Centenary birthday in heaven on 8th December 2020

 

Centenary  birthday  in heaven on 8^th  December 2020

(humble wishes, Raja)

 BY

Raja Thatha

 

One  hundred   years  back  in the southern village,

Of  a great  agrahara  of  Puthucode(new line) was born,

A gem  like baby  to a very  rich man   and he   thought,

He is going   to be adventurous  and called  him “Veera mani”

 

Veera  mani   was sent  to  a high  school  in  near by  Alathur,

To continue  his studies in high  school   and when  he told,

That  travelling  was difficult  , his father  hired  a house,

And appointed  a good cook  , so that his son was  comfy

 

But  Veera mani   was  interested more in  foot ball  rather than,

Studies  , though  he loved  studying  Malayalam,

And      he  left   his school  without  informing  his family  ,

And reached  Mumbai,  and lived there   with a friend

 

He joined  in a very small  job   and was struggling  to live,

And did in form his father  about   where  he is ,

After  some time  his rich father  searched  for a bride,

And located   a girl called  Pappu , who had just finished high school

 

Pappu   was little  wondering   about a  non SSLC  boy,

And her  grand father  informed  her  that  Veeramani  was very rich,

And could   comfortably live   for   three  generations  ,

Even if he  did  not   earn  any thing   at all.

 

Pappu   did  marry  Veeramani   and came   to Mumbai,

And had  to live  in her  elder  sister’s  home  for some time.

Time   as usual  marched   and Veeramanis    took a chawl,

For rent   and  the  march  of  family  building started.

 

Rajamani  was born   and   was  rapidly  followed by Ramani,

, Indu, Raji  , Mohan   and Nanu and they  did buy  a flat ,

In chembur  called  the Nava gita  and moved   there.

And to all who  knew them , it   was  the heaven on earth

 

I  have known lot of people   every where  but  I never knew,

A  simple hilarious Veeramani and majestic kind  and royal Pappu,

They  were  simply great and one by  one  the birds  left ,

But  the  diamond  binding  was   there  for each  with them.

 

Their children   enjoyed  looking after  them   till ripe old age,

And  one by one   they  left   this world  , definitely to heaven.

To  my Akka  and Athimbar  on the centenary  birthday    of my Athimbar,

I wish   to tell them a  very  very  centenary  birthday  in heaven.

                                                           

 

Drik ganitha and Vakhya Pannchangams

 Drik ganitha  and Vakhya  Pannchangams

By

P.R.Ramachander

  PAnchangam   ie book giving us information about   five aspects that is Month, date,  day  , Nakshatra   and Thithi of  all days.(some people say Karana  and Yoga instead of month and date)

  Possibly in Vedic times  , certain   very intelligent people   with sharp  sight   was allotted   to  see the  planets in the sky  and note their exact  position . This was done by bare  eyes.This information  was collected  by them for   several years   , Using this data  they  plotted  the position   of each planet (Possibly 7  planets) over years  and found out their orbit. They expected  the orbit would be round   but it was oval. So they created   two  imaginary  points  Rahu and Kethu   which were   always 180   degrees away.Now  they   were  having  information  that they  needed   to create a panchang. It was not needed for them   to look at   the planet  any more   and they  did it   by  finding the position  of the planet according to their projected  speed with reference  to their first observed  position .  They   were able to predict full moon, New Moon  , eclipse  of Sun and Moon etc..  The ancient   formula of movements   was called  “Vakhyam”

     About  1500   years ago,  they   thought  of verifying   the place  of each planet as per their Panchangam  . They  saw (Drik)    the position of planets   were  not in predicted  places.So they  a marked the position observed them , took in to account the  speed calculated  earlier   and started making new Panchangams   as per  the seen point  .This was called  Drik Ganitha or Drik panchangam  . There was some difference of opinion.Some people said  that  they will  not agree  with drik panchangams  and continued using   their Vakhya panchangams, Entire  Kerala except a part of Tamil  Brahmins  use  only  Drik ganitham  .  Some of tamil Brahmins  in Palakkad   started using   Sri Rangam  Panchangam   which is a Vakya  Panchangam.  Some  Brahmins  in  Trichy , Thirunelveli   and Thanjavur still use  Vakhya panchangam only.Pambu panchangam  , arcot Seetha Rama Iyer  Panchangam   and sri rangam panchangam   are famous vakya  panchangams .  The  Acharyal madathu panchangam, Vasan Panchangam and even the  Rashtriya panchang  of the government   are  Drik  Panchangams

  However The TAMBRAS does  not accept  horoscope cast  using Vakhya panchangam  for  horoscope registration. However  all temples  follow only  Vakhya panchangam  to determine their festivals  movement of planets etc

 

Guruvayur Ekadasi on25-11-2020 this year

 Guruvayur Ekadasi on25-11-2020 this year

Compiled by

P.R.Ramachander

It is the belief that Lord Vishnu himself comes to Guruvayur on that day.It is also believed that Devendra and all his Devas , all gods and Goddesses participate in the celebrations in Guruvayur,Because of it, it is believed that Guruvayur Ekadasi is very special, destroys all sins and purifies one and all

Narada purana saya performing 1000 Aswamedhas and hundreds of Vajapeyas, would give lesser effect than one by sixteenth of observing Guruvayur Ekadasi.Outside Guruvayur it is observed as Moksha(salvation) Ekadasi

Story behing Guruvayur Ekadasi

It seems once an asura called Mura made the land of devas as his own.All devas waged a war against him to regain their land. At that time Lord Vishnu was in yogic sleep and one female form with divine luster armed with all the weapons of Lord Vishnu rose from him and completely destroyed Mura and his army

When lord Vishnu woke up and asked her as to who she is, She replied that she was Ekadasi, Lord Vishnu was greatly pleased and asked her to request any boon from him She requested that her day should become the mosat holy among all days and that to those who did penance on that day, , the effect of perform ming Aswamedha should be given and should be admitted to Vishnu loka on their death.Lord Vishnu was very delighted and agreed to her request.

The day of Guruvayur Ekadasi ie the shukla Paksha Ekasai of Vruschika month(October-november) is the day on which Lord Vishnu wakes up from his yogic slep and visits the earth along with Goddess Lakshmi and blesses the world.

It is the day when the temple open the entire day from 3AM to next day 9AM.All expenses for Udhayasthamana pooja on that day is borne by devaswam itself,unlike otherdays

There is a morning seeveli inside the temple

A special feast called ‘Ekadasi Oottu’ will be served at the temple in the morning. A main dish made of wheat, Rasakkalan, Puzhukku, pickle and wheat payasam will be served.

Ekadasi Vilakku. Kazhcha shivelis will be conducted with caparisoned elephants accompanied by panchavadhyam, melam, nagaswaram and vilakku pradikshan at night. During the Vilakku Pradikshan, the thidambu of the deity will be carried on top of the elephant in a procession accompanied by idakka (temple percussion instrument). The devotees light up thsousands of lamps around the Naalambalam. The Vilakku is offered to the Lord by various individuals, institutions and organizations.. The ‘swamakolam’ of the deity will be carried on the chief elephant , during the Vilakku

It is the day when Lord Krishna taught Arjuna the Bhagwad gita on Ekadasi there is a grant elephant procession to the Parthasarathi temple since it is regarded as Geethopadesam

It is the day when Indra reached Vaikunta along with Kamadhenu and anointed Lord Vishnu with its milk

It is the day when Lord Krishna performed Govardhana Pooja

It is the day when Adhi Sankara visited Guruvayur and formulated the methods of worship to Guruvayurappan

It is the day when Guruvaurappan comes out to bless his devotees without any thanthric worships

It is the day when great devotees like Meppathur Bhattathiripad, Poonkunnam and Kurooramma Got the vision of Guruvayurappan

It is the day when Meppathir completed Narayaneeyam and offered to Guruvayurappan

It is the day when Chembai Vaidhyanatha Bhagwathar got back his voice

It is the day when all the Guruvayur temple elephants assemble before statue of Guruvayur Kesavan and he is garlanded by the chief elephant of the temple.

On the next day of Guruvayur Ekadashi (Dwadashi), there is a famous custom called Dwadasi Panam. During this occasion, money is offered at the Kothambalam of the temple. This is considered greatly auspecious

Saint Ramanuja’s visit to Kashmir

Saint  Ramanuja’s visit  to Kashmir

 

Compiled by

P.R.Ramachander

 

( We have now  “google search “ to locate  information   about anything  and everything but  1000    years  back  there was no method  to locate a book or info.But Saint Ramanuja  located  the only available  copy  of a book in india in Kashmir.This also  indicates  that Kashmir then was a repository  of many  books on Veda)

 

Vedas are classified into two parts - Karma Kanda and Brahma Kanda. Karma Kanda, due to its vastness needed a briefing. Jaimini wrote Suthras (aphorisms) for the same. It was called as Purva Mimamsa.

Similarly Brahma Kanda, due to its complexity, needed a briefing, as it might have resulted in misinterpretations. Veda Vyasa wrote aphorisms for the same. This is called as Brahma Sutra.

Both Purva Mimamsa and Brahma Sutra needed further explanations. Thus came the Vritti(explanation) from Bodhayana for the Brahma sutra

A Vritti is a short gloss explaining the aphorisms in a more, elaborate way, but not as extensively as a Bhashya. Bodhayana Vritti had the reputation of being the most authoritative explanation of the Brahma Suthras.

 Saint RAmanuja   wanted to write a Bhasyhyam   to  the Brahma Sutra of   Sage Vyasa and before that  he wanted to consult  Bodhayana Vrithi 

Even before 1000  years  only one  copy was available and that  was in Kashmir.Saint Ramanuja along with his  disciple and friend Kuresa  visited  Kashmir   to  get a copy  of the  Bodhayana Vritti. The pundits of Kashmir   allowed him to read   and not take  any notes. Kuresha who had photographic  memory   was able to repeat  the contents of the book .Using  it  Saint  Ramanuja   wrote  his  “sri Bhashyam”  based on it  .

Kolar iyers or Ashtagrama iyers or DEvasamudram iyers-an Introduction

Kolar iyers or Ashtagrama iyers  or DEvasamudram iyers-an  Introduction

 

Compiled  by

P.R.Ramachander

In the early 16th century a few of the Iyers from the North Arcot and the Tanjavur districts of Tamil Nadu migrated to the Ashtagrama group of villages, at the request of the existing government, as learned priests, Vedic scholars and agriculturists. There is also a belief  that  they migrarated from  Kundur  village  of KanchipuramThey soon transformed it from a poor community into a well-educated and prosperous one.

 

     They  are also known as   Devarayasamudram iyers   and speak  a mixture  of Kannada   and Tamil. Being a border  district of Andhra   most of them also know  Telugu.  .Here   are  their language   equivalent   to some tamil words:-

 

Tamil-  Ashta grama tamil

Varela?-  Vareegla?

Porela?  Poreegla?

Yrnga aathle?  Yengulle

Konju  podu-Chitha nazhi

 

.All of them belong to the Vadama  subcaste  of  Iyers.They have   settled in 16 villages  of KOlar district of Karnataka  , deva samudram being   their largest   settlement.

Ashtagrama (literally,'eight villages') consists of several villages which are located in the Valley of the Palar River, which flows through the Kolar district into Tamil Nadu. The 10 villages on the North side of the river are Cholagunte, Doddiganahalli, Devarayasamudram , Gangigunte, Honnagaanahalli, Kothamangala, Minijenahalli, Thattangunte, Vijalapura and Yelagondahalli. The remainder of the villages, Aralakunte, Chamarahalli, Gangapura, Hunkunda and Shillangeri are on the southern side of the river. Though the Iyers form the majority of the population all these villages show communal diversity.

 

There   are Shaivites   as well as Vaishnavites among them

,

   They follow a mixture of the customs  of iyers of Tamil Nadu and also   the Smartha   Brahmins of Karnataka, They follow   both the Solar as well as  Lunar  Panchangams   and celebrate   festivals   following  the Lunar calendar.

 

. Even though  a very small community   they have made a  mark   and there are  very emininent personalities   among them in almost   every field  of endeavour.  The world famous  Historian Sri Ramachandra Guha Indian politician V.S.Krishna Iyer  (Once MP from Bangalore) , the world famous  photographer Sri T.S.Satyan, Shatavadhani Ganesh  Actress  Soundarya    and the famous  writer and cartoonist Regret  Iyer   belong to their community. They also maintain a face book page  Ashtagrama Iyer's.They have  also established in 1993 an association of their own called  Ashtagrama association

 

 Please   see a  funny video   made  by the Ashta grama  iyers   settled in USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmAEd0Wpn80

 

Dravida Brahmins of telugu state -migrants from Tamil Nadu

 

Dravida  Brahmins   of telugu state -migrants from  Tamil Nadu

Compiled  by

P.R.Ramachander 

        Among the  telugu speaking people of   Andhra Pradesh  there are two important sects  , Vaidiki  and Niyogi ,Amongf them Vaidikis are  considered as scholars of Veda,They have sub divisions.One of them is Dravidulu.  It is believed that  they are migrants from  Tamil Nadu

 Sri Kanchi paramacharya had said about  the dravidulu sect of Telugu Brahmins.

“The Chola rulers of the Telugu country and the Colas of Tanjavur were related by marriage. Rajaraja Cola (Narendra) reigned in Tanjavur; it was he who built the Brhadisvara temple. Kulottunga Cola who belonged to the family of the grandson of a king of Vengi ruled as a member of the Cola dynasty of Tanjavur. Once he visited the Cola kingdom and on his return took some 500 Brahmins with him to promote Vedic learning in Vengi. The "Dravidalu" of Andhra Pradesh are the descendants of these Brahmins.

The names of all these Brahmins and their gotras are mentioned in the copper-plate inscription together with the subjects in which they were proficient and duties they had to perform. The landed property allotted to each is referred to, so also the names of the donors and of the recipients. The Brahmins from Tamil Nadu had to teach the Vedas and sastras. That is why gifts of lands were made to them.”

     They have not only migrated  but merged with  Andhra  Pradesh  .They speak  pure telugu , follow the cusine  of Andhra Pradesh   and have  matrimonial  alliances  with  other Telugu Brahmins.  Dravida is the word  used for Tamil Nadu in Andhra  Pradesh(Adhi Sankara  has also used it in Saundarya Lahari)

       They themselves have  several groups and one of them  interestingly is Aarama  Dravidas  or Thotta Dravidas (Dravidas of the garden) . There are several  well known people among them

Kheer BHavani temple , Kashmir

Kheer  BHavani  temple , Kashmir

The Bhavani  temple  of Milk  Payasam

 

Compiled  by

P.R.Ramachander

 

(The  Kashmir, which  housed  the Saravajna peeda  ,The Kashmir which had the  great works of Bodhayana which our  saint Ramanuja referred,  The Kashmir  the land of Abhinava Guptha  the philosopher, kalhana the historian  , gunadya  the great story teller , Lallaeswari   the giant  of folk spirituality , the  land of saffron(kesar) , the land which grew musk deer which gave kasthuri ,  the   land of great apples  , the land  of  Kashmir  Shaivism  has became a land  which drove  away the people   who built her.

   I do not know  much of Kashmir   but I had a great  person of Kashmir  (DR.S.K.Tiku) as my friend. He was my collegue  and I learnt  lot about  Kashmir  from him. A few  years  back a Kashmiri  bride  joined our family.

 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4GgANYYys4&list=PLsS171OA3mLfDFaT0RjKndWQPXxVkQ-sx&index=20   )

   This great  temple  is situated    in a village  Tula Mula   , which is about  20 km from Srinagar . Kashmir. Kheer  is a hindi word for our pal Payasam (ie preparation of  milk and rice)  . The temple is in the middle   of a water spring.  She is also called  Maharajni( queen empress)  and is a Kula Devi(clan Goddess ) of most  of the Kashmiri hindus.

 

The spring is surrounded vast area covered with pretty stones   and chinar trees.  The devotees offer  kheer to the goddess in the sacred spring around  the temple  and sit , relax and sleep  below the huge chinar   trees

 

    It is believed  that   the statue of the Goddess  was given to Ravana who built a   temple for her in Sri Lanka. He addressed  her   as Goddess Shyama , Unable  to  bear with his beastly habits  , The goddess  requested Lord Hanuman   to take her   to Tula Mula (mulberry tree) in Kashmir and consecrate her there..The day   she was brought to Kashmir is termed as  “Rajniya  Rathri”(the night of the queen) and is celebrated as a festival.

 

The annual festival is held of the ashtami    after Pournami in monthe of May-June. Large number devoees gather there  and it is believed  that the Goddess  changes  the colour of the spring. Devotees believe that if it is turned black, some great  s disaster will  happen

 

  Mention about the   temple has been made   in Rajatharangini of Kalhana, in Aini Akbari by Abul Fazal

 

It is believed  that Bhavani Bhujanagam    was written by   Adhi Sankara  in praise  of this goddess

 

Devotees generally   recite the  prayer in the temple

 

Namaste Sharada Devi Kashmira Pura Vasini

 twameham pratrhaye nityam vidya daanam cha dehime

 

Salutations   to Goddess  Arada who  lives  in the   city of Kashmir,

WE   daily   pray you, please   grant  us  knowledge   and wealth

 

The temple is daily open from  6 Am to 8 PM  every day

 

How to Reach By Road, Rail & Air

 

Kheer Bhawani Temple is located in the village Tul Mul at a distance of 1 hour, 14 miles in the east of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. The temple is guarded by soldiers from all around and from a distance as many devotees visit here so while visiting the devotees first need to register near the entrance gate. Srinagar can be reached from all parts of the country through rail, road as well as airways.

 

By Air: There are regular flights from all the major cities of the country to Srinagar and the Srinagar Airport is the major airport.

 

By Train: Srinagar does not have its own railway station but the nearest railway station is the Udhampur station. It is situated 130 kms away from Srinagar and the Ram Nagar station is located 138 kms away from the city

 

By Bus: Regular buses can be caught from Srinagar to all other major cities of the country and back. The major bus stand is at Srinagar.

 

Sankethi Brahmins of Karnataka( Migrants from Chenkottai of Tamil Nadu to Karnataka )

 Sankethi Brahmins  of Karnataka(  Migrants  from Chenkottai  of Tamil Nadu to Karnataka )

 

Compiled by

P.R.Ramachander

 

(one of the sects of  Karnataka Brahmins  , known for their  intelligence are  Sankethi Brahmins., who are migrants   from  Shenkota  of tamil nadu. I have compiled  tid bits of info about them .Those  who want to read  more about them may refer

https://www.thelightbaggage.com/2019/08/the-forgotten-story-of-migration.html)

In a village  Called Shenkotta , there  lived a poor woman called Nacharu   with her husband and son.One saint gave them a medicine called Jyothishmathi Thaila.He said it could kill a person or make him mad or make him wise  .All three  of them took it. The boy died, the man became mad   and she became wise. The local villagers  became jealous of her  and tried to insult her  . She cursed them that if they stay there   they will perish and  along with a Sangam of 1000 (group)   people   left her village and  they  called themselves  SAngethi  .It seems they  travelled through  Kerala   and the people had doubt  on them (sankha)   and the sangethis turned   in to Sankhethis. They   reached end of kerala   and crossed over to Karnataka,By that  time they started calling Nacharu as Nacharamma   and they were speaking a mixture of Tamil, Malayalam   and Kannada and developed a dialect of their own called SAnkethi. (One sentence which has words from Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada can be - 'Unde Peri Yenaki Gottille' meaning 'I don't know your name'.)Their travails also made them learn several new dishes and they developed  a sankhethi  cusine. It seems in a place called Kowshika  in the Lakshmi Keshava   temple there is an idol  of Nacharamma

   Many groups from their village followed and settled in various places   of Karnataka.(some of them settled  in different parts of Thirunelveli district also) They   have sub groups based  on  the place of their settlement The two important settlements are  KOwshika and Bettadahalli.Most of the earlier people were  devoted to Vedas , Sanskrit and music. Even today in a village populated mainly by them called  Mathur they speak only  n Sanskrit

Today, most of the Sankethis have been uprooted from their rural agricultural and Vedic background to urban life. A visit to a typical Sankethi house in Bangalore will greet one with 'Warango' meaning 'Welcome'. Their meal will have 'Chaar Saa' (word combination of Saaru in Kannada + Sadam in Tamil), Pulikeri, Oorvatlu and Gojju. Though the dialect of Sankethi is slowly dying, as more people from this generation are speaking the respective State language wherever they settle in, the legend of Nacharamma remains forever in their mind.

Sankethis are attached to the Sringeri Mutt .It seems once when the Sringeri Mutt wanted a competent Pandit to teach the young Swamiji of that Samasthanam in those early days, the choice fell upon one Vidyanipuna Ramasastry of the Sanketi community. When at the close of the course of study he was asked what he would desire to have as fee for teaching, he asked for exemption of his community from the customary fees payable by the disciples. This privilege is enjoyed by the Sanketi community even today.They believe That Ramayyan Dalavai , the great minister of the Travancore king Marthanda Varma, who advised him to give his kingdom to God Padmanabha was a Sankethi.
- Vidwan Subbaraya Sastry who was later known as Advaitha Ananda , Markandeya Avadhani , SSri .H.R.Kesavamurthy , Mathur Krishnamurthy, Nanda Kumar, Sathyanarayan Shasthry staffing the Bharatheeya Vidya Bhavan in London; M.R. Narasimha Murthy, on the staff of Indian Institute of Science, recipient of Bhatnagar award; scores of professionals spread over India; and Mr. M.R. Balakrishna, H.S. Ramaswamy and a score of others working abroad are but a few of the Sanketjhi greats 

Sholiyar or Chozhiya Brahmins

 

Sholiyar  or Chozhiya Brahmins

 

Compiled by

P.R.Ramachander

 

  A book on history of Tamil Nadu Brahmins, says  they are one of the earliest   settlers in Tamil Nadu and since they were  not expert in Vedas, they    learned  Agamas and got employment as temple priests ,Because of that  the Vedic Brahmins   considered them as inferior. Most of them settled  in Chozha Nadu   and were  called Chozhiyars, 

   They have mun kudumi (like Chidambaram deekshithara and Nambudiris)    unlike other Brahmin sects   who have  Pin Kudumi.According to   their web site (http://sholiyar.blogspot.com/2008/11/ ) they settled in  these parts of Tamil  Nadu

1.Tanjavūr area: Śrīvāñciyam, Tirukataiyūr, Pālūr, Valangaiman, Tanjāvūr,
Śēnganūr, Itayāttukuti, Ālanguti, Tuyili, Kañcanūr, Visulūr, Vrddhācalam,
Kōnairājapuram, Avadaiyār koil, Tittakutti, Vasitthakuti
ii. Madurai area: Vēmbattūr, Tirupparakunram, Śrīvilliputhūr.
iii. Tiruchirapalli area: Tiruvaaikkavu, Anbil, Śrī Rangam.
iv. Tirunelvēli area: Vallanādu, Tenkāśi, Kiappāvūr, Krsnāpuram, Kataiyanallūr,
Kottāram, Śrīvaikundam, Bālamārtāntapuram, Aakiyarpāntipuram, Panaiyīr,
Kāraikkuti, Ambāsamudram, Pāppākkuti
v. Salem area: Tiruppattūr, Bhavāni, Cinnasalem, Nāmakkal

In the initial days  , they were   considered  inferior  by other Brahmins   . .There is a belief that  Padma Pada  , the great disciple of Adhi Sankara  belonged to this sect

In Kerala    they  continued to live in separate  communities  of their own    and I understand  that in olden days  they were not allowed   to mingle with other Brahmins  .Among the villages   they  chose to live  were KOdunthirapalli  , Chembai, Padur  , Kottai, THennilapuram , Anju murthi, TRithamarai   ,Vellinel  Vengaseri etc.  There are some Chozhiya Brahmin villages    even in Nagar Koil, karamana, Aakkiya panti Puram  in the southern Kerala

.Most  of them followedTaithreeya SAmhitha  of Yajur vedam and Jaimeeniya  SAmhitha  of  SAma vedam. They also mostly  married  among themselves   and relatively they  belong to a lesser in come group.

      Another profession  in which   they shined was music and the greatest  among Kerala Chozhiya Brahmins  is undoubtedly    Chembai Vaidyanatha   Bhagawathar. Most of them chose to be priests  in Temples   as well as Vadhyars .

          There  must be   many great  people   among them also  but  I do not know about them.

Happy deepavali to each and every one of you

 Happy  deepavali   to each  and every one of you

 

By

Raja Thatha

 

(this Thatha’s namaskarams   to all elders and  Aseervadams  for a wonderful life)

 

The festival of row  of lights has come

             With darkness  surrounding the world   due to Carona

The festival of crackers and sparklers has come,

             With green crackers and not the   real ones

The festival of shining new cloths has come,

                Which had   all come   online

 

But in a dark and  lonely corner and in the eerie silence ,

Sat a very old man and his companion for life.,

 Shocked with news  that poured all over,

 About the journey  of many of their  deeply  loved ones to heaven

 

The old man could not  hear properly and  the old woman could not properly see,

But the festival did sing with bright lights for them.

Which came   from  their  insides

For they were blessed with each other's company,

 

The old woman still the Queen of her kitchen, was busy churning out the magic,

Even though her hands hurt and her feet begged her to rest

 

Gajar  ka halwa  for  one grand daughter,

Badam Halwa   for  Goldie,

Ma ladu   for   every one ,

Badusha   because  she was queen of a Badusha

Mixture    as time pass

And gulab jamun   for  the old man,

 

And  the  mental  jamoons , mental kova,

The mental onion pakodas,mental Mohan Dal,

All  made by her mixed  with inner  tears ,

For  them   to whom  those could only  be sent virtually ,

So they tasted them   through  Zoom

 

She did not worry about who would eat this mouthwatering spread,

For her, the fun was in making it,

The accomplishment was in knowing

She still had what it takes to be a master chef

 

Those who were lucky to taste it

Had  joy  of satisfaction 

And  she was happy for them.

For that  was  her compensation  great

 

The old man ruled his little kingdom as he always had,

Making worried minds   sigh with relief,

Making the light of what  he  so affectionately did,

Spreading   all   over   the world,

And making the world   filled with joy

But  the old man cried  , because  his nest   was half empty

 

There were no crackers, no lamps to light, perhaps those wanted to do this had left the nest.

The hands of old ones  shivered as they lit the lamps and they were afraid of the crackers.

But then they had sailed past the time together,

Under  the light came from lamps outside and

And  the joy needed t for them  had to  be borrowed from outside

 

  In this cosy  nook of theirs, their little world lit up from within,

With the light of their deep affection to each other  and love.

That light put to shame the pathetic little flickers from the LED lights and diyas,

For theirs was the light of  the  god given true friendship.

 

The two  old ones   from   the  home of theirs

 

Wish you  one and all  , a happy  deepavali

They wish all husbands and  wives  love each other  like them,

They wish that all those  who do not have children, have children

They   wish  that all of them  have children and grand children like theirs

They  wish all that is good   should  happen to all  the people

Elegy of ears

 Elegy  of ears

 

Translated by

P.R.Ramachander

 

We are ears

 

We are  twins   who have not seen each other

Because God created  on both sides  of the face

 

We  are created  for hearing

 

Both the   good and bad,

Music and  hurting sound

 

Slowly we have  become  hanging hooks

 

They  made us carry  the weight  of spectacles

We managed to  bear   the pain

We do not understand

Spectacles  are  for the eyes

Then   why trouble us

 

Though we know people who talk are  honoured,

We  do not talk  but  only hear

 

If a student  does not study,

The teacher  catches his ears

 

You pierce a hole in us and  make us carry studs

And they say face   wearing studs   are  pretty

 

Kajal for eye

Snow and powder  to the face

Lipstick   to the lips

 

But  what   for the ears

 

Has any  poet sung about ears?

They sing about eye , nose cheeks  , lips and so on

 

Priests  keep dhurbha  ,  tailor his pencil , mason  his beedi   on us

 

How will we express our sorrow

 

Eyes cry

Mouth shouts

Nose blocks

 

What will we do?

Annapurneswarikku Uthsavamayi

Annapurneswarikku  Uthsavamayi

(A song about  Navarathri festival  in Puthucode)

 

Translated by

P.R.Ramachander

 

(  I got the song with lyrics  from Viswanath Placode  ,to whom I am chithappa .Thanks to him . it is a  pretty song about The major  festival of Puthucode  is Navarathri)

 

 https://www.facebook.com/100003245861493/videos/3536687436449417/      

അന്നപൂർണേശ്വരിക്ക്  ഉത്സവമായി

പുതുക്കോട്ടമ്മക്ക്  ഇന്ന്  ഉത്സവമായി

നവ രാത്രി  ഉത്സവ കൊടിയേറ്റമായി

നാട്ടിലെ ആധാര കൊടിയേറ്റമായി

ഉത്സവമായി അമ്മക്ക്  ഉത്സവമായി

ഉത്സവമായിഉത്സവമായി

ഉത്സവമായിഉത്സവമായി

 നാട്ടിൽ ഉത്സവമായി നാട്ടാർക്കു ഉത്സവമായി

ഉത്സവമായിഉത്സവമായി

ഉത്സവമായിഉത്സവമായി

 

Annapurneswarikku Uthsavamai

Puthukkottu ammakku  innu uthsavamai

Navarathri uthsava   kodiyethamayi

Naattile   aaddhara  kodiyethamayi

Uthsavamayi ammakku   uthsavamayi

Uthsavamai, uthavamai

Uthsavamayi uthsavamai

Naattil  uthsavamayi  , naattarkku  uthsavamayi

Uthsavamai, uthavamai

Uthsavamayi uthsavamai

 

The festival  of Annapurneswari has started

Today the festival  of   Puthode amma has started

The flag for Navarathri festival   has been hoisted

The basic  flag hoisting of the  town has started

The festival has started, the festival of mother  has started

The festival has  started, the festival has started

The festival has  started, the festival has started

The festival of the  town has started, the festival of  people of town has started

The festival has  started, the festival has started

The festival has  started, the festival has started

ആനയും അമ്പാടിയും വാദ്യ ഘോഷം

നിറ പറ  ചൊരിഞ്ഞിട്ടു വരവേൽപ്

പഞ്ച വാദ്യം പാണ്ടി മേളം വെടി കെട്ടു

താമര പൂ കൊണ്ട്   നിറമാലാ

ഉത്സവമായി അമ്മക്ക്  ഉത്സവമായി

ഉത്സവമായിഉത്സവമായി

 

AAnayum ambadiyum vaadhya gosham

Nira para  chorinjittu vara  velppu

Pancha vadhyam,paandi melam  , vedi kettu

THamara po kondu  niramaala’

Uthsavamayi ammakku   uthsavamayi

Uthsavamai, uthavamai

 

Elephants, the seat  on elephant, the sound of music

Receiving after  emptying full measure 

Pancha Vadhyam,.Paandi melam, crackers

The  garland which fully covers  using lotus flower

The festival has started, the festival of mother  has started

The festival has  started, the festival has started

 

ആറാം വിളക്കിന്  തെക്കോട്ടേക്കു

ഏഴാം വിളക്കിന്  കിഴക്കോട്ടു

എട്ടാം വിളക്ക്  ദേശ  വിളക്ക്

തട്ടകത്തമ്മയുടെ ദേശ വിളക്ക്

ഒൻപതാം വിളക്കിന്  പള്ളിവേട്ട

പത്താം  വിളക്കിന്  ആറാട്ട്

ഉത്സവമായി അമ്മക്ക്  ഉത്സവമായി

നാട്ടിൽ ഉത്സവമായി നാട്ടാർക്കു ഉത്സവമായി

 

AAraam vilakkinu  thekkottekku

Yezham  vilakkinu  Kizhakkootu

Yettam  vilakku   DEsa  vilakku

THattakathu ammayude   desa  vilakku

Onpathaam vilakku  Pallliovetta

Pathaam vilakku  AAraattu

Uthsavamayi  , Ammkku  Uthsavamayi

Naattil  uthsavamayi, Naattarkku  uthsavamayi

.

For   the  sixth lamp festival  , it is towards  south

For the seventh  lamp  day festival  , it is towards east

The eighth lamp festival , is festival of town

The festival of town of THattakathu  amma

On the ninth lamp festival, mother  goes for royal hunt

The festival has started, the festival for Amma has started

And  on the tenth  lamp festival, it is ceremonial  river bath

The festival of the  town has started, the festival of  people of town has started