Vaikom Temple Festival - Vaikashtami

Vaika comes from Vaikom which is a reference to the revered Vaikom Mahadev Temple and Ashtami refers to the 8^th day of the Malayalam month Vrischikam (November-December - Sagittarius) according to the lunar calendar

On the banks of the Vembanad lake in Vaikom in Kottayam district stands the Vaikom Mahadev temple constructed of black stone on 8 acres of land. The temple is surrounded by four looming towers and has four big corridors or mandapams with spacious halls called prakrams

The Vaikom Mahadev temple is dedicated to the worship of Mahadev, Lord Shiva, the Destroyer in the Hindu Trinity

Lord Shiva is worshipped in three forms:

• Morning – Lord Shiva as Dakshinamurthy where He is manifest as the supreme guru and in his avatar of knowledge destroys ignorance. In this avatar Lord Shiva faces Dakshin, the south which is the direction of death

•  Noon – Lord Shiva as Kiratamurti which is the form manifest to Arjun, the Pandav prince

•  Evening – Lord Sambhashivan along with Goddess Parvati. Lord Shiva as originating from the ash tree

The Vaikashtami Festival spans 12 days during which the symbol of Shiva in the form of a 5m high Shivalinga is worshipped 

On the 7^th day of the Vaikashtami Festival, the idol of Lord Shiva in the symbolic form of Thidampu is borne forth in a spectacular procession and as it makes its way through the throng the crowds swell as it is joined by another grand procession bearing Lord Muruga (Subrahmanya) from the adjacent Muruka temple of Udayanapuram. Thus Lord Shiva meets his son Muruga in the temple and the short tryst ends with the farewell

The festival ends with the Asthami celebration, the most significant 8^th day of the festivities

It celebrates the day when Sage Vyaghrapada was blessed with the manifestation of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati. In Tamil Vaiyaghra became Vaikom

This luminous moment is marked by the lighting of the ceremonial lamps called Ashtami Vilakku

There are night long performances by Kathakali artistes on the 8^th day of Asthami

Throughout the festival there are music and dance concerts making for a rich cultural experience

The significance of the temple lies in the history of satyagraha (non-violent agitation) for the restoration of equality in worship where nobody could be debarred on grounds of caste and the crowds that gather reflect this honorific event

Location

From Kochi move south 30 km and from Kottayam move up north 40 km

Train and local bus is the best way to travel but arrive early so as to avoid jam-packed local transport

Date of the Vaikashtami Festival

December 7^th is the likely date of the festival this year

Onam 2012 Aranmula Boat Race

The Aranmula Boat Race rows off on September 1, 2012

Venue – Pampa river, Aranmula Parthasarthy Temple

The oldest regatta of Kerala, the Aranmula Boat race is a tribute to the time when Lord Krishna, the divine sarathy (charioteer) to Parth (Arjun, Pandav Prince) took abode as the presiding deity at Aranmula Parthasarthy Temple

Legend has it that a devout Brahmin vowed to feed one pilgrim a day. One day, Lord Krishna presented himself as a pilgrim to the Brahmin. Ecstatic at being thus blessed, the Brahmin pledged 51 measures of rice and to provide for the traditional Onam feast called the Thiruvona Sadya at the Aranmula Parthasarthy Temple on the banks of the river Pampa

On the way to the temple, the boat carrying the sadya was attacked. Snake boats or chundam vallams raced to protect the Lord’s offering

The sadya was then borne in style in Palliyodams, larger snake boats used mainly by royals

Since then, every year, the tradition of the snake boats gathering on the river Pampa to escort the Lord continues

It is a two day event

The first day, there’s a carnival with a towering idol of Lord Krishna and children enact a costume drama dressed as nymphs and princesses

On the second day the boats gather, one each from the villages along the river Pampa

The boats decorated with flags, parasol and flowers arrive in the morning to offer prayers at the temple

At noon the participants are offered the traditional Onam sadya meal

After partaking the feast, the regatta begins

In every boat, 100 ft long are four helmsmen and 100 rowers who are accompanied by 25 singers who sing to the boat’s rhythm

Since every boat is believed to carry Lord Krishna, there is no sense of competition and boats are expected to arrive at the destination at the same time. Sync boating in motion!

Hence, it is the only race which does not have cash prize or a trophy as the race is a celebration of the Lord’s manifestation

Getting to Pampa

Reach Kochi or Thiruvanthapuram (Trivandrum) by air or train

At Ernakulum station in Kochi or Trivandrum Central station, take the train to Chengannur which is the nearest rail head to Aranmula

From Chengannur railway station drive down, catch the local bus or hire a cab to reach Aranmula, 10 km away

Sopanasangeetham - Divine Song

   What is Sopanasangeetham?

Sopana is traditionally the steps to the temple’s sacred shrine and sangeetham means music. 

Sopanasangeetham was thus born in the temples as an offshoot of Indian classical music to evoke Ashtapadis (8 line hymns) of 12th century bhakti poet Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda that celebrate Lord Krishna and Radha’s love

Sung near the steps to the inner sanctum, in keeping with the idea of pure simple devotion to the deity, Sopanasangeetham is shorn of traditional classical music traditions of microtones and flourishes. It follows the time honour code of ragas that unfold as per the phases of a day and often accompany the Kalam - the pictorial evocation of the deity usually Goddess Kali. 

So eventually, it moved out of the temples to homes and courtyards and eventually became the music for kathakali, krishnattam and ashtapadiyattam dance forms

Learning Centre

  

    Sopanam Kalavedi & Research Centre at Kudamaloor

Kudamaloor - Heritage by the River

Stroll along the banks of the Konakiri canal in Kudamaloor which is part of a northern tributary of the river Meenachil and breathe in a whiff of history from the temples, churches and the traditional Nalukettus dating aeons ago that dot the landscape

Once upon a time, this village of Kudamaloor tucked away in Kottayam district was the command centre of the Chembakasserri kings

Near the Eraveeswaram Mahadeva temple stands the Valiyamodam Nalukettu, the traditional wooden structure where the erstwhile royal family still stays

Near the temple can also be seen the ramparts of the old fort pockmarked by canon holes

The chundam valloms that now take part in boatraces once upon a long time ago weighed anchor as a naval fleet at nearby Kottakadavu 

The Chembakasseri kings were secular in outlook so temples and churches received equal patronage. Among the ten temples are:

·      Kudamaloor Devi Temple famed for its murals

·      Vasudevapuram Temple played host only to the women folk of Kudamaloor Chempakasseri Madom. Murals paint its walls

Among the churches of Kudamaloor are:

·      St.Mary’s Forane church dates back 800 years to the time of St. Thomas, the Apostle. It is considered to be one of the seven churches that he established

It is in St.Mary’s Forane church that Saint Alphonsa, a native of Kudamaloor was baptized

Kudamaloor being an important outpost of a royal kingdom also became a cultural hubbub, a tradition that continues till date

The temples like the Karukulangara Sri Bhadrakali temple are renowned for their standout performances of folk forms:

·      Tiyattu – or Teyyatu The word is believed to be a variation on the word Daivamattu which means dancing to please the deity.  It’s a dance traditionally performed for the Goddess Bhadrakali and Lord Ayyappan and commonly to ward off epidemics

·      Bhadrakali Tiyattu 

It begins at noon with the worship of the deity Bhadrakali to the sound of music. In the evening, Bhadrakali’s image is created with black, yellow, white, green and red powders in the traditional Kalamezhuthu form of art. At night the Tiyattuni and his followers sing praises to the deity. One of the performers then assumes the form of Bhadrakali killing the demon Danka. He prays to Lord Siva and then waves the torch, a symbol of the Lord Destroyer around the assembled gathering. This significant ritual ending the dance performance is to ward off the evil eye

Other forms like Garudam Parava (Garuda is the mount of Lord Vishnu) are also performed at Kudamaloor’s temples

Kudamaloor is home to a panoply of artistes from varied art forms:

·      Kudamaloor Karunakaran Nair, Kathakali artiste hails from here

·      KunchanNambiar spent his boyhood here and rose to become the inventor of Thullal and a favourite of the Chembakasseri king. But this did not mean he spared the king in his satire. In the same breath where he praised the Raja he poked fun at his increasing bald pate!

·      KudamaloorJanardanan self-taught artiste of the flute continues to entrance with his exquisite mastery of the bamboo instrument

Other artistes to be found in Kudamaloor:

·      Folk form Kerrida artistes 

·      Kalaripayyatu performers – the traditional martial art form that is scientific in applying principles of mind-body co-ordination and medicinal practices

In keeping with its acclaimed cultural activity, Kudamaloor hosts centres of learning for Kathakali as well as other arts:

·      Devivilasam Kathakali yogam 

·      Sopanam Kalavedi & Research Centre 

Reaching Kudamaloor 

Take the train to Kottayam and drive down approximately 5.4 km

Drive down from Kochi airport. It takes approx 2 hours and then some