Palakkad Parameshwaran- the Auto-Sarathy!

Meet Parameshwaran who hails from Palakkad and popular as Palakkad Parameshwaran.  He owns an Auto rikshaw and drives all around the town with ease and knowledge of the place,  both historical and geographical.

I made a quick trip from Chennai to Palakkad to visit our family deity Manapully Kavu and one of my friends suggested that I contact Parameshwaran .  "He  will extend all possible help to make your visit purposeful and useful".   I contacted Parameshwaran Iyer and explained the purpose of my visit and all that I got in the form of  reply was an assurance from this gentleman - "Don't worry"!

I reached Palakkad on the 26th November, 2012 early in the morning at 5.20 hrs by Aleppy Express and to my surprise I found this gentleman waiting at the platform to meet me!
He suggested to have the first round of fresh coffee at the station itself since the cosmopolitan club where i was going to stay  would not be awake for serving coffee or tea before 7 am.  The coffee served in the Railway canteen was so fresh that i ordered for  one more which I shared with my wife and all that cost me Rs40/- There were many surprises in store and this was only the beginning.

Manapully Kavu entrance

                                                                    Nadai-Manapully kavu

                                                                  Chenndai artiste playing

                                                                         The 6 ft tall lamp
I checked into the club with my wife and Parameshwaran gave us an hour to get ready.  On dot at 7 am  this gentleman appeared on the scene and took us to Manapuuly Kavu temple which was quite close to the place I was staying.  He was with us guiding us at every step and helping us to get the tickets for various sevas from the counter.  We had a very peaceful darshan of goddess Bhagawathi and performed archana and pooja as we desired.  He explained the historical imporatnce of the temple and various stories and anectodes connected to the temple.  Sri Parameshwaran took us to a Hanuman temple, calling the deity very powerful and known to grant wishes to people who prayed to him.  Interestingly, this Hanuman temple is situated right inside the Fort of Tipu Sultan, a Muslim ruler who ruled the Malabar for some time!

                                                         taller than the men lamp at Hanuman kovil

                                                            Vazhipadu at Hanuman Kovil
I was quite amazed to see traditional lamps that were as tall as humans  glowing  and removing darkness with pride.  There were several of those adding divinity to the place of worship.  

 

It was already 9.45 am.    We were quite hungry by this time.  When I told Parameshwaran about having some thing to eat, he took us by surprise by asking if we would like to have hot and fresh Appams? Delighted, We jumped at this offer!  He took us to a place opposite the Fort Maidan where a husband/wife team prepared fresh Appams and served with Chutni and sambar!  This was not a regular restaurant that carried star ratings but a way side shack where people thronged just because of its genuine delicay and  taste!

                                              Ambica and Ramachandran's shack selling Aappams

                                                             Shack opposite to Fort maidan
The hot tea served was something which contained special flavour and  taste !  The bill that I paid for all the 3 of us was a meagre Rs 102/- and it was truly filling and tasted home made.  Parameshwaran took us to Kalpathy village which is now declared as a Heritege Village by the ASI, Govt of India.  We had darshan of the presiding deity of the village Lord Sri Vishwanatha swamy also known as Kalpathy Shivan Kovil. We  spent some time enjoying the serenity of the temple and the river which is called as Kalpathi Pozhai. 

                                                                   Kalpathy Sivan Kovil

                                                                   Kalpathy Sivan Kovil

Kalpathy Vigneshwarar sannidhi

                                                                       Kalpathi Pozhai

Kalpathi pozhai-check dam

                                              New chariot built for Lord Shiva@Kalpathi Kovil
Though the flow of the river has dwindled over the period, it still reminds of the richness of the soil and the character of the place!  We dashed to Mandakarai Ganapathy temple which was right across on the opposite end of the road.  The temple had closed  as it was past 10 am. We decided to come again to this temple in the evening and in the meantime, we  decided to visit some of our relatives who lived in Kalpathi. Parameshwaran knew everyone and could take us to the exact place without us telling him the address!! We had a fruitful visit meeting some of our relatives and friends at the village.

                                                       My ancestoral home where i was born

I stood in front of the old ancestral house which was instrumental in bringing me out into this world!  The house does not belong to us or our family any more as it has been sold..  The memories are intact!  The house was very popularly known as "Atthan's house" as my grandfather (Late) sri Vaidyanathan  was known for his social activities and physical help to one and all in the village and its surroundings!  People to whom I was introduced were too happy to see  me with my wife.  Their happiness doubled  when they came to know me as Atthan's grandson and son of Atthan's daughter Kamalam, 84 years old and living with me in Chennai.  The Kalpathy river which was seen as a free flowing river with abundant water has become a small riverlet due to building the Malampozha dam and many check dams in between that prevented  the free flow and robbed its beauty.  The river banks that were sprawling, once upon a time, presented a pathetic look and made me wonder if this was the gift of modern science and technology?  There was a painful feeling deep inside my heart to see the present status of the river that once stood with all its pride and beauty!

  We decided to visit the Bhagawathy temple at Kallayankulamin the evening at 5pm.  I had visited this temple about 15 years back.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the highway roads fully developed snatching the heritage value of the village that housed this famous temple!  It is said that the Late Prime Minister Smt Indira Gandhi chose the symbol of human palm or the hand symbol taking clues from this temple where Devi emerged only showing her palms.  The palms are worshipped in this temple.

Kallayan kulam Bhagawathy temple

Temple tank

The temple tank behind the temple presented a clean look though there were people taking bath here and there!  Keralites avoid using soaps  while taking bath in temple tanks and that's probably one reason that the tanks are more or less clean?  Most of the temples have their own tanks adding to the aesthetic beauty of the temple and its surroundings.

Moyan Girl's school

Moyan girl's school

My mother studied in Moyan girl's school and I thought a picture taken would please my mother and rekindle her glorious younger days that she spent in Kalpathy and her daily walk to the school which was about 2-3 kms away from the village.  My mother felt  nostalgic when I showed her the pictures of her school.  She recalled  that the school, in order to enroll more and more girls into their school, did not charge any fees from them! The school wanted more and more of girls to join them to strengthen the  ratio and also increase the literacy ratio amongst females!

Parameshwaran Iyer took us to Sultanpet to a shop named "Hot chips" where fresh banana chips were being made.  To my surprise, automation found its way here too as the shop had a motor driven machine that sliced the Banana(Nendrampazham) uniformly and pushed it down into the vessel that had boiling Coconut oil  where it got fried to find its way into the mouths of millions of people all over the world! The chips were made fresh and naturally tasted like "never before"!

innovative method of hot chips

The energetic Parameshwaran Iyer suggested so many more temples to visit and took us to Chimaya mission's Guruvayoorappan kovil which is said to be a replica of the original Guruvayoorappan in Guruvayoor.  He took us to Ambika puram  Krishnan Kovil and Vadankanthara Bhagawathy temple and many others.  The serenity of temples in Kerala has magic that it attracts the inner soul and spreads peace, solace and happiness in you! 

Guruvayoorappan kovil

Mandakarai Ganapathy temple

Lord Krishna's temple@ Ambikapuram

Vadakkandarai Bhagawathy temple

Govindarajapuram temple

Heritage Kalpathy street

 The Kalpathy village has a shop that sells Sevai and other snacks and coffee and We were taken to the shop by our Auto Sarathy Parameshwaran.  True to his belief, the snacks were absolutely delicious and out of this world!!  The coffee served was so fresh in its flavour and taste that one glass turned on the urge to have one more glass of that fresh coffee!

after a body massage

Palakkad visit would have been incomplete without a body massage that rejuvenated and Parameshwaran knew the right place for that and fixed up the therapy for both of us.  Arogyodayam, a centre for such therapy is in the heart of  Palakkad village that offered this facility.  The massage was good but I find the massage in Ayush is as good as any other centre in Kerala except that the charges in the city is 50% more as compared to the village!!  

Palakkad Railway station

Parameshwarn dropped us at the Palakkad station to catch the Aleppy express on time.  The experience of this visit shall remain in our memories for ever.  The god sent Parameshwaran was truly a gift of the god to take people around as "Sarathy" and a good guide who will  make you feel protected and complete the mission and the purpose for which this visit was planned!  Parameshwaran can be contacted @09349244349.  

We bid good bye to the warm hearted Auto-sarathy in Parameshwaran!!