Childhood memories - the Durga Temple, Thottekkad, Pulpatta, Manjeri

 

One memory from my childhood is the frequent visits to the temple near our home - the Bhagavathi or Durga temple. On Fridays, we have a special offering at the temple - "Nerathala" which is basically Coconut rice - coconut shavings cooked in hand-milled red rice which is cooked by the priest (Embranthiri) in the temple itself. Anyone of us children should go to the temple to collect the same which meant you need to take bath early morning. The bath in the pond is a celebration in itself though the water will be very cold in the morning. But after the first leap in the water, you dont feel the cold at all. 

A three-four minute run to the temple, doing the pradikshinam and collecting the Nivedyam and back to home - all would be over in about 15-20 minutes maximum. 

The other memorable event is during the Vilakku where oil lamps are lighted all around the temple and we children have to pour the oil into the small metal lamps fixed on the outer walls of the temple as well as inside - around the garbhagriham. With a kuthuvilakku we used to go around and light all the lamps by sunset. Then there are special pooja etc. Each family would have a dedicated day of the month for the Vilakku. 

Also coconuts are thrown on to a slanting rock in front of the Iyyappan's temple and we children used to run and catch the broken coconut pieces. The special Ney Paayasam with roasted sessame on top was other delicacy of various Nivedyams from the temple. 

Digging up old memories...

With nothing to do,

With nowhere to roam around,

With being forced to confine yourselves,

Just digging into the past,

Digging up old memories

That's what the pandemic is

Allowing us to do...

The Village Home..

Sweet is the village home

With the overhanging trees 

With the open well on the east

With the kitchen adjacent to the well..

The coconut trees giving shade 

The Jack fruit and the mango trees

Decorating the land beside

The peacocks roosting on the trees

The red Mangalore tiles

Giving protection from the sun and the rain

The green chillies and the bananas 

The drumstick tree and the climbers

Ginger and Curry leaf tree

The Coccinia and the Turkey berry

Plants and climbers

Giving all the vegetables in-house

The long verandahs 

The corridors

The wooden stairs

The large dining hall

It is not just a home 

But a life itself

With nostalgic memories

Which will never die at all...

The house that has seen 

Various happy moments

Various sad events

Which has seen birth and death

It is not just a home

But a life itself

With nostalgic memories

Which will never die at all.....

(Photo: Pallippadam, Kerala)

A Flower and some thoughts.

This is known scientifically as Tabernaemontana divaricata or by the common name of crepe jasmine. To us Malayalees, this is known as the Nandiarvattam. There are at least two varieties of this flower. One with only five petals which is shown here, and another with layers of many petals.


This is a common plant seen and has a very mild fragrance. The juice from the petals of this flower is supposed to be very good for the eyes and I remember during our childhood, if some dust goes in our eyes, my grandmother used to pour the juice of these flowers mixed with breast milk and the redness in the eyes will vanish quickly. But she used to warn us. The cloth used for getting the petal juice, the small pointed vessel which is used for pouring the drops in the eyes, all should be sterilized. And of course, the hands and the breast milk also should be clean. This used to be very cool for the eyes, and with the nice fragrance, it gives a magical feeling to the eyes.



When I selected this photo for posting in the blog, my childhood memories ran quite vividly and for some time, I went back to my childhood, the good old days at our vast and beautiful ancestral house, the large open central courtyard - and the Nandiarvattam plant with full of silky white flowers.