Sacred Journeys : Sri Subramanya Temple at Peralassery

Stepwell at Peralassery Sri Subramanya Temple

I  travelled to Kannur district to visit three main temples, for reasons best known to me. Situated 14 km away from Kannur,  in the Indian state of Kerala,  the snake temple - Sri Subramanya Temple in Peralassery is unique for its architecture and associated legends

DIVINE EXPERIENCE AT THE TEMPLE

According to legend, Sri Subramanya had visited the area in the form of a snake. The story goes that, Prince of Ayodhya, Sri Ram, during his course of wanderings in the forests of South India in search of his kidnapped spouse Sita, visited this particular site in Peralassery. Sri Ram sensed the presence of Sri Subramanya and decided to install an idol of Lord Subramanya. This is as far as legends go. Other deities in the temple include Ayyappa, Ganapathi, Naga and Bhagawathi.

Offering of hen’s eggs to snake gods is a key feature at Peralassery Sri Subramanya temple. The prasadam is delicious payasam, made out of rice, milk and jaggery pudding.

MARVEL AT THE ARCHITECTURE OF STEPWELL

The stepwell at Peralassery Sri Subramanya Temple is the largest of its kind in Kerala. The well itself is geometrical star-shaped, and has steps leading to it. 

The steps leading to the water is the first thing that attracts you. The stepwell resembles the many baoris (stepwells) found in parts of North and West India such as Delhi, Rajasthan and Gujarat. There are many stories, which make these structures interesting. As per the local belief, the waters of Cauvery River mysteriously make their way to the stepwell on Thula Sankramam (Tula Sankranti–Libra Solstice). The pond is full of fish. The beauty, architecture and legend associated with this place will give you a different kind of experience.


TEMPLES IN AND AROUND

Parassinikadavu Sri Muthappan temple is just 29 km away from Peralassery temple. There are many features to make this temple unique.  The deity worshiped in this temple is Sree Muthappan, a personification of two Gods – Thiruvappana (Lord Vishnu) and Vellatom (Lord Shiva). His life is best portrayed through a traditional dance known as Muthappan Theyyam.  One of the interesting fact is that, here dogs are considered to be sacred as it’s the vehicle of Lord Muthappan. The temple is a private one belonging to a family. The temple provides free meals to all visitors.

Sri Rajarajeswara temple is a Shiva temple located in Taliparambu and  is just 37 kms from Peralassery Temple. Taliparambu is one among 108 Shiva Temples in Kerala created by Lord Parasurama and is regarded as one of the ancient Shakti Peethams. This temple is also popularly known as Rajarajeswari Temple.  As per the custom, only men enter the Naalambalam during  daytime, while women stand outside. Women can enter the Naalambalm all days after the Athazha pooja is over in the evening.

There are plenty of other places to visit when traveling to Kannur.  I have been a huge fan of Theyyam - the ancient ritual in Northern Kerala.  This time my purpose is not sight seeing. I bid adiue to Kannur only to  return again to watch the Theyyam , a few months later !

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Trekking and Camping at Brahmagiri Hills

Experience the tranquility of Thirunelli temple situated on the foot of Brahmagiri hills and a walk through a land blessed by untouched nature and enjoy the monsoon season in the lush green forest of Wayanad and Western Ghats.

The camp was conducted on July 27 and 28 at Thirunelli, Wayanad district in the Indian Sate of Kerala. There were 40 participants in the camp. We, a gang of 20, from Ernakulam started at 6.30 am in a 20 seater Force Van. Participants  boarded from different locations. We had  a stop at Akshya hotel near Pookunnam for breakfast. After that our route was Ponnani -Kozhikode- Thamarassery- Mananthavadi-Thirunelli. 

Had lunch from a hotel at Kozhikode Bypass. And further uphill most of the way, the most picturesque being the hairpin curves at Thamarassery Ghat Pass also known as Thararassery Churam. This is the first time am travelling in this route. I craned my neck out of the Van while passing through hairpin curves, which I had seen in movies. I could see visitors taking photos from the view point, but we did not stop with a promise from the coordinators  that we will stop at this place during our return journey.

We passed Kuttettan's Unniyappamkada at Thetta road, on the way to Thirunelli.  Travellers on a trip to Thirunelli Temple and tourists  are  fans of this Unniyappam.  The secret of this Unniyappam is that it is made  of pure coconut oil from Kuttiyadi and it is larger than the normal Unniyappam.

Further ride is through deep forest with bamboo groves on both sides. Spotted bunch of deer on the way. We were lucky to spot one barking deer . When I took my camera, it ran away. 

The forest department has come up with instructions to comply with the forest rules. Do not get out of the vehicle, be careful not to blow the horn, drive carefully, don't intentionally harm animals, most importantly, don't throw away plastic debris etc.

We saw one elephant passing through the forest.

Our Van sopped in front of the Appappara Forest Office for reporting. It was a 11 hour journey and all of us were tired.  Most of us got out of the vehicle to watch the surroundings. Spotted one Malabar giant squirel passing through tree branches.

Our stay was arranged in a homestay run by Mr. Prasad, which is near to the  Agraharam Resort. Then a short walk to Thirunelli temple which is dedicated to Lord Maha Vishnu, which is situated on the side of Brahmagiri hills. As per records, it was an important pilgrimage centre at time of Tamil Chera King Bhaskara Ravi Varma.

Thirunelli Temple

It was around 8 pm. After pooja, we had a wonderful dharsan of the  Lord. Had prasadam as Uppuma with Pickle and Chukku Kapi. It was good especially in the rainy season.

Soon we were back to the camp site. Since there was a possibility of elephants on the way, we took vehicle on back to the camp. We tried to find the path through as darkness overtook us.

There was a session about dos and donts for the next day trekking. Our dinner was waiting for us. Had fabulous hot Kanji Payar, Vegetables, Leaf curry and Pappad.

We retired to bed.

DAY 2

After break fast,  we assembled at Thirunelli Inspection Bunglaw. All of us collected Tomato rice packet for lunch. After a few instructions from the coordinators, we started our trek. Two of the forest officials  also accompanied us.  We crossed few small streams on the way.

A few kilometres of trekking,  we crossed a stream with water so crystal clear, cool and pure that we drank it straight. I spotted pug marks of giant tigers in a tree which has a height of about 15 feet.

And all of us encountered many leech bites on the forest trekking path. We already had salt with us to remove leeches from our body.

After forest treking path, we reached grassland area. From there, we got wonderful view of Thirunelli Temple and surroundings.

Ariel view of Thirunelli temple and surroundings

Soon we reached near to the watch tower. From the watch tower, you can see the way to Pakshi Pathalam. Trekking to this place is now banned. Then we started to climb the hills .

When we are going up, we could see the view of  the watch tower below.

Soon we reached the top of the final hill after crossing three small hills. From there you can see a village in  Karnataka state. We descended back to the watch tower. We dined on the grass, in the open air, surrounded by this scenery. 

We returned down the hills and sometimes took shotcuts through the forest and arrived  at our camp by 3.30 pm.

Me and Mr.Biju decided to visit Papanasini. We gladly hired an auto and reached the temple. Then few steps down to the place. we decided to take bath under the waterfalls that are coming through Papanasini.

Papanasini is a wild stream that originates from the Brahmagiri hills which later joins River Kalindi. It is believed that River Ganga and River Saraswathi join in Papanasini and is known as the Southern Kashi.

It is a majestic stream falling under a bridge, sweeping between mountainous banks, which is  peace and enjoyment; and after a quick bath , we  returned to the resort.

When we reached  the resort, the rest of the team had already arrived. By that time Kappa  and black tea was ready. 

It was around 5'o  clock, we started back to Ernakulam.

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Train journey from Shoranur to Nilambur

How about travelling in a train with a group of 50 friends.  On a Sunday morning, we were travelling from Shoranur to Nilambur. The focus of this train journey is  not reaching the destination but to enjoy the day with like minded people. This route is often described as " Green Tunnel" because both sides of the railway line is covered by trees, mostly teak. Since we were travelling in monsoon, nature had become more greener.

We started at 6.30 am from Shoranur.  It is a 60 km journey, that will generally take about 2 hours. As it inches through dense greenery,  it crosses bridges, rivers etc . It  is one of the most scenic train routes in Kerala. We reached Nilambur at around 9.30 am.

Nilambur is located in  Malappuram district which is a world of fascinating views. There is an argument that the name 'Nilambur' is derived from the word 'Nilamburam'. It means that the place is the land of bamboo's. This is the city where you can see the influence of  the Chaliyar river and the Nilgiri hills.

After having  breakfast, we proceeded to DFO bungalow which is the first place in our chart. We splitted into two vehicles. On reaching the bungalow, the team first visited the bungalow and a few of them even proceeded to sky walkway.

The bungalow is located on the banks of the Chaliyar river amidst dense trees. It was built by the British in 1928. The main parts the building are made of spear and teak. The main attraction of the bungalow is spacious halls and varandahs. The bungalow was the official residence of DFO till 1970.

Old DFO Bunglow

Then we proceeded to sky walkway. It is a six meters walkway and you can enjoy the sound of birds chirping by walking among trees and touching the tallest branches. Regardless of how long the bridge is, the views are endlessly astounding.

Sky Walkway

Next place in our chart was Conolly's Plot. The main attraction of the place ia a hanging bridge across Chaliyar river.

Though I started walking on it, I was so much scared and couldn't even reach the middle of the bridge. But the surrounding river view as seen from this bridge was just breath taking.

Once you cross the bridge, you will reach Cannoli Plot - one of the oldest teak plantations anywhere in the world.

The place was named after H.V Conolly, the district collector of Malabar during British rule, who  along with local sub forest conservstor Chathu Menon, successfully carried out planting of new teak trees between 1841 and 1885. In 1993, the area was preserved for research purpose.

One of the major attractions in the plot is the oldest teak known as Kannimari.

Conolly's Plot

It was around 2pm. Almost everyone was hungry so we headed for lunch. Post lunch, we moved to last place in our chart, Teak Museum. It is a must see.

You can see the root-system of a gigantic tree in full size. Some of the attractions are the traditional granary and a miniature model of a sailing vessel(Uru), made of a teak wood.

Teak Museum

I got back to the  station with a lot of great memories in my head. I could smell that hash for days.

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