Story of a honest man...

news published by Manorama Online | Malayalam News | Kerala |

Peter and Murugan

This is a story which happened in real life. Peter is a news paper vendor who also sells Kerala State Lottery in the foot path near Woodlands Junction, M.G.Road, Cochin. His honesty and humane nature came to the notice of everybody when he refused to have any temptation towards money. He has a regular customer, Murugan, who is a poor Tamil man who does the job of pressing cloths. Every morning Murugan used to select lotteries which he desire to have but pays for it and take home the lotteries only in the evening when he gets money for his work. On Friday also he did the same. Peter, the lottery sales man, came to know that the lottery which was selected by Murugan got 40 Lakh rupees and a car as first prize. Peter immediately called Murugan and handed over the lottery for which Murugan has not yet paid for. We should remember that Murugan never has any right for the lottery until he pays for it. This act is very rare anywhere in the world and 40 Lakhs is a very huge amount. Peter deserves all the blessings and prayers if not other kind of gifts for his sincerity...

My husband purchases news paper from Peter every week while he goes for a walk after sending my son for his music class...

strolling through marine drive

The floating restaurant in Marine Drive, Cochin.  It is now in abandoned state, yet is a lovely sight.  We had a stroll through the walkway of Marine Drive on Sunday.  It was a busy day for the walkway.  May be because of the Ship Enrica Lexi, which was embarked at the oil terminal and which is visible from the Marine Drive walkway.  The police and Coat Guard of India captured the vessel which was allegedly involved in the killing of two fishermen while they were catching fish in the coastal area of Kerala.

The Enrica Lexi, as seen from Marine Drive walkway at Cochin.

Beautiful picturesque view from the walkway when the sun was about to set.

The sunset picture with the new port and cranes in view...

The most important part of our journey may be the street artist whom we saw.  He was a handicapped person with only half of the hands.  With the chalk held between his disabled limbs he was drawing beautiful picture. Many people were watching and some of them were donating money.

Bolgatty Island...

One of the beautiful sights while taking a round trip on a boat through the backwaters at Cochin is the Bolgatty Island.  It has a history which is very interesting. Bolgatty Palace  was originally built by Dutch traders in 1744 and was leased by the British in 1909.  It served as the British residency till 1949 and is surrounded by a nine-hole golf courses established in 1923. The palace is now converted into a resort and is run by the KTDC (Kerala State Tourism Development Corporation). It is 5 minutes away from the mainland by ferry.

There is a boat terminal in front of the entrance to the palace.

The tourist boats take a round for the tourists to have a closer view of the beautiful palace.

Another beautiful view of the palace which was used by Dutch for their royal life in Kerala. It was used as as residence for the commander of Dutch Malabar.

 After independence, the Bolgatty Palace was preserved as a historic place and later converted into a resort the main attraction of which is the honeymoon cottages which face the lake.

Another view of the honeymoon cottages

Bolgatty Palace is considered as a perfect location to host parties

Another view of the party going on...

the contribution to ecology...

the pond at ambalapuzha sreekrishnaswamy temple

the temples and such religious places contribute a great deal to the ecological balance.  in kerala, almost all temples have a large pond in it's premises.  these ponds are used for taking bath, the religious rite of immersing the deity during festivals and other religiously important occasions etc. but actually these ponds contribute to the ecological balance and ozone layer of the earth.  we never know whether our ancestors have included the ponds also with the temple complex with the purpose of ecological balance. but in reality, it happened so.

another view of the pond with the entrance to the premises on the other side

appu and friend inside the kulapura (house from which one can take bath) at the ambalapuzha temple complex.

beautiful reflections from the water on the wall

The Marvelous structures...

The Sreekrishnaswamy Temple at Ambalapuzha is of architectural importance as there are numerous marvelous works by our ancestors.  Decades back when the technology was not this much developed, wooden carvings and other such hand made structures were used extensively for buildings.  We can witness many such wonders in and around this temple.  The temple complex itself is a vast built up area with many buildings, balconies, and other structures.  The Natakasala, meaning Drama Theatre, itself is a marvel. Built mainly out of wood and stone, we can find out intricately hand carved pieces of art built into this building.

 

The wooden rods used to hold together the roof railings are intricately carved into a screw like design.  It seems that this wooden rod is screwed in through the other railings which are also made out of wood.

The accuracy with which this is made is amazing.  In this technically advanced era also, these hand made pieces amaze us and leave us wonderstruck.

This is only a part of the marvelous work done by our ancestors.  We can only imagine about the perfection of their calculation and execution.

first feast at Ambalapuzha

The religious rite of giving the first solid food for my younger son was performed at the Ambalapuzha Sreekrishnaswamy Temple.

 baby is going to get his first food (in solid form)..

Ambalapuzha Sreekrishna Swamy Temple where the rite was organised..

This Temple, which is in Alleppey District,  is historically important.  It has relevance in art, culture and literature in kerala.  The Temple is adjacent to the old palace.  The folk art of Ottanthullal, was originated here. Ottanthullal is very beautiful form of dance and drama which satirically narrates the epics of Kerala.

Appu in front of the Kalathattu (resting place)used by Kunchan Nambiar to introduce his art form

The thatched roof maintained in front of the temple was the place where all the drama happened. The legend is about Kunchan Nambiar (1705–1770) who introduced the new dance form called Ottanthullal.   Nambiar was accompanying the Chakyar Koothu, the dance form which was very popular during that time with his Mizhavu, an ancient instrument.

The Mizhavu, Preserved at Ambalapuzha

Chakiar Koothu usually depicts epics like Ramayana, Mahabharatha etc.  The peculiarity of this art is that the artist who performs Chakiar Koothu would be including the audience by mocking them in apt situations during the performance. During the performance Kunchan Nambiar became sleepy and he messed with the instrument.  The performer of the dance mocked him in public and Kunchan Nambiar left the arena humiliated.  The next evening when the Chakiar was performing before the audience, Kunchan Nambiar came in a new attire and started performing the new dance form which he called Ottan Thullal. The entire audience shifted to the place where he performed the dance. Chakiar lost his pride and a new form of art was born.

Ponthanpuzha again...

My travelogue about trip through the backwaters in Cochin is not yet finished but meanwhile, we had a nice trip again to Ponthenpuzha forest.  Appu insisted on going into the forest to have a bath in the small stream which comes from some place which is deep inside the forest.  It is near Thacharickal Temple, about which I have posted earlier. Because of the season, the stream was not full.  But enough clear, pure water was there which was enjoyed by Appu.

Appu was excited and took off his shirt to plunge into the water which was only knee deep in this area.  Upstream it is deeper.  But the water was chilling and clear.  This stream comes through the backside of  Thacharickal Temple and people believe it has the blessing of the deity.

appu trying to propel through the stream...!

Ponthanpuzha is a reserve forest.  It spreads in both Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts. Thacharical was declared as a centre for folklore studies as the temple has importance in promoting arts like padayani, kolam etc.