Kerala Puja Flowers
I grew up in my hometown of Trichur, Kerala. Vadukkunathan temple, Kuttangulangara, Sankarangulangara, Paramekavu, Thiruvambady, Punkunnum Shiva Kshetram, Ponganam Ramaswamy temples and the temples in my ancestral village Trikkur were some of the temples we visited quite often.
Early in the morning on any monsoon day, with the rain and the accompanying gentle breeze, visiting a temple was something special, something I treasure, especially some of my visits to Vadukkunathan temple and Trikkur temples during this season.
Kerala temples with their conical tile structures, burning oil and ghee lamps, the smell of sandal paste, turmeric paste, home grown local flowers and leaves as adornments are special - very earthy and powerful. No artifice is allowed here. One mandatorily has a hair bath before entering the temple. There is such an emphasis on purity(hence local flowers and ingredients) and cleanliness, that one can't help but feel pure and serene. The electric lighting within the temple is also minimal. Prasadams are usually appam or paal payasam (kheer). The temple music on regular days is the Idakka, a small drum that is used when the door to the sanctum is closed for Neivedhyam, before deeparahanai (mangal aarathi). This emphasis on simplicity - be it manjal (turmeric), kalambam (sandal wood paste Abhishekam), local flowers, lighting of oil lamps in the temple and around(chuthu valakku), has the sublime effect of highlighting the Deity in full glory and the smells, sights all add to the experience; no artificial glares of bright electric lights, no strong artificial smells of incense sticks, no strong smells of prasadam to divert the attention.
The temples are usually tiled structures with granite flooring. The architecture is earthy, with few paintings on the wall. There are no big Gopurams, sculptures etc unlike the temples of other parts of South India. There is a pradakshana vazhi inside the temple around each of the deity temples and a big pradakshina vazhi (path for circumambulation) around all the temples within a temple structure. This usually holds the lamps on wooden railings (chuthu vallakku) and the lamps are lit on special days. There is usually a Peepal tree outside most temples within the compound with or without small statues of Naga, Vinayaka etc.
Be it Trikkur my ancestral village or Trichur, the local temple Warsier would visit home to pluck flowers for the Puja - the common flowers being Thumba, Chembarathi(Hibiscus), Mulla, Thechi (Chethi, Ashokam), Thulasi, Bilwam, Arali, Nandiyar vattai, Sankupushpam, Rajamalli, Mandaram, Chembakam etc. The only flower probably allowed from outside was lotus or thamara.
This morning I woke up thinking of the lovely smell of pavazhamalli or parijatham wafting through, a potent memory of plucking flowers for both my father and grand-father.
The other flowers in the collage above are Konna poo, Thazhampoo, Chaamandi, White Indian Lily, Datura, Erukku, Decmeber poo, Kanakambaram, Balsam, Kurundoti(Thali), Mookuthi (small yellow flowers)..all local flowers around the home and the village paths.
Images in the collage courtesy: Internet.
Early in the morning on any monsoon day, with the rain and the accompanying gentle breeze, visiting a temple was something special, something I treasure, especially some of my visits to Vadukkunathan temple and Trikkur temples during this season.
Kerala temples with their conical tile structures, burning oil and ghee lamps, the smell of sandal paste, turmeric paste, home grown local flowers and leaves as adornments are special - very earthy and powerful. No artifice is allowed here. One mandatorily has a hair bath before entering the temple. There is such an emphasis on purity(hence local flowers and ingredients) and cleanliness, that one can't help but feel pure and serene. The electric lighting within the temple is also minimal. Prasadams are usually appam or paal payasam (kheer). The temple music on regular days is the Idakka, a small drum that is used when the door to the sanctum is closed for Neivedhyam, before deeparahanai (mangal aarathi). This emphasis on simplicity - be it manjal (turmeric), kalambam (sandal wood paste Abhishekam), local flowers, lighting of oil lamps in the temple and around(chuthu valakku), has the sublime effect of highlighting the Deity in full glory and the smells, sights all add to the experience; no artificial glares of bright electric lights, no strong artificial smells of incense sticks, no strong smells of prasadam to divert the attention.
The temples are usually tiled structures with granite flooring. The architecture is earthy, with few paintings on the wall. There are no big Gopurams, sculptures etc unlike the temples of other parts of South India. There is a pradakshana vazhi inside the temple around each of the deity temples and a big pradakshina vazhi (path for circumambulation) around all the temples within a temple structure. This usually holds the lamps on wooden railings (chuthu vallakku) and the lamps are lit on special days. There is usually a Peepal tree outside most temples within the compound with or without small statues of Naga, Vinayaka etc.
Be it Trikkur my ancestral village or Trichur, the local temple Warsier would visit home to pluck flowers for the Puja - the common flowers being Thumba, Chembarathi(Hibiscus), Mulla, Thechi (Chethi, Ashokam), Thulasi, Bilwam, Arali, Nandiyar vattai, Sankupushpam, Rajamalli, Mandaram, Chembakam etc. The only flower probably allowed from outside was lotus or thamara.
This morning I woke up thinking of the lovely smell of pavazhamalli or parijatham wafting through, a potent memory of plucking flowers for both my father and grand-father.
The other flowers in the collage above are Konna poo, Thazhampoo, Chaamandi, White Indian Lily, Datura, Erukku, Decmeber poo, Kanakambaram, Balsam, Kurundoti(Thali), Mookuthi (small yellow flowers)..all local flowers around the home and the village paths.
Images in the collage courtesy: Internet.