Searching The Soul Of India

By Sivasankari

For everyone who loves travel, especially within India, reading her travel pieces could prove to be a valuable guidance. This is not a usual travelogue. This is indeed unique, because Sivasankari is not a tourist who is ticking off the local attractions in a given location in our country, but she is seeking and searching for heritage, culture, history inspiration and in one word, the soul of India.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pustaka Digital Media
• Release date: Mar 11, 2023
• ISBN: 6580501809689

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Searching The Soul Of India

Author:

Sivasankari

Translator:

Janaki Viswanathan

For more books

https://www.pustaka.co.in/home/author/sivasankari-novels

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Table of Contents

Foreward

Kerala

Karnataka

Andhra Pradesh

Tamil Nadu

Assam

West Bengal

Manipur

Orissa

Goa

Maharashtra

Gujarat

Jammu & Kashmir

Punjab

Delhi

Himachal Pradesh

Rajasthan

Uttar Pradesh

Uttaranchal

Madhya Pradesh

Bihar – Jharkand

Foreward

Writer and activist Sivasankari’s (www.sivasankari.in) magnum opus, Knit India Through Literature, is her mega literary project involving intense travelling, sourcing, research, and translations of literature from 18 Indian languages, with a mission to introduce Indians to other Indians through culture and literature. It took her 16 years (1993-2009) to complete the mission she took up and during these years, she had travelled across the length and breadth of the country, to meet and interview the literary stalwarts wherever they were residing. She had the opportunity to travel to the remotest nooks and corners of our nation by train, by air, by car and every other means of transport she could manage during those times.

A well-respected writer and philanthropist, Sivasankari never failed to observe and appreciate the cultural, architectural, and natural heritage whenever she travelled. Travel had always fascinated her right from her childhood and she also had the chance to travel far and wide not only within India, but also to all the continents of the world. Being a writer, she has written a number of travelogues in various Tamil publications. Be it the Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu or the glory of Deepam festival at Thiruvannamalai Arunachaleswarar temple, in Tamil Nadu, she literally holds our hands and takes us along with her with a detailed description of the temple, the location and the paraphernalia. As you read her observation of the Arti at the Ganges River, one could visualize the spectacle she narrates.

A gifted writer that she is, her description of nature gives the reader as if he/she is present along with her. For example, the Karni Mata Temple, is a prominent Hindu temple dedicated to Goddess Karni Mata, or Temple of rats. located 30 km south of Bikaner, in Rajasthan. At this temple rats are comsidered holy and treated with utmost care by the devotees and thousands of rats can be found every where inside the temple, a site which one will never gets to see in any other part of the world. Her patriotic feeling comes out vividly in her description of the ruins of Nalanda (in the state of Bihar) considered to be the world’s first residential university, and the greatest centres of learning in Ancient India. She not only tells us the story of Nalanda, but also imbibes within the reader a sense of pride and an urge to travel to all the places she talks to us about. One must read her description of the sunrise while she was at Uthrakand in the foothills of the Himalayas to understand her vision and creativity.

Though she writes in Tamil, her knowledge and acumen in Sanskrit is remarkable. I am awestruck by the visual tapestry and imagination of poet Kalidasa who in his masterpiece, MeghasanDesam, which gives us a spectacular description of aerial view of mighty mountains and waterways in our country. One must read these ancient texts and be proud, Sivasnakari says. And through heritage,ings, she makes an honest attempt to take her readers to every part of the country and explain the legacy, the heritage and architectural and natural brilliance. Her style is not just to share her experience, instead she takes it as her mission to inspire her readers to visit those places with pride and experience the bliss, by including the unbelievable anecdotes and unparalleled folklore prevailing in respective states.

For everyone who loves travel, especially within India, reading her travel pieces could prove to be a valuable guidance.This is not a usual travelogue. This is indeed unique, because Sivasankari is not a tourist who is ticking off the local attractions in a given location in our country, but she is seeking and searching for heritage, culture, history inspiration and in one word, the soul of India.

By

Chitradeepa Anantharam

(Translator of Suryavamsam - Sivasankari's memoirs in English.)

Kerala

Kerala, at the southern tip of India, was once called 'Parasurama Kshetram' or 'Parasuramar Bhoomi' (Parasuraman's Land). The language spoken by the people of the state is Malayalam. It is also spoken in Lakshadweep.

Although the word 'Malayalam' indicates a language today, researchers believe that it was used earlier to mean the 'land between the mountains and the sea', since malai means mountain and azham means the (Arabian) sea. There is another theory that the name could also mean 'a hilly terrain'. The language was referred to as 'Kerala Bhasha' in the book Leela Thilagam written in the 14th Century and as 'Malayalampuzha' in the Dutch botany text Hordus Malabaricus written in the 17th Century. There are quite a few theories regarding the origin of the language. While some believe that Malayalam has its roots in ancient Sanskrit, others believe that it is a blend of the language of the Adivasis or the tribals, and the Adi Dravida language. There are those who believe that it is a mixture of Tamil and Sanskrit, an offshoot of the ancient Tamil language; yet others point out that since it is an offshoot of the Adi Dravida language, it is a sister language to Tamil.

Whatever the origin of the language, the first acknowledged Malayalam manuscripts belong to the 9th Century. Initially, this language was written in vattezhuthu (rounded letter) form. With time the script was refined, and the alphabet as seen now took shape around the 13th Century.

There are certain epic tales about the origin of Kerala. One of them is that after God took mortal form as Parasurama and vanquished the Kshatriyas, he was overtaken by a fit of depression and went into deep penance in the Western Ghats. He then threw his axe which fell into the sea and Kerala, a land shaped like the axe, was born. Hence the name 'Parasurama Kshetram'.

Another version of the origin of Kerala is that it was the land of Emperor Mahabali who was responsible for Lord Vishnu taking the Vamana avatar. When Lord Vishnu in his Vamana avatar asked Mahabali to grant him three feet of land, he took the visvarupam and covered the earth and the skies in two strides. When he demanded the third length of land, Mahabali requested the Lord to place it on his head. Appreciating his piety and aware of his popularity with the people, the Lord granted him a boon to visit his land once a year. It is Mahabali's visit every year that is celebrated as Onam. There are many who take pride in this particular story of their land.

Historians point out that Kerala, as it is known today, had close links with foreign lands 900 years before the birth of Christ. When King Solomon's palace in Babylon had to be decorated ivory is said to have been exported from here. Also, when Queen Sheba moved into Jerusalem, the spices and sandalwood that she took with her came from the 'Spice Coast', now known as Kerala.

Since pepper was used a lot in those days to preserve meat, the Arabs loaded peppercorns into their ships and took them to foreign shores. There was a lot of sea trade between the port of Alexandria, Egypt, and the port of Cranganore (Kodungallur), Kerala, known to the West as Musiris.

Cranganore port was the first place in India where the Jews, Christians, and the Muslims, arrived sometime in the 1st Century. The country's first synagogue, church and mosque can be seen here.

After Vasco da Gama came to Kappad, near Kozhikode in 1498, trade with the Portuguese increased considerably. Later, there was trade with the Dutch, the French and lastly the British. While referring to the changes in trade, it is pointed out that when the Dutch increased the price of pepper by 5 shillings in 1599, the British formed the East India Company in protest. It has even been mentioned in jest that it was a small peppercorn which changed the fate of the vast Indian subcontinent.

If we take a look at the history of the land, without considering the foreign influence, we will find that Kerala was ruled by the Cheras for a long time. It is believed that since it was the land of the Cheras it was called 'Cheralam', a name that was later modified to 'Keralam'.

I was six years old when I first visited Kerala. A good friend of my father's lived in a place called Aluva. I cannot ever forget the wonderful times we had in the month we spent in his house as a part of the family. It was a bungalow with a tiled roof. All around there were trees laden with jack fruit, coconut and betelnut. Mango trees stood here and there. The thick green leaves of the jack fruit trees formed a tent of sorts and allowed hardly a glimpse of the sky when we looked up. The steps in the backyard led to a gurgling river.

In the morning, we would apply oil to our heads and go down to the river as a group. The older people would immerse themselves neck-deep in the water and indulge in chitchat or would sing songs. We children would pretend to learn swimming and paddle our hands and legs in the water. After the two-hour long bath, we would eat red rice, native to Kerala, with papads, a curry made of green bananas and yam, and banana and jack fruit chips. Even as we finished our lunch, we would be ready for our siesta. By the time we woke up in the evening, we would be ready to bathe in the river again. Once in two days, we would get into a boat and visit nearby places like Kaladi and Ambalapuzha. When I recall the thrill, I felt as I first stepped on Kaladi soil, the home of the great seer and saint Adi Sankara, and the divine taste of the Ambalapuzha pal payasam (a custard-like sweet), I still feel a deep sense of contentment.

Recently I undertook trips to several parts of Kerala I had not visited earlier, for the 'Knit India through Literature' project and I am greatly relieved to note that, apart from a big town or two, the small towns and villages retain the same fertility and simplicity I had seen before. Less than a kilometre outside any town in Kerala, you are enclosed in verdant greenery provided by mango orchards, cashew plantations, jack fruit, coconut and betelnut groves and teak farms. Glowing red hibiscus flowers grow alongside paddy fields laid out like green velvet carpets. Little streams flow by the side of the road. Houses capped with sloping red tiled roofs nestle close together with tiny tea shops that sell coffee and tea besides varieties of banana. The Malayalis walk with umbrellas tucked under their arms. All these scenes, so typical of Kerala, often remind me of a painting!

Of course, the stamp of prosperity that the state has gained after a section of its people went to Gulf countries to return with large sums of money, cannot be missed either. The green, blue, or pink coloured bungalows that stand out like sore thumbs among the verdant surroundings are irritants. When my writer friend remarked Dubai money! on seeing these bungalows, I could sense his distaste, much like a discordant note struck in the middle of a melodious music concert.

Kerala was originally a part of the Madras Presidency. After the linguistic division of states in 1956, it was formed by combining the North Malabar, Cochin and Travancore provinces and 'princely states'. The Kovalam beach, 11 km from Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital, is listed among the ten most beautiful beaches in the world. The Padmanabhaswamy temple and the Sri Chitra Tirunal Art Gallery are my favourite places in Thiruvananthapuram. It is believed that this ancient temple was built at the beginning of Kaliyug! I was also informed that since the presiding deity at the temple is made of 1001 saligramams (stones), apart from mustard seeds and jaggery, no ablutions are performed for the idol.

The paintings displayed at the Chitra Tirunal Art Gallery are exquisite. And yet it was quite disappointing to see the way the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma were stuffed into the various rooms. What a contrast to the beautiful way that the painting of Mona Lisa is displayed, complete with correctly angled lighting, at the Louvre in Paris. If only Ravi Varma's paintings were similarly displayed, I am sure these paintings would attain greater fame worldwide.

The town of Thirur (Thiruragandi) is 75 km from Kozhikode, in Malappuram District. There is a monument here to the memory of Ezhuthachan, considered to be the father of Malayalam language. I had the opportunity to visit this place three times in the last four years. The first time was when the famous writer M.T Vasudevan Nair, on learning that I was about to begin my work in Kerala for the 'Knit India' project, asked me to first seek the blessings of Ezhuthachan and, in fact, took me there himself. The monument which was nothing more than a few mandapams or rooms, is in a place called 'Thunjanparambu'. When I held the narayam the stylus or the iron writing instrument used by Ezhuthachan, I felt an indescribable thrill. Last year, several writers were invited to participate in the anniversary celebrations of Ezhuthachan and I was one among them. I was amazed to see the development that has taken place at the memorial now that it is functioning under the chairmanship of M.T. Vasudevan Nair. At present it has a large library building, a hall for holding seminars and rooms to accommodate those writers who wish to stay there and continue with their literary work. The three days I stayed in Thirur helped me gain a new perspective of Kerala. I believe that at every annual Dassara celebration, Aksharabhyasam (the pooja performed when children are first taught to write) is performed for about 3000 children! The fact that the entire village gathered around to celebrate the festival of the father of the language, just as they would celebrate a marriage in the family, is remarkable. The different varieties of Kerala food, that the villagers themselves cooked and served the writers with much love and concern, are sufficient proof of the deep interest the people have in the development of literature. The crowds that gathered to listen to the poetry or oratory of writers in other languages were also proof of the respect of the people for writers. As far as I have seen, this is a unique quality of Keralites.

I was deeply impressed by the native and regional flavour in the celebration of most functions and festivals. It hardly matters if they are film or literary functions or those organised by associations like the Rotary Club. The coconut frond festoons, the rangoli drawings with flowers, rice grains filled in an ethnically carved wooden vessel with coconut flowers placed on top, and the presence of the panchavadyas (the five traditional musical instruments) form an essential part of any auspicious function organised in Kerala.

On the whole, the Keralites are a simple people. Their appearance, their traditions and practices also reflect this tradition of simplicity. Their appearance and their habits are indicative of the bounty of Mother Nature. It is common to see women belonging even to the wealthiest families clothed in a simple mundu (a white length of cloth tied around the waist) with their wet hair loosely knotted, their foreheads marked with sandalwood paste. Their only jewellery would be a pair of gold ear rings and a thin chain around their necks. The men too dress simply in a dhoti and shirt. Some wear dhotis with zari work. They sport thick moustaches and smoke beedis.

Palakkad District, which was once a part of Madras Presidency, has a high percentage of people of Tamil origin. If we move south from Palakkad, we reach Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala. The Sahitya, Sangeeta, and Lalit Kala Akademis function from here. The locals are proud of the fact that one of the Thrissur rulers, Appan Thamburan, gave his own palace to store priceless literary works.

The pilgrim centre Guruvayur, is 40 km from this town. The idol of Krishna as a child, the Lord who was sung to by Narayana Namboodiri, is a sight to behold by the light shed by hundreds of oil lamps. The temples in Kerala are all very clean and it is to be appreciated that artificial lights are present only in the outer corridors and the darsan of the Lord in the sanctum sanctorum can be had only in the light of oil lamps.

Kalamandalam, set up by the well-known poet Vallathol Narayana Menon, is 25 km away from Thrissur. High quality training in Kathakali, Mohiniattam and other traditional dances and also training in traditional instruments of defence and music are provided at this institute.

There is an observation that the reason Kerala has the highest literacy and family planning rates is because they followed (even now to some extent) the matriarchal system or marumakka thayam. The system is known as taravad and is a practice of the Nair community.

Among the Namboodiris, a high caste group, the eldest son is expected to marry a Namboodiri girl; the other sons are allowed to have relationships with Nair girls. When a Namboodiri male comes to the house of a Nair girl he leaves his sword or footwear outside the house to indicate his presence inside. If the nair woman wishes to end the relationship, she merely has to throw the footwear into the courtyard. The children born out of such an association stay with the mother and this was how the taravad and the matriarchal system, came into practice.

Goddess worship, or offering prayers to Devi, has an important place among Keralite rituals. Crowds throng the temples of female deities like Kodungallur Bhagavati, Chengannur Bhagavati and Chottanikara Bhagavati. The history of the Kodungallur Amman temple links it with Tamilnadu. It is said that the ruler Cheran Chenguttuvan had a temple built in Kodungallur for Kannagi after her death. Kannagi is a symbol of chastity for the Tamils. Her fury over her husband's killing is said to have burnt the city of Madurai. Others believe that a Buddhist monastery had existed on this site earlier and that the temple was built after the Buddhists were driven out of the place. They cite the practice of singing obscene songs on the third day of the 'Bharanipattu' festival celebrated at this temple even now as proof of the verity of their argument.

Even today, there exists the belief that Goddess Chengannur Bhagavati goes through her menstrual period, or thriputharattu, once a year. During this time the temple is kept closed. Devotees fervently believe that it is very auspicious to keep in their homes the cloth used by the deity, during this time. And so there is much scrambling among them to procure a piece of this cloth.

When I visited the Chottanikara temple, I found huge iron nails driven into the trunk of a tree there. I was told that if mentally deranged people were brought here and made to drive a nail into the tree with their heads, their madness would be cured.

The Jumma Masjid in Methala near Kodungallur is the first mosque to have been built in India. It is said that when King Cheran Peruman went on a pilgrimage to the Arab countries he met with the Holy Prophet Mohammed and was converted to Islam. He changed his name to Tajudeen, married the sister of the king of Jeddah and settled there. After his death, his successor came to Kerala and the then ruler of Kodungallur offered to help him build a mosque. People belonging to several communities gather here every year to celebrate Ramzan and Bakrid.

Kottayam, referred to as 'rubber country', and its surroundings have a high population of Syrian Christians. Many Christian festivals are celebrated with greater fervour here than in other parts of the state. The St Dominic Syrian Church in Aluva and the St Joseph Syrian Church in Meppadi are important places of worship.

Boat races are conducted in Kerala around Onam. Puram, the elephant procession, is also organised at the same time in Thrissur. These are events that attract a number of tourists from both within and outside the country.

I had the good fortune once to witness the traditional Kathakali performance at Thrissur. It was held on a stage that had no artificial lights. The whole performance was conducted by the light of two huge brass lamps kept on either side of stage. The musicians sat with their instruments at one end. The artistes took hours to don the make-up that would transform them into the various epic characters. The play staged that day was