Puthucode-An introduction

There was a great   write up in Malayalam about our village by Arjun Seshadree Puthucode . It Warmed   my heart  .I am translating it in to English so that  people who do not know how to read can enjoy(THis may include  Puthucodians also,)  Thanks Arjun

Translated by

P.R.Ramachander

Puthucode-An introduction

Puthucode is a very small  village  35 km away from Palghat, Great people have not k lived there,There are no  wonders of the world there,Nothing is happening  there  which couldshake the small kerala-Because  of that  it ab unknown but peaceful village.In centre of the village   there  is a temple for the goddess. On four sides of it   are for villages  south village  , east village, north village and west village. On both sides there are rows of houses  sharing a common wall.

From the age of 15  till I attained  23  , I  spent  my life  in four hostels and four different corners  in India.>in between them mud roads   with  stone jelly,You can see here and there  few wells there. 

There are a group of people there   who wake up hearing the song of  the  temple.Some of them would   wake up even before that-for example my grand prents ,But the alarm sound which makes up majority of the people  continues to be the song of the village Till 9.30 Am there   would be some movement  in the villages-people going to the temple, people going to buy milk from the society in front of the temple, the children going to Sarvagna   temple  altogether  lots of dust.

  Once the ruxh of the morning is over the village  would become silent

   Elders take foiod before 12.30 PM  and have  a slight nap. –Afternoon they go to buy milk from the society  -because in the life of Brahmins  coffee can not be avoided .3.30 -4 PM   they would all drink coffee     and some thing to bite. By that time  the children from school would start coming book. In the village one side there would be cricket and on the other side a group of small children  conssting of bysand girls.

  But the cricjet would not be there always  .It depends  on season

IN Anjumti   there used to be   a shop of Murugan. There once iin a while marbles and tops  would com,e and then cricket would make way for them..Some times they would play by throwing flat stones some times   it would be throw ball ,After  the fields are harvested  cricket  would shift there and for two months home ground would be  empty.

At evening 5.30, when the sound of song rises in the temple ladies would become again busy.They would   set theit hair  and it would be time to light lamp of the dusk..Like that we children would be come ready to again play. Time  to play is up to 6 PM.The speaker in the temple would again become silent.After that people   should take bath and   chant names of God., Sound of chanting prayers would reise  from the temple.By 8-8.30 the preperations, playes/leaves for dinner would be spread. After that when we children go upstairs to study, we would hear  the downstairs wodden doors being closed with huge sound. After   all dorrs   are shut  , there  would be an inspection by grand father . He would touch and inspect every hook and every bolt of the doors  and inspect whether  they have been closed  properly. If everything is alright, he would be happy.Then he would remove his dentures, take medicine  and granpa and grandma would start sleeping.

     WE would lay down to slrrp arond 9,30 to 10 PM. THis is our daily   time table

But there is a festival there  which completly  changes all this.The time when temples would be dressed  with flowers, every house  would be filled with sound of loud laughter –thew next 10 days   the village would be filled   with smell of beaten and puffed rice  as well as that  of sugarcane

The village would get bathed  in light, huge Pandals   which touch the sky would be erected and every house would arrange   exhibition with multi coloured dolls   for the next 9 days.

Our Navarathri---