Varkala—God Proposes; Wife Disposes

2011 seems to be the year for visiting Thiruvananthapuram. Here I am again in the sleepy-headed somnolent capital of God’s own country. I am here to attend a professional conference. The city is interspersed with quaint two-storey buildings with sloping red-tiled roofs. Some of these date back to the Travancore era when colonial structures were built side-by-side traditional kerala houses. The old secretariat building is a white colonial structure that is quite imposing and a relic of a Trivandrum that could absorb western intrusion without losing an iota of its essential Malayaleeness!

I personally feel Trivandrum would always be caught in a time warp. We can step back into the past to about a hundred years ago by simply taking an unplanned detour from a main thoroughfare into the side lanes and streets with their arrays of ancient houses amidst lush green coconut trees.

This time thanks to the enthusiasm of a couple of professional friends, I went to Pazhavankaadu Ganapathi Temple and Sree Kandeswaram Sivan Temple. The Shivan temple which is a short walk from the main Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Temple is small but sanctified. The idol was totally encased in sandal paste with the face of Shiva with Trinethra clearly delineated. We also witnessed the Seeveli or the ritual perambulation of the idol around the temple precincts. This is an important ritual in the Kerala temples and is the last one for the day. After this the main door is closed till the morning Nirmalya Darshan. The idol is taken three times around the sanctum affording everyone an opportunity to have a clear dharshan. Larger temples in Thrissur and Guruvayoor use elephants to carry the idol. Here the idol was carried by the main thanthri by hand. This temple has a pure white decorated bull that walks majestically in front of the seeveli possession. The bull is an alternate symbol of Shiva as it is the vehicle or Vahan of the God.

During my New Year visit to Trivandrum we did visit the beach at Varkala. The place is famous for its white sands and we found tourists from abroad flocking here too, though not in such large numbers as at Kovalam. The place is also an important religious shrine and is known as papanaasam. This is because of the Janardhana Swamy Temple which is situated on a hillock nearby. Last time I could not visit the Temple and have darshan of the Lord who is believed to accompany the departed soul on its last journey to the nether worlds. God beckons and Man proposes but Wife Disposes!

Not being accompanied by my wife, this time I made it. The main entrance is from the Agraharam on the Eastern side. There is a wide flight of stone steps leading up to an entrance mandap. The roof is made of wood and the walls have nice carvings on them.The more popular entrance is a narrow and steep staircase on the northern side as the buses stop here on the way to the beach.

I saw a bas relief of Lord Rama, an obedient Hanuman with arms folded in salute and a larger image of Garuda ready to fly on the pedestal bearing the entrance Mandap. The Nine Prajapathis were once cursed by Brahmaji to be born on earth. Sage Narada threw down the dress of Bark or Val-kala he was wearing as a symbol of renunciation and advised them to go down to the world to the spot where his Val-kala or dress of bark fell down. That place became Varkala. The connection with Rama is described thus. Rama could not attend Brahmaji's Yajna at Varkala on his way back to Ayodhya as he was in a hurry to reach Nandigram and relieve Lored Bharatha. But instead he did attended through his doppelganger, a brahmin called Janarthana. The idol of the Lord Janarthana in the Temple has one of the hands of the deity carrying the ritual water offered by Brahma to be drunk after the meal to its mouth. Tradition has it that this hand is slowly rising towards the mouth and that when it finally reaches the mouth of the idol, the Pralaya or Apocalypse will ensue!

The sunset at Varkala beach is a divine sight.

I made a third visit to Thiruananthapuram in February to attend a Masonic meet. This time it was pure business. Before leaving I dropped in on the Masonic temple a t Trivandrum.

Asthamudi

Asthamudi is a huge lake near quilon. The lake is connected to the Arabian Sea by waterways and canals. It also has connections with the backwaters criss-crossing the region between Kollam and Kochi.

The eponymous Club Mahindra property where I stayed is a long stretch of palm-lined flat land on the banks of the lake. From my room, which has a nice sit out, I could see the waters of the lake glistening in the early morning sun. Small wavelets surge and subside on the surface of the lake which stretchews out in all directions right up to the distant horizon.

It was literally like spending a few days in paradise. The weather was cool with occasional heat. I spent the time catching up with my reading while sprawling on one of the hammocks lining the waterfronmt! Sometimes we went for boat rides out to the Arabian sea or on the canals and waterways running through the villages.

Thiruananthapuram--New Year 2011--First Visit

It is my usual practice to take a week off at the end of every year and use the opportunity to review the past 365 days as also plan how I would optimize the forthcoming year.... I invariably leave Chennai and spend the week in a remote location, ideally near nature and temples...This time, I spent the New Year 2011 in Kerala...with my family.

I spent some time at Kovalam near Thiruananthapuram...

• We stayed on the Vilinjam Beach in Sagara Resort. The sickle shaped beach curves beautifully with a walk way and glittering shops and hotels serving freshly caught fish. As the sun went down into the Arabian Sea, the place was a colorful sight with neon bulbs and signboards everywhere. The foreign tourists wandering all over the place gave the feel of Pattaya Beach, Thailand. The only thing missing was "Walking Street"! :-)
• The mornings were spent bathing in the sea. The waves are gentle here and just standing in the middle of the rolling smaller waves with water up-to one's hip and then rising with a larger wave moving towards the shore is a delightful experience. The coastline forms a nice inlet or cove at Vilinjam with rocky promontories on either side holding a huge body of water between them. It is upon the southern promontory that the Lighthouse stands.
• On the afternoon of the second day I climbed the Vilinjam lighthouse with my children. The tedious climb up the winding staircase was worth it because the view was great. From the circular turret we got a glorious view of the beach and surrounding areas in the east and the large expanse of sea on the west. Fropm atop the ligyhthose we saw a kite circling the ocean. As we were above the Kite, we got a Birds Eye View of the Bird!
• Later in the evening we went to Attukkal Bhagavathy Temple and then Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple. In the outer corridor of the Attukkal Bhagawathy temple, which holds the Guinness record for the Largest assembly of women in a singkle place for Pongala, there is a concrete image of Hanuman on one of the pillars. I was truly facinated by the image. The Deity is depicted majestically upright with tail raised above the head and legs apart. The right hand holds the lowered mace or Gadhayudham and the left is on his hip. The head is lowered as if looking down at the devotee paying obeiscance to him. It is a great and unique figure.

Thuravoor Narasimhaswamy Temple

09.12.2010

There are numerous temples for Krishna and Bhagavathy Matha in Kerala. Temples for Shiva or Mahadevan as he is known here also abound. But a temple for Narasimhamurthy (The man-lion deity)? My curiousity being aroused by Mr. Unnithan I decided to visit the Narasimhaswamy temple at Thuravoor on the way back from Kayamkulam to Kochi Airport.

The temple is quite visible from the main Highway. There is a huge temple tank and behind it the Temple in typical Kerala style. Adjacent to the main shrine there is anot

her for Sree Krishnan. This shrine is a cylindrical or rounded structure with a conical shikhara. There are a few interesting murals (wall paintings) of Narasimhavatar. One depicts the lion face with the body elided. The rakshasa king Hiranyakashibu is on the lap of the deity and

two of the eight hands of the Lord are tearing out his entrails. The lowest pair of arms hold the body firm. The third pair is depicted as taking the entrails to the gaping leonine maw with sharp pointed teeth. The upper most pair of arms is raised aloft holding the symbols of Vishnu, the Disc and the Conch. A truly gory depiction bringing out the Ughram or ferocity of this anthropomorphic incarnation. And below this bloody spectacle stands Baktha Prahalad hands clasped in devotion and eyes closed in the ecstasy of Love for the Lord.

Thuravoor is a main area of the Gowda Saraswath Brahmins. The temple was built by one Ravi Naik a devotee of Lord Narasimha who was told by the Lord himself to install an idol at the location of the present temple. The Lord also sent two divine sculptors to carve the idol. The sculptors worked in secrecy and instructed Ravi Naik not to peep. The overenthusiastic devotee hearing no noise from inside, could not resist himself and peeped in at the last moment. The sculptors were gone but the idol of Lord Narasimha was there almost complete and wondrously beautiful, except for the tip of the finger of one foot. The temple is now under the control of the Ko0chi Dewaswom Board. The original Narasimhar idol was moved for safety to the Anantha Narayanapuram Temple in Alapuzha.

Ochara Parabrahma Temple

The last time I was in Alapuzha was during my annual Sabharimala trip when we passed through the town to visit Ambalapuzha, Mannarshala and Haripad. Before that, quite a long time ago I had taken a pleasure trip on a Kettuvellom or house boat from Quilon to Alleppey. En route on the backwaters we visited Vallikaavu. We heard about the Parabrahma shethram in Ochara, but due to other preoccupations, couldn’t make it.

This time, I was able to do it. The temple has a gopuram with a Rishabam on it. The shrine is an open air shrine. The long walk from the main entrance leads to a huge spreading peepul tree that is the embodiment of the all-pervading single-self- which- is- in- all; the Parabrahma. Parabrahma is not to be confused with Brahmaji the creator who is but one manifested form of this total being. In Sanskrit Param means beyond or ultimate. The Parabrahma is the one-in-all-all-in-one essence of the manifested and unmanifested being which goes beyond shapes and forms. This is the Virinchi-Narayana-Sankaratman referred to in the vedic chant. As this concept can never be depicted in any form, the formless whole is worshipped without a temple or shrine. The tree symbolizes it with its spreading branches that seem to extend everywhere. Behind this shrine is another and a third dedicated to the naga deities. This place like Mannarshala is a surviving cult of pantheistic worship where nature is worshipped as the manifested form of the unmanifested un-knowable whole. In keeping with the holistic tradition, there are no Brahmin Pujaris. The acolytes are all non-brahmins who are traditionally responsible for the upkeep of the shrine.

The words of the song, “Yenna thavam saidhanaai, Thaye yashodha, yengum nirai Parabhrahmam unnai, “Amma”, endru azhaika, yenna thavam saidhanai?” (Oh Mother Yashodha, What penance did you that you had the privilege of being chosen by the all pervasive Lord to call, “Mother!.”) rang in my ears as I perambulated the trees and paid obeisance to the Lord of the World who is everywhere and Nowhere i.e. Now Here!

For a moment I glimpsed the totality of the whole and therein saw myself seeing the whole…! Like the Divine mother, and Arjun later in the Mahabharath war, I reeled and failed to grasp it!

Ochara temple is the only temple for Parabrahma in the country.

Sky and Water from speeding train

28.11.2010 5:45 PM

I am in the Ernakulam-Bangalore Superfast Expres travelling towards Coimbatore. It is always an enjoyable experience to sit at the window of a speeding train gazing out at the passing scenery and landscape. As the train hurtles past the huts and houses every scene is a brief vignette of a long story in someone’s life, here this moment gone the next, leaving us to wonder what happens after that.

After we streamed out of Ernakulam Town and headed north beyond Idapally, the scenic beauty of coastal Kerala could be viewed again. Backwaters and inlets; green fields; yellow flowers; and of course swaying coconut trees fringing the banks of the water ways.

As we crossed Aluva station and crossed the Periyar Bridge, I glimpsed the enchanting vision of a bend in the Periyar river. Twilight is a great time when nature uses the setting sun and the clouds to paint infinite colors and hues on the canvas of the sky. When we add the reflective capability of a large body of water such as the broad Periyar river as it flows past Aluva, we have a great montage of sky, water and not incongruously for Kerala the twinkling lights of a high rise buildings in the back ground.

Walk on Marine Drive--Ernakulam

It has always been my desire to take a long walk on Marine Drive in Ernakulam. My usual visits to this town are invariably pass throughs on the way to a training program or Sabhari Mala. This time, with a whole evening at my disposal, I decided to do it.

My walk on Marine Drive was indeed a pleasure. I went into the Subhash Bose Park and walked along the wall abutting the sea. In the distance, I could see the ferry boats carrying passengers to Bolgatti and Vypin Islands. In the dimming twilight of dusk, the scene presented a calming sight. I sat on the wall with huge expanse of the Arabian Sea behind me. I sat communing with my inner self with the dense vegetation of the park before me and beyond that the speeding traffic on Marine Drive.

The park is mostly in a state of extreme disrepair. Some of the art noveau sculptures lining the walkway are deformed or rusted. Those parts that are not in extreme disrepair are under repair! Pits have been dug up everywhere, tiles stacked on the lawns and pipes strewn all around. The park is divine and calm. It is worth better maintenance, upkeep and care.

I, then, moved on to the boat jetty. There, from a raised platform nearby, I got a magnificent view of the ships and the sea. I walked back to my Hotel with sense of fulfillment and felt at peace with myself.

Kochi--Nature and Pollution

27.11.2010

I am here at Kochi to attend the Southern India Regional Conference of the ICAI. I am staying at Bharat Hotel one of the most popular, if not the best, travel destination in Ernakulam. I asked for and got a sea facing room. The view, such as it is, is of a wide expanse of water with cranes and jetties visible. In the extreme horizon I could see a few ships.

Most towns in Kerala have a village look with moss covered tile-roofed buildings rubbing shoulders with ultra-modern high-rises. Ernakulam is no exception. Eventhough it is the commercial capital of the state, it used to maintain its sylvan atmosphere till very recently. Kochi is paying the price for progress. Many BPO and Tech Towers have come up. While the greenery is almost intact in the outskirts, the mid-city area especially near the railway track is congested and devoid of any green vegetation. The pollution and ambient temperature levels are quite high. But as we leave the snarl of the main city and its congested lanes and go into the outskirts, nature reclaims her right to God’s own country and the surroundings become again verdant and picturesque.

The weather at Kochi is balmy and cool. It looks like rain, but there were no major downpours. Much of Ernakulam town is tree-covered, esp., Marine Drive the long road on the sea shore near Bharat Hotel. Marine Drive is lined on either side by old trees with overhanging branches that form a veritable tunnel of green.

Kannur Visit (24.01.2010)

Went to the Muthappan temple at Parasinnikadavu. The temple is situated on the banks of a huge river stretching easily two kilometers from bank to bank.

I was in time to see the two Theyyams who are regular here. One was a horrific bearded entity who was seated and the other a short stout personification fully painted yellow with a coconut bark tied around his mouth like a snout.

Muthappan the presiding deity is a manifestation of Kaal Bhairav. The life-like sculptures of two black dogs indicated that the God being worshipped was Bhairav. Dogs are the familiars of this punitive God who becomes a force of destructiuon to protect the pure and innocent.

Theyyam

After reading William Dalrymple’s recent book Nine Lives which describes the experiences of a Theyyam dancer, I was curious to see them perform. This was made possible as in the evening at the Dinner, we were entertained by Theyyam dancers who danced with all the paraphernalia of that dance form. Theyyam (derived from Daivam or God in Sanskrit) are essentially individuals (invariably men) who are possessed by a deity while performing the ritual dance in the traditional costume and face paint. Held by some to be a Dravidian tradition that has survived Aryanization of the South, Theyyams are invariably dalits or uintouchables. When possessed, these dalits are virtually considered to be Gods and even chaste Namboodris would fall at their feet.

Kannur Trip

Kannur Trip (23.01.2010)

I was in Kannur for the Annual Investiture Meet of the Regional Grand Lodge of Southern India. I stayed at the Malabar Residency, a decent hotel quite near the venue as well as the Railway Station. Kannur does not have an Airport yet. The nearest airport is Kozhikode.

I visited a few temples. On the way to these temples we passed a large river with a bridge across. This is at Valapattinam. The same river passes by the Kaavu of Muthappan at Parasinnikadavu.

Trichambaram Temple

The main deity here is Lord Sree Krishnan. The temple is reached by steps leading down from the road. There is a small shrine for Devi outside the Nada. This shrine is set in middle of a rectangular pool with a causeway leading to it. Nearby is an attractive temple tank with red lotus flowers floatring on the emerald greenish water.

Parasinnikadavu, famous for Muthappan temple is on the way.

Beyond lies the town of Telliparamba. The famous Rajarajeswara temple is here. It is to be norted that only men are allowed inside this temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Women are not allowed inside except at 08:00 PM when it is belived that the deity Shiva is out at Cherukunnu with his consort the Devi at Cherukunnu!. The calm and quiet temple shrine is divine. The wall brackets are intricately carved images of deities and animals.

The temple is pretty ancient and like many edifices in North Malabar is built with the dark brown Laterite stones peculiar to this area.

As my driver Rejith advised that it is customary for visitors to Shri Rajarjeshwara temple to visit the Cherukunnu Temple, I went there next. This is another quaint old temple dedicated to Shree Krishnan and Devi Annapoorneshwari.

River in the Backyard!

I was in Kerala on on 16th May conducting a "Communication Skills" Program for the executives of MIL Controls (India) Limited. MIL Controls is a leading supplier of Control Valves to various industries, particularly the energy sector. The valves manufactured by them are high precision contrlo instruments that are pivotal in any boiler installation or any other application where there is a need to control the flow of any substance in terms of pressure, volume or heat. Originally a joint venture between Best & CRompton and Masonelian (India) Limited, in 1997 it became a part of the KSB, a German  groupwith international brand in pumps and valves.

The factory is built on a sprawling 23c acre piece of land right in the middle of "God's Own Country", Kerala at Meladoor  (Male-uh-Door(OO as in Room) about 4 kms from Mala. Though Meladoor is in Thrissur district, it is nearer to Aluva which is just 14 kms away.

I stayed at their guest house at Aluva in a place called Periar Gardens, adjacent to the banks of the river Periyar. In fact from the garden at the rear of the Guest house I had a pleasant view of the wide periyar river.

Some Interestig Kerala Temples

This time I could visit temples in Kerala that I have never visited before. I give below some interesting facts about these temples that I heard during the visit or culled out from other sources which I have listed at the end of this Blog.

Temples near Alapuzha (Alleppy)
Our first stop was at the Kathyayani Temple at Cherthala, a town about 12 kms north of Alapuzha. Th Divine Mother is enshrined here. The idol was placed by Vilwamangalathu Swamiyar. The Swamiyar had seen the Goddess swinging on a swing in the bushes near the temple. He tried to catch her and failed as she jumped into the nearby pond. He managed to catch hold of her hair which came away in his hand while the Devi’s head was immersed in the mud, thus giving the name Cher (Mud) Thala (Head) to the place! It is also significant to note that there a few holes on the head of the idol indicative of the spots where the hair was uprooted by the Swamiyar.

The Swamiyar, exasperated by his failed attepts to catch the Goddess is said to forgotten himself and uttered filthy words. This might have been the first Pooram song! These songs which are essentially obscene songs sung during the Pooram festival ostensibly to appease the Goddess and obtain boons from her! (In India, where the Gods live like people and People behave like Gods, anything is possible. A religion that believes that God is everywhere has the flexibility to accept any form of devotion within its fold!)

The Saastha here is placed in a separate shrine on the southern part of the temple and is called “Udayon” or “Kavudayon” which means protector of the temple.

The temple is overrun by a host of Cockerels that have been donated to the temple as an offering to the Goddess.

We were in time to witness the Aaarthi. Before that the Temple musician sang melodiously in praise of the Goddess. The opening stanzas of the Shyamala Dhantakam “Manikya Veenamupalaalayantheem…Namasthe, Namasthe, Jagadekha Mathaha” was rendered with deep emotion. In the silence of the shrine the ringing voice of the singer instilled a sense of peace, tranquility and trust in the Divine plan, which are the tangible and lasting fruits of true devotion.

Our next stop was AmbalaPuzha. The Sree Krishnan Temple here is arguably next only to Guruvayoor. In fact, the idol of Guruvayoorappan was placed in a small shrine near the main temple for sometime to safeguard it from the hordes of Tipu Sultan.

I understood from our Guruswamy Hariharasubramanian that Guruvayoorappan is an Avatar of Vishnu that precedes the Krishna Avatar. This idol of Maha Vishnu was actually worshipped by Lord Krishna himself in Dwaraka. When the time for the disappearance of Krishna drew nigh, Sree Krishna settled his presence and power in this idol so that it thereafter became an idol of Sree Krishna. The idol sank into the sea with destruction of Dwaraka after Sree Krishna’s disappearance. Later Brhaspathi (Guru) and Vayu (the God of air) retrieved it and installed it in the place which is today called Guruvayoor.


The Ambalapuzha-Paalpayasam or sweet broth made of milk, sugar and rice is well-known because of its speciality.

Parasurama the warrior-brahmin created Kerala by reclaiming land out of the sea, thus giving the name Parasuram Kshetram to that thin slice of India on the south western part. Parasurama made Kerala bountiful and beautiful. He settled groups of Brhmins in this land and made them responsible for various temples all over the land. There are various temples built by Parasurama or Bhargavarama that pepper the state.

M G Narayana Namboodri of Mannarsala describes this in his “Mandrasalodayam” thus:

“He (Parasurama) brought learned people from other regions; installed Durga and other deities in different places; appointed Brahmins who were Thantric experts for performing pujas; nominated Kshatriyas, peasants and the Ashtavaidyas… thus he made Kerala a land filled with beautiful vegetation and prosperity in every way; in this way the land of Kerala was filled with the peaceful pulsations of the quiet rural atmosphere.”

Serpent worship, too is shrouded in the venerable history of Kerala and dates back to the time when Parasurama commanded the establishment of Snake Groves, where the serpents could live freely and thrive. The worship of serpents ensured the maintenance of the delicate ecological balance in the essentially agrarian society. Snakes protected the fields from the vermin and rodents which were the scrouge of the farmer. The snake groves ensured greenery and tree cover thus ensuring regular rains and consequent good harvest.

Chief among the Serpent Groves is the one in Mandrasala or Mannarsala where living serpents are revered and worshipped as Sarpayakshi, Nagayakshi and Naga Chamundi in the midst of a green and lush grove. There is a pond called Karoli Kulam which is deemed to have been created by the divine serpent Vasuki (an embodiment of Shiva). Another fascinating place is “The Grandfather Grove” which is the favourite haunt of the five-headed serpent who is respectfully known as Appooppan or Muthassan. The Mannarsala Namboodris believe that Anantha the Lord of the Serpents was once born as a child in their family. He is visible only to the Antharjanam who is called the Valia Amma. The five headed serpent still lives in the Cellar here. Only the Valia Amma is allowed to enter the Cellar on every Ayilyam day.

More details of the temple at Mannarsala and its history may be had from the English transliteration of M G Narayanan Namboodri’s Mandrasalodayam titled “Mannarsala—The Serpent Temple” by Dr. Ayyappan Panikker. (Published by Manasa, publications)

We also visited both the temples of Subrahmanya in Kerala, where the idol has been installed by Parasurama. The first is Haripad. This is thje place where Lord Karthikeya was received by Hari and other Devas after killing Tharakasura. In memory of the presence of Sree Hari, Subrahmanya and the Devas, the people of the locality built a shrine to worship them. We can still see the foot-prints of Hari and the Devas at the Eastern or main entrance of the Temple. Since the foot-prints of Hari and the Devas were imprinted here, the place came to be known as Hari Pada Puram, later shortened to Haripad.

Temples on the Ernakulam-Kottayam Route

The other temple is the one at Udayanapuram. This temple is closely associated with the Vaikom Mahadevan Temple, which we visited first. Vaikom is the shortening of Vyaghrapadhapuram. The lord at Vaikom is worshipped as Dakshinamoorthy in the Morning. In the Forenoon he is adored as Kiratheshwara. The Hunter who blesses Arjuna with the Paashupathastram. In the evening he is Jagat Pitha and blesses his devotees with his entire family of Jaganmatah Parvathi and Ganesa and Karthikeya around him.

The Udayanapuram Temple is situated about Two Kilometres north of the Vaikom Temple. The legend has it that the Kumaramangalam Temple near Kottayam waqs originally built to house the idol of Muruga now installed in Udayanapuram. But Devi Kathyayani, proclaiming ‘Kumaranalla-uru (Meaning not for Kumaran) decided to stay there. Consequently the idol was installed in Udayanapuram Temple which was originally meant to be a Devi Temple!

Here Lord Karthikeya assumes the form of the Sura Senani or Chief of the Army of Gods (Suras). When we entered the sanctum we had a divine Darshan of Lord Karthikeya in Sandalwood Paste Covering.

People believe that all the poojas and visits to the Vaikom Temple are completed only upon visiting Udayanapuram! This is because of the immense love that the father Vaikathppan bears for his son Udayanpurathappan!

References:

The Important Temples of Kerala, Kunjikuttan Elayath, (2003), Translated by K. Janardhana Kurup. H& C Publishing House, Thrissur, 680001. (0487-2421467) A treasurehouse of information about Kerala Temples. A must for every devout visitor to the state.

The Nagaraja Temple Mannarsala, Dr. Ayyappa Panicker, (2006) Mansa Publication, Mannarsala P.O. Harippad.

Vaikom Mahadeava Temmple, History and Legend, T D Narayanan Nampoothri, Translated by Achrya gowrishankar, Mumbai, (1998) Malayalarajyam Book Depot, West Nada,Vaikom- 686141 (0482-622750) A very inspiring account of Vaikkathppan and his greatness.