" My grandmother's, grandmother's, grandfather was supposed to have been from here", I said, trying to fill in some time. We were at Kodavasal, a small town by the highway, a little way away from our destination. But due to a wrong turn, instead of continuing on the highway, we were stuck in Kodavasal. My statement got a couple of wows, but then, everything went silent again. We were wondering what to do, as a majority of our group was in a larger van at the back, and a smaller one here carried just 15 of us, with Priya. A whole lot of us had switched vans at Thiruvudaimaruthur, as the approach road to Sengalipuram was very narrow, and only the small bus could fit there.
I observed the Kodavasal lake as we waited. There was an earthmover next to it, digging up the lake. Why? Maybe some reader will know, but none of us knew why.
It had been around 15 minutes in Kodavasal, before we decided to take a connecting road to Sengalipuram, and let the big bus take the highway. So we drove on.
20 minutes later, we were parked on a street, with about 80% of the houses around us about 200 years old.
The people who live in these houses are Vathima Iyers, who only intermarry between 16 villages. This was one vathima Iyer village, comprising 2 streets and 4 temples.
We went into a house for a very delayed lunch. We entered through the thinnai, went through a narrow passageway, and sat down for luch at 3,in the central courtyard. After going through a passageway along the side to a sink and washing our hands, we sat down for lunch.
What a feast! We had almost everything good about a South Indian feast. Uthapam, Adai, two types of sweets, three kaai(vegetable varieties), one poriyal, appalam, chips, and so much more!
When we had stuffed ourselves enough,a nd could take no more, Pradeep, Balalj thatha and I took a walk down the street to see the village. We saw that a lot of houses had a distinctive structure that more or less remained the same through out the houses. (Will describe it soon).
As we came across a house with Burma teak pillars in the thinnai, Pradeep called us in, and introduced us to a man who was a relative of someone very well known in Chennai's heritage circle. This village has not been host to strangers, and not allowed strangers in, for around 200 years, so it was thanks to him that we were able to have the lunch we did, or see the houses we were going to see.
Balaji thatha and i waited on the thinnai for a while, and soon Pradeep went back and got everyone else, and we were in this house now. Both houses we had seen so far were 8 kattu, menaing they were diviided into 8 obvious sections: the thinnai, the passageway, the open common room in the centre of the bedrooms, the next passageway with rooms off of it, the the room at the back with stairs to the terrace or maybe a room or two upstairs, the well room, open at the rear, the garden, and the cowshed. Long extensive houses.
The pillars and the structure in these houses is all 200 years old, mostly unchanged. The tiles on the roofs are all the traditional curves tiles that are very scarce, and not manufactured any more. The second and third houses both had a pooja room with Maratha era Thanjore paintings.
We then went on to the third house, where we would be educated on the ritual of Agnihotram, or fire worship, which is a very rare form of worship nowadays. And when i heard anout it, i realised why!
While on our way to the third house, we saw an old man, wrapped in a sheet, sitting on a thinnai, staring into space. Another old man came out, and said that that man was his father, 105 years old, the oldest in the village. He was deaf, and mostly blind, and most of the time wouldn't understand what you're saying. Some people jumped when he said 105, and ran to get his blessings. The old man looked at them for a while. Then his son shouted in his ear that they wanted his blessings. He blessed them, murmuring something, and they went away feeling pleased.
The third house was also 8 kattu, and we sat in the common room, on the large bench and on the oonjla, and listened as an agnihotri priest and a poojari from the village talked about Agnihotram, with Pradeep translating for those who did not know Tamil.
Agnihotram, or the fire worship, is an ancient practice, which has dies out in recent years. The man would have to keep a fire burning all his life, or rather, dedicate himself to it. It was upto his wife to make sure the fire was kept lit. The offering to it has to be done twice a day, in the morning and evening, eah taking about half an hour. The man is the ony one allowed to leave the house, and if he does, he must bring something back for the fire. The wife can never leave if her husband is an agnihotri. The fire can go out, for a week at most, if the man is willing to do all the rituals that are to be done in that week, beforehand.
There are only 3 agnihotris in Sengalipuram now, and I can see why!
On our way back to the van, to get back to the resort, we saw the 105 year old thatha, still sitting there. His son stood behind him.
The agnihotri, who had told us about the ritual, invited us into his house. Most of the group were ahead or behind, so only about five of us went in.
His was the smallest, simplest house in the village. He had no 8 kattu, or even 2 kattu. There was doorway, leading to a small room, and expanding onto a bedroom, behind which was a small garden. That was all.
In the middle of the floor was the ashes, and a cbweb filled spot where the fire was to be lit. The fire was to be lit in three spots, with a definite shape. All three were drawn on the ground. To go give us the talk, he must have turned off his fire, and there were already cobwebs in it. His wife was very proud to be an agnihotris wife. She felt it a privilege. Two sarees and some jewellery were all she owned, having moved from Madras over 25 years ago.
We left his house, having a deeper understanding of Agnihotri, and went back to the hotel. There, the manager-in-charge(The actual manager being away at a meeting in Chennai), who had wanted to take me on a tour of the museum in the hotel, did so that evening before dinner, showing me, and a few other interested people the secret tunnel under the hotel they found while digging the foundation(the building itself has been moved from Mint street, Chennai, and is supposed to be 350 years old). Inside the tunnel were found a cannonball, some daggers and swords, and other Chola-era things.
The museum boasts one of the first fridges, some old fans, a Ravi Varma, and other old painting, and a 1948 front page Hindu of Gandhi's assassination, among other things.The theory is that the metal workers who had lived in these two villages granted by the emperor(which have now been converted into hotel rooms) were connected directly to either Kumbakonam, or to the King himself, at
Thanjavur. But they were not allowed to dig past their property.
That evening, we boarded the train after dinner at the resort, at around 8. This trip has been a fun one, and I enjoyed every minute of it with Pradeep Chakravarthy, Priya Thiagarajan, and everyone else who came on the trip with me.
I observed the Kodavasal lake as we waited. There was an earthmover next to it, digging up the lake. Why? Maybe some reader will know, but none of us knew why.
It had been around 15 minutes in Kodavasal, before we decided to take a connecting road to Sengalipuram, and let the big bus take the highway. So we drove on.
20 minutes later, we were parked on a street, with about 80% of the houses around us about 200 years old.
The people who live in these houses are Vathima Iyers, who only intermarry between 16 villages. This was one vathima Iyer village, comprising 2 streets and 4 temples.
We went into a house for a very delayed lunch. We entered through the thinnai, went through a narrow passageway, and sat down for luch at 3,in the central courtyard. After going through a passageway along the side to a sink and washing our hands, we sat down for lunch.
What a feast! We had almost everything good about a South Indian feast. Uthapam, Adai, two types of sweets, three kaai(vegetable varieties), one poriyal, appalam, chips, and so much more!
the menu
When we had stuffed ourselves enough,a nd could take no more, Pradeep, Balalj thatha and I took a walk down the street to see the village. We saw that a lot of houses had a distinctive structure that more or less remained the same through out the houses. (Will describe it soon).
As we came across a house with Burma teak pillars in the thinnai, Pradeep called us in, and introduced us to a man who was a relative of someone very well known in Chennai's heritage circle. This village has not been host to strangers, and not allowed strangers in, for around 200 years, so it was thanks to him that we were able to have the lunch we did, or see the houses we were going to see.
Balaji thatha and i waited on the thinnai for a while, and soon Pradeep went back and got everyone else, and we were in this house now. Both houses we had seen so far were 8 kattu, menaing they were diviided into 8 obvious sections: the thinnai, the passageway, the open common room in the centre of the bedrooms, the next passageway with rooms off of it, the the room at the back with stairs to the terrace or maybe a room or two upstairs, the well room, open at the rear, the garden, and the cowshed. Long extensive houses.
The pillars and the structure in these houses is all 200 years old, mostly unchanged. The tiles on the roofs are all the traditional curves tiles that are very scarce, and not manufactured any more. The second and third houses both had a pooja room with Maratha era Thanjore paintings.
The street outside
A well
We then went on to the third house, where we would be educated on the ritual of Agnihotram, or fire worship, which is a very rare form of worship nowadays. And when i heard anout it, i realised why!
While on our way to the third house, we saw an old man, wrapped in a sheet, sitting on a thinnai, staring into space. Another old man came out, and said that that man was his father, 105 years old, the oldest in the village. He was deaf, and mostly blind, and most of the time wouldn't understand what you're saying. Some people jumped when he said 105, and ran to get his blessings. The old man looked at them for a while. Then his son shouted in his ear that they wanted his blessings. He blessed them, murmuring something, and they went away feeling pleased.
A street between two houses
Side view of a house
The third house was also 8 kattu, and we sat in the common room, on the large bench and on the oonjla, and listened as an agnihotri priest and a poojari from the village talked about Agnihotram, with Pradeep translating for those who did not know Tamil.
Agnihotram, or the fire worship, is an ancient practice, which has dies out in recent years. The man would have to keep a fire burning all his life, or rather, dedicate himself to it. It was upto his wife to make sure the fire was kept lit. The offering to it has to be done twice a day, in the morning and evening, eah taking about half an hour. The man is the ony one allowed to leave the house, and if he does, he must bring something back for the fire. The wife can never leave if her husband is an agnihotri. The fire can go out, for a week at most, if the man is willing to do all the rituals that are to be done in that week, beforehand.
There are only 3 agnihotris in Sengalipuram now, and I can see why!
different types of rooms
On our way back to the van, to get back to the resort, we saw the 105 year old thatha, still sitting there. His son stood behind him.
The agnihotri, who had told us about the ritual, invited us into his house. Most of the group were ahead or behind, so only about five of us went in.
His was the smallest, simplest house in the village. He had no 8 kattu, or even 2 kattu. There was doorway, leading to a small room, and expanding onto a bedroom, behind which was a small garden. That was all.
In the middle of the floor was the ashes, and a cbweb filled spot where the fire was to be lit. The fire was to be lit in three spots, with a definite shape. All three were drawn on the ground. To go give us the talk, he must have turned off his fire, and there were already cobwebs in it. His wife was very proud to be an agnihotris wife. She felt it a privilege. Two sarees and some jewellery were all she owned, having moved from Madras over 25 years ago.
We left his house, having a deeper understanding of Agnihotri, and went back to the hotel. There, the manager-in-charge(The actual manager being away at a meeting in Chennai), who had wanted to take me on a tour of the museum in the hotel, did so that evening before dinner, showing me, and a few other interested people the secret tunnel under the hotel they found while digging the foundation(the building itself has been moved from Mint street, Chennai, and is supposed to be 350 years old). Inside the tunnel were found a cannonball, some daggers and swords, and other Chola-era things.
The museum boasts one of the first fridges, some old fans, a Ravi Varma, and other old painting, and a 1948 front page Hindu of Gandhi's assassination, among other things.The theory is that the metal workers who had lived in these two villages granted by the emperor(which have now been converted into hotel rooms) were connected directly to either Kumbakonam, or to the King himself, at
Thanjavur. But they were not allowed to dig past their property.
Punkah
old fan
King George V and Queen Mary
Chola dagger
Entrance to the passageway
The tunnel
That evening, we boarded the train after dinner at the resort, at around 8. This trip has been a fun one, and I enjoyed every minute of it with Pradeep Chakravarthy, Priya Thiagarajan, and everyone else who came on the trip with me.
Nice, Nandan. I wish that you had stayed at the village for one or two nights and visited the local temple and observed all the rituals there. Please try to do that next time - doing in at Kodiyalam will be special.
ReplyDeleteNice work Nandan. My mother has mentioned Kodaivasal several times. Can you send me route map, say from Chennai to K.
ReplyDeleteCheers.
Sure Murali Peripa. It's right there next to Kumbakonam.
ReplyDelete