GREAT ARTISANS OF MALABAR

Kunhimangalam


is one of the biggest gunmetal works centers in Kerela. Sculptures from this place in gun metal, Odu and “Panchaloham” are very famous. The craftsmen of this village are famous in the world market for their handicrafts made of brass metal. The ‘Panchaloha’ idols, traditional lamps and other handiworks are exported to various destinations all over India and the world.


 “Lakshmi Vilakku”, famous traditional beautiful piece of art, with goddess Lakshmi is portrayed as sitting in the full bloomed lotus and being bordered by two female elephants.
 It is believed that these lamps bring harmony and prosperity to the houses.
 Many renowned artisans were working in this field. 
These craftsmen are known as “Moosaris” in olden days. 















This art is switched from generation to generation who considered this job as consecrated rather than as a mere profession or business
 Since the plastic and ceramic models pierced in the market, the demand for these crafts reduced which steered these communities to unwaged state.
 Even a society was formed to uplift this community but the same has already been closed down now

RAGHAVAN MASTER

K. Raghavan Master 
 (2 December 1913 – 19 October 2013)





 Along with G. Devarajan, Dakshinamoorthy and Baburaj, Raghavan Master was often credited for the renaissance of Malayalam film music.
 He was the pioneer in contributing Malyalam film songs with its own tunes ans tyles. Till then, Malyalam film songs were in the tunes of popular Hindi and Tamil film songs and old classical kritis.
 K. Raghavan Master gave a new direction and identity to Malayalam film music
. As he searched for the right tune for the lyrics, little did K. Raghavan realise that he was about to compose history. 

He had composed around 400 songs in Malayalam Cinema and was active in Malayalam film industry for nearly four decades

Kannur Arakkal Palace

ARAKKAL PALACE Kerala historically has been ruled by princely states and it was quite natural to have palaces associated with these rulers in different parts of Kerala. Be it north, central or south Kerala, palaces can still be seen as testimony to one ruler or the other. But these rulers had one thing in common. They were all followers of the Hindu religious faith, except for one ruling family - the Arakkal royal family from north Kerala; the only Muslim royal family of Kerala. And the palace by that name was the residence of the Arakkal Ali Rajas.      Travellers visiting the northern regions of Kerala should not miss a visit to this magnificent palace, which is located at Ayikkara close to the town of Kannur in Kannur district. Nearby the Arakkal palace is another famous landmark - the St.Angelo Fort; a laterite fort built by the Portuguese Viceroy, Don Francisco De Almeida in 1505. The Arakkal Palace currently managed by the Arakkal Family Trust is nearly 200 years old. It was later renovated and converted into a museum in 2005 at the initiative of the department of Archaeology and Kerala Tourism

A collection of  Good Poems written by Jayan Neeleswaram 

Ageless Body, Timeless Mind’ by Dr Deepak Chopra

Science cannot predict the duration of a human life. Genetics, too, fails, because a centenarian may not have a centenarian parent. So the question is, what makes a person live for so long? The answer lies in simple physical processes that Dr Deepak Chopra prescribes in his “most optimistic book” 'Ageless Body, Timeless Mind 

JAIN TEMPLE AT MANJESWAR

The Chathurmukha basti

Chandra Gupta Maurya (321-297 B.C.) and the Jain saint Bhadrabahu, according to Jain traditions. These men came to Sravanabelgola in Mysore. Later more Jain missionaries came to Tamil Nadu and converted many Cheras to their religion. Prince Ilango Adigal, the author of Shilappadikaram, is believed to be a Jain. The Jains came to Kerala with the rest of the Chera immigrants starting in the sixth century. The only evidence of their presence in Kerala is the  fact that some Hindu temples of today were originally Jain temples.

The Chathurmukha basti here is an old Jain temple. The advent of Aryan religions like Jainism, Buddhism,and Hinduism from the north changed the Dravidian way of life that existed in ancient Kerala. Jainism was the first to come. The Koodalmanikyam temple in Irinjalakuda, Thrissur district, is believed to have been originally a Jain temple. Jainism started declining in Kerala around the eighth century A.D. and nearly disappeared around the 16th century A.D. Jain shrines still survive in Wayanad, Kasaragod, Alappuzha and Kochi. The Chathurmukha Basti is unique because there are four idols of Vardhamana Mahaveera facing four directions. Hence the name chathurmukha (four faces) and basti (temple).

Now only a few Jain families are remaining in this area. Due to this, looking at this temple you can see that the small community is struggling very much to take care and maintain this temple. The old Canara known as Thulunadu was an important centre of Jain believers.

Still today there are Jains in the areas of Bankara and Manjeswaram. When Chandra Gupta Mourya who adopted Jain religion visited South India here also the Jain religion became powerful 

.The main deities are Vardhamana Mahaveera and Padmavathi. There are other deities like Aadeswara Swami, Chandranatha Swami, Santheswara Swami, Vardhamana Swami and Parsvanatha Swami. The festival of this temple is during Navaratri


Manjeswaram was the headquarters of a Jain kingdom called Bengara-Manjeswar towards the northern frontier of present Kerala for atleast 500 years from 12th century onwards (Pathmakumar 43).  According to scholars involved in Jain studies more than 800 families where here and the debris of a destroyed fort is still found in the region.  The relics of an ancient stone temple near the river mouth of Manjeswar close to the Arabian  sea is also a clear evidence of the Jain antiquity of the place.  Manjeswaram still has two Jain temples or Jaina Basatis on the southern shore of river Manjeswar still called Bengara after the Jain kingdom.  There are also a few surviving Jain families here near Hosangadi to the west of NH 17 around the Parswanatha Basati.

There is a Chathurmukha Basati housing four idols of Jain gurus Adinatha, Santinatha, Chandranatha and Mahavira facing to the four directions.  This ancient structure belongs to 12th century according to experts (Pathmakumar 42) It is situated on a small idyllic hillock  and is a green and calm retreat for the culturally inclined visitor.  The Sramana sages loved peace and tranquility of nature.  There are also sacred trees like flowering  Asoka underneath which Naga or serpent idols are worshiped by the ancient Jains. I found plenty of birds, butterflies and even a peacock there in Jan 2011.

The second temple is the Parswanatha  Basati named after another saint  or Thirthankara of Jainism.  This temple renovated several times in its long history is identified as belonging to 14th century.  It has idols of Parswanatha, Pathmavathy Devi, Khusmandini Devi and Saraswati as well.  In many places in Karnataka and north Kerala Mallinatha Basatis are converted to Mallikarjuna Hindu temples. A Jain family is also attached to this temple.  I met the family who are fourth generation Jain priests called Indrans of the temple and they informed me that most of the community had migrated to Karnataka because of various social pressures and extreme marginalization and exclusion under hegemony.