here.The school is still there but taken over by the Government. The name Kottapadi,perhaps,came into existence because it was a gateway for the village in which The Punnathur Kotta( Punnathur fort) existed.the almost ruled by the Punnathur Raja those days.the Punnathur Kotta is still there but the royal family members are not there.Theyvall left the place and settled elsewhere. ,Kottapadi a small coastal town is 6KM away from The sea.when it was a small village,the roaring of the Arabian sea Was clearly audible.But nowadays the sound of roaring is not reaching Kottapadi clearly ,perhaps ,due to the arrival of enormous number of Houses and increase in population.Being coastal area and near to the sea the sand of Kottapadi is pure white in color.This sand is extremely favorable for the growth of Coconut trees.But after becoming a small town the coconut industry is not on the growing trend.there were many houses in Kottapdi where coconut oil was produced by crushing the copra in a local machine pulled around by men and Bullocks..But such houses are not visible nowadays.Perhaps, the reason is obvious. The conquering of lands by builders who ha tremendous prospects all over near the suburbs of Guruvayur had built houses which was a leading factor of Kottapadi becoming a town rapidly from the former status of a village. One peculiar feature of Kottapadi is the presence of Christians and Muslims from Chavakkad Manathala area.the three Religions lived in Kottapadi with unity and communal harmony.And this trend is still continues here. There are a few prominent Churches also in Kottapdi . Besides ,vavuvela in the Alukkal Temple,the " Perunnal" in Kottapadi and Kaveed churches also contribute towards the glittering festivals promoting communal harmony. Let us come back to the Vavu vela of Alukkal Temple which is the subject of this Blog. In the olden days ,the guardian of the village to some extent was the Punnathur Raja family.The Alukkal Temple in it's glorious days was being managedvand administered by the Royal Family.the Vauvela was a glittering festival those days.still it is being celebrated in full scale .But whether the former glittering atmosphere is present or not is a matter of concern and discussion among people of Kottapadi The kottapadi Church had a school also functioning under it .Now the school is a higher secondary school.There is one Badhani Convent also at this place.I have special regards for this convent where I had my primary education.This period also gave me opportunity to get many friends among Christians. Another particular feature about Kottapadi is that it is surrounded by three towns Guruvayur,Chavakkad and Kunnamkulam .This had helped merchants of the three towns to contribute to the availability of essential goods especially household items including golden Ornaments in Kottapadi,Kunnamkulam ,Guruvayur& Chavakkad .Thrissur being the major city the three towns flourished in every branch of trade and business. This relationship made all these Places in their prospects. The Alukkal Temple ,the Temple Pond,the Temple maidan everything relating to the Temple had played a prominent role in my childhood from practicing cycling in the Maidan ,playing football,playing with friends in the gate road of Alukkal temple Maidan to the Punnathur Kotta and playing in the Temple pond by swimming Diving etc for hours together in the evening which at times had become subject of criticism from members of the Royal family. Two incidents connected with the Temple pond are very touching and turning points in my childhood when I was around 12 years old. The first happened in the early morning around 6-30 in the morning when I went to take a quick dip in the Temple in winter season.when I entered the bathing place covered with a roof & steps made of stones to enter into the pond .The place is called " Kadavu" which means the entrance place to the pond.When I was entering the kadavu from top entrance one fat gentleman was rushing from down below to jump out of the window in a hurry and with fear.I immediately recognized the individual who was a member of Royal family who used to abuse us for playing in the Temple pond.I stopped him from jumping ?Had he jumped it could have been fatal .when Ibasked him why he was trying this misadventure ,he said there was one Allegator behind him.he was not fully correct.The alligator he was mentioning was a visitor from other ponds and used to take rest on the steps with mouth wide open for probable insects to sit on it's tounge.In fact it was the Allegator who was afraid of the Raja and hurrying back to the pond.Te raja had misunderstood the Allegator. aAny way Raja was happy with me in saving him from disaster.Thereafter, he didn't insist on any restriction of our playing in the Pond. This permission ,however did not help me but instead put me in worst emberassing situation in my life. This is the incident I would never forget.An incidentbin which Inhad an encounter with death face to face.! After the misadventure of the Raja with the Allegator,I too had a more serious misadventure with an Allegator in the Temple pond.There were no regularvallegators in thePond of the Temple. Sometimes they used to appear .usually if they come to theTemple pond ,they could be seen lying on bank of the Pond during day time withnit's mouth wide open.when they are present in the Pond ,we children never used to play in the Temple. I was an expert in swimming especially underwater swimming which needed long duration to hold the Breathing.I could in those days hold breathing at least for two minutes at a stretch while swimming underwater. One evening around 5 PM we as usual went in group for playing in the Temple.we were not aware of the presence of the Allegator.we started our process of making "one pond into four by our playing" ( as the Rajas used to call it!) All of a sudden one comparatively small Allegator which we had never seen before sprang from nowhere in front of me When I was just 1/4 th distance to reach the opposite bank of the Pond.The Allegator had seen me.I was stunned and was trembling with fear.As if the God came to my rescue I suddenly Took a dip wend down the pond as far as possible and swam ahead under the Allegator which was floating in the water with it's head up.I was successful in mybact of recovery and cold reach the other bank unnoticed by the Allegator.Had the Allegator also underwater could have finished me with it's tail which looked like the tool of timber workers.( a tool with sharp teeth in steel called " eerchaval" in our place). When Ibreached the other end of the pond my friends and other people had took me and treated .I didn't know exa what happened..when I opened eyes my mother was sitting near me.I was sure to get a workout on me by my mother on reaching home .so I closed my eyes.On reaching home nothing of the sort I expected did happen.Instead I got a final Warning against playing in the Temple pond.According to my mother ,it was the Blessings from Guruvayurappan and Paradevatha that helped.I believed it.Still I believe in what she said.After this incident I used to accompany her willingly and more devotedly to Guruvayur and other Temples she visits early morning.usually I used to go with her not merely because of devotion but with an intention of enjoying the Masaladosa she used to get after the Darshan at the Temple.But after the incident I turned into a real devotee of Guruvayurappan.Nowadays whenever I visit Guruvayur Iavoidvtaking food from Hotels Holding breathing for long duration helped me later in life when I had attended the "Art of Living " course conducted by Shri Shri Ravi Sankar.all the process needed holding breath for long time. Sorry I have lost track of thePardevatha Temple mixed up with the misadventure. The Vavu vela is still being held in the Paradevatha Temple even though theRoyal family members are not present in Kottapadi. The following POOJAS and rituals are being observed in the Temple during the festival which usually last for One week. The POOJAS in the chronological order conducted everyday during the festival: ********************************************************************************* 1)Ganapathy Homam at 5-30 AM The Ganapathy Homam is followed by Ushapooja,Navkam,Panchagavyam ,Uchapooja& Ezhunnallippu in the forenoon and in the afternoon at 6-15 Deeparadhana,Thayampoka,Athazhapooja,Kalamezhuthupattu,Chuttuvilakku followed by most popular Prasadam Oottu On the day of the beginning of the Utsavam there is one special Mulayidal ritual also. Similarly on the second day onwards,there is a ritual called Parayeduppu starting from Moolastanam at Kottekkat. The Parayeduppu is in the form of a procession visiting houses .those who are interested ,can offer their Para to the Paradevatha.This is one event which attract Devotees to a large extent.Nowadays there is also competition in this field among devotees/ Houses as a result of which the benefit goes to the Paradevatha in a most deserved manner.This in fact makes the Temple richer. So more and more devotees are welcome to come forward to put forward their might for the benefit of the Temple. The final day of the Festival is more important in regard to various items of entertainments staged on thefinaday.There is a Prasadam Uttu after Uchapooja.Thereafter to remind the old Glory of the Temple there is an Ezhunnallippu from the Temple to the Punnathur Kotta with accompanying Melam.The procession on CaprisonesvElephants return by evening to the Temple accompanied by Melam. In between there is vela in the Maidan as is depicted in the pictures above.the Theyyamlike entertainment is also staged but not as much liberally as it used to be in olden days.All the ingredients ofaTemple festival are available in this Temple also. The Alukkal Temple is a spacious Temple with a pond with clear water to take bath. Please do visit this Glorious Temple when you visit the Anakotta of Punnathur ( Elephant fort of Punnathur) where theElephants of Guruvayur are living under the supervision of Guruvayur Devaswam GURUVAYURAPPAN SARANAM. ALUKKAL PARADEVATHA SARANAM. [pictures Curtesey: SASI KOLATH.] Sreedharan Mundanat 7th June 2015