Travel With a Couple

One of the stories from our TGDC trail was about our search for old Jain temples in Wayanad in Kerala. There are a few of them, either taken over by ASI or left to crumble, like the one we managed to visit.

After visiting the place and reading a little more about Jain temples in Kerala, a realisation dawned on us – Most temples in Kerala were earlier Jain or Buddhist temples. We had earlier read that the famous Sabarimala temple (with close to 5 crore visitors a year, it is supposed to be the second biggest annual pilgrimage after Mecca) was originally a Jain temple.

Jainism and Buddhism came to Kerala as early as 200 or 300 AD and flourished till 1000 AD. The arrival of Vedic brahmins to Kerala from 800 AD and the royal patronage they got, resulted in many of these shrines getting converted into Hindu temples. The massive Vadakkumnatha temple in the heart of Thrissur city was once a Buddhist temple. The Koodalmanikyam temple in Irinjalakkuda was a Jain temple.

It is said that all temples that are in circular shape were Buddhist temples and all those are in square shape were Jain temples.

(photo courtesy: from the website http://www.thrikodithanam.org)

At one level, on hindsight, the ‘Search’ per se had no meaning. Because we grew up around those very same Jain and Buddhist temples!

The arrival of Vedic brahmins led to some radical changes in Kerala society, one of them being the rigid case system. The historical bits made an interesting read. Many stories we had heard as kids have larger and different stories behind it. While searching for information on Jain temples, we also ended up discovering some interesting and informational websites and blogs.

Check out these:
http://historicalleys.blogspot.com written by Mr Manmadhan, based in California – extensively researched and exhaustive.

http://www.thrikodithanam.org/intro.htm– a website about a particular temple in Kerala and some interesting history. (some of the information in this entry is sourced from this website)

‘Palarauvi’ is actually a misguiding name for a waterfall cascading down from more than 300 ft. Or for that matter, for any waterfall. ‘Pal’ means milk and ‘aruvi’ means stream in Malayalam. Perhaps the gushing milky white water in the middle of green foliage resulted in the name ‘Palaruvi’.

The water falls at such a high force that if not careful it could just push you down inside the pool. Nevertheless, bend and bare your back for a great massage.

Preserved by the local villagers, Palaruvi is yet another initiative that drives ‘responsible’ tourism. Palaruvi is in the laps of Western Ghats bordering Kerala and Tamilnadu, on the Kollam – Shenkottai road. A popular family tourist spot, incidentally it has separate falls for gents and ladies & kids

You reach the waterfalls after a long drive through the forest. The most abundant wildlife is as usual monkeys. Not surprisingly, they too come as families. Have a look at this photo.

A 120-m long elevated walkway touching the treetops in the middle of forest! Take this path interspersed with 109 steps and you could try out some adventure activities – all handled by trained professionals.

This is part of Thenmala Ecotourism, a unique programme designed by Kerala Tourism department. A relatively less-known tourist destination, Thenmala is a nature lover’s dream destination. Nestled in the ranges of Western Ghats is the Thenmala Dam and around it is the Shenduruney Wildlife Sanctuary. If you always dreamt of doing something that would give you an adrenaline rush, but could never figure out what to do, Thenmala can be your place for initiation. You could try out Flying Fox, Burma Bridge, River Crossing, Rock Climbing, Mountain Biking and more. Lush forests of Thenmala also hide the old ‘Thiruvanathapuram-Shenkottai’ road, a large part of which is submerged in water now.

Forest department also organizes 1 to 3 days of trekking in the deep forests. We visited the place in April. Monsoon will be more interesting as you could manage a splash in the mud as well.

‘Chicken rises’ from your chicken fried rice – bewildering? Then how about having ‘omblate, seanveg’s, pelpuri, and banipuri’ for snacks? These are some interesting and bewildering menu options at some of Munnar’s street-side stalls. If language is to communicate, never mind these localisation of English. Because it does communicate. Especially if you are hungry.

No price for guessing what a “Seanveg” is.