The Beckoning

Tirunavaya was to me a decrepit railway station situated between Shoranur and Calicut, a place where none of the trains I traveled in stopped. I would see it on my travels from Chennai to Calicut and back. This town or shall I call it a village acquired relevance in my life only in the last decade. It was in the year 2000 after the death of my grand mother that I went there for the first time to perform the last rites. I had known earlier that it was a popular destination for people from Malabar when it came to performing the last rites for the departed souls. Amrutham Gamaya (1987) a Malayalam movie starring Mohanlal was shot in Tirunavaya and showed all the locales including the famous Navamukundan Temple. I had seen the movie then but at that point only got to appreciate the fine acting abilities of the hero. There was a rerun of this movie yesterday and while seeing Tirunavaya again, it got me thinking about all that I had learnt about Tirunavaya and the neighbouring areas in the last 22 years. I can attribute this to gaining knowledge with the advancement of age or can I call it the attraction to one’s roots as a result of aging. Whichever way I look at it, Tirunavaya has found a place in my scheme of things.

Tirunavaya is situated on the banks of the great Bharathapuzha or River Nila another name for this water body. Of the name Nila I got to know only last year when I was reading a travelogue. Once that name registered, I tried to recollect so many song lyrics which featured River Nila and these lyrics now seemed so much more relevant. The history of Tirunavaya and Bharathapuzha are closely linked and thus one cannot be separated from the other. Bharathapuzha is the second longest river in Kerala covering a distance of more than 200 kms. It has its source in the Anamalais in the Tamilnadu section of the Western Ghats. From there it flows through the Palakkad Gap and then traverses through the districts of Palakkad, Thrissur and Malapurram before meeting the Arabian Sea at Ponnani. On the banks of this river are situated some very historical temples including the Sastha or Ayyappan Temple at Chamravattam, the Sri Rama Temple at Thiruvilwamala and of course the above mentioned Navamukundan temple. My first tryst with the river was when I was a teenager. We had reached Ponnani and wanted to get across to Chamravattam on the other bank. Those were the days before the river had been spanned and the easiest way was by a boat. It was during the monsoon season and the river was swollen and a might to reckon with. Very cautiously and tight lipped I made the crossing with the rest of the family. Being a hydrophobic, the thought of the boat capsizing was always at the back of my mind. Kalamandalam the art and culture centre of Kerala which is the creation of Vellathol Narayana Menon is situated on the banks of Bharathapuzha at Cheruthuruthy. The whole belt is a treat to the eye with every corner springing up beautiful and quaint temples or other archeological wonders. The flora comprising of magnificent trees and lush paddy fields is indeed verdant. This area has provided the fodder to many an artist, writer and poet.

Tirunavaya being a part of this slice of heaven, it enjoys every bit of the above mentioned characteristics. In addition to these endowments, Tirunavaya is historically very significant. It was the venue for the Mamankam a grand scale jamboree which took place once in 12 years. Mamankam is the short form for Magha Makam and was like a trade fair that was held for almost a month. The participants came from far and wide and it is said that they included traders from the Arab countries, Persia and Europe. What began as an event to promote trade, later turned into a war zone between two local kings. Since the Zamorin of Calicut had forcefully taken over the area, his rival would send suicide killers to decapitate the Zamorin. Although no Zamorin was ever killed, every Mamankam had its own element of intrigue and deception. The last of the Mamankams was held in 1766, after which Hyder Ali the ruler of Mysore captured the area and thus the event ceased. Now that I know Tirunavaya reasonably well, (after all it consists of a single two lane traffic road) I wonder as to where this Magnus Opus among events was held. The Zamorins in the last 50-70 years have been men in their late 80’s and 90’s and hence I find it difficult to comprehend that these men did ever lead a mighty army. Although a ceremonial post now, the Zamorin like other Indian Kings of yore was a powerful man. It was indeed he who played the perfect host when Vasco Da Gama first landed at Kappad near Calicut in the year 1495. Whatever followed this event is after all history to the world!!

Tirunavaya station continues to have the same look. However since the last decade, I can only see it with renewed respect. The Mamankam is definitely one reason for this elevated status but the second and the most important is the fact that my mother’s ashes are embedded in the sands of the Bharathapuzha at Tirunavaya. If I were to have a wish granted, that would be to retire on the banks of the Bharathapuzha and to be a part of a Mamankam in its true spirit!!