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

Evergreen Accomodation in Kootickal

Evergreen Estate Bungalow - Kootickal

It’s a plantation bungalow dating back to 1955 with an art deco pillar and timber gabled roof

Location 

Evergreen Estate Bungalow lies in the heart of the Mundakayam Valley. It nestles quietly amidst owner Anju and George Abraham’s 50 acre rubber, cardamom and coffee estate on the north eastern side hillock. The estate has been in their family since five generations. On the southern side, the Western Ghat range surrounding the nearby township of Kootickal creates an imposing backdrop. 

The rooms are spacious but simple, the bathrooms are contemporary and the service impeccable. There's a unique horse shoe designed table where food is served. 

A sit out at the back and a verandah out front opens out on a garden bathed in the scent of jasmine natural and peppered with birdsong 

Room Tariff with breakfast – Rs. 4250/- excluding taxes

On Offer:

• 1 hour cooking class of traditional Christian Kerala cuisine is Rs. 200/- per person

•  2 hour Tour to rubber and spice plantation and a detour to John Joseph Murphy’s tomb is Rs.500 per person

• There’s fishing, yoga and ayurveda packages as well  

Contact Address –    Mr. George Abraham

Pottamkulam House Kootickal

                              Kootickal Post Office No 686514

Call                    - +91 4828 284310

Make bookings online on Mahindra Homestays

Kootickal – Picture Postcard

Kootickal is a picturesque nook tucked away on the banks of the river Manimala. 

A dam checks the flow of the river and the artificial lake stands still as if yearning to be one with the mountains rising majestic up ahead and still untamed unlike the river. 

Kootickal gets its kutesy name from the British penchant to find a bit of England wherever they went. So Kootickal is a throwback to UK’s Kutikul estate

Kootickal Sights and Sounds:

Hillock

Gaze down at the urban sprawl of Kottayam and Ernakulum districts from the top of the Muthukora hills

Waterfalls Galore

Vadakkemala and Melaruvithodi are beautiful picnic spots

Herb Heaven

Amruthameda which is renowned for its medicinal herb is nearby

Rubber Estate

This is the village where rubber was first cultivated aeons ago – 1905 to be exact! By rubber planter Irishman John Joseph Murphy who is buried beneath the hills of Yendayaar. There’s also a rubber factory set up by a Southampton farmer in 1935 that you can visit

Getting There

Kootickal is in Kanjirappally Taluka, Kottayam district

•  Glide down – If you can afford it. It’s the landing spot for paragliders from Vagamon’s Kolahalamedu

• Train travel – Catch the train to Kottayam 60 km away

• Bus it – From Kottayam hop on to a bus going towards Elamkadu and Yendayar and hop off at Kootickal

• Drive down – It’s 6 km from Mundakayam on the Kottayam-Kumily route

Tip 

Make Kootickal the pit stop on the way to Kumarakom or from a visit to the Periyar forest reserve and stay awhile longer than a day, it’s worth it

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