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.

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.