I have been having really bad dreams these past 2 weeks about a snake chasing , biting me and ofcourse with me eventually dying! At first I was not that bothered, but I started getting a bit squeamish when the dreams started occuring every single night and mentioned this to my mother. My mom is a bit superstitious about these things and decided to visit the famous "MANNARASSALA" Temple near harippad. So, today we went there, I have visited the temple when I was little and so this time it was really nice to see everything up close and personal, 'coz one tends to remember things more now that I am older duh! :D
A little bit of history about the temple. It is a temple dedicated exclusively to snakes and the idol there is a snake who is said to live in the premises even today at the "nilavara" (an attic sort of room present in really old kerala homes) and is said to wander around at a nearby area called "appoppan kaavu". Honestly, I have no idea how to translate that in english, anyway, the whole temple is filled with trees and bushes and one feels as though they are stepping inside a jungle and to my amazement I saw a real live COBRA!!!!!! lying lazily on top of a branch and it looked really harmless.......but to be honest I really did get scared. The "kaavu" used to be a part of old kerala homes where they used to idolise snakes, pray and do offerings to them all the time. The snakes are a symbol of reproduction and especialy at this temple, couple who don't have kids come to pray and do special poojas to conceive.
The temple itself was built by the sage Parasuraman. He appointed his favourite disciple to look after the temple and it is his descendents who actually does the main poojas and are looking after the temple even now. Ok......enough with my talk let me get on with the pics now. Photography is prohibhited inside the temple, so I took a couple of pics from the outside.
The pond just outside of the temple. Everyone is supposed to wash their feet there before entering the temple. Do you see the lush greenery.......believe me the inside of the temple actually resembles a mini forest!!!
The many views of the temple from outside. Do you see the man wearing the blue shirt, he is one of the guards there and told me to switch my camera off!!! :(
The idols of snakes ,("nagadevatas" as they are called)
Once we started the drive back home, the Kerala monsoons simply took over. It was really beautiful. Anyway thank god that it ddn't rain when we were inside the temple!!!
Myself in Desi Avatar lol :D
The perfect "kerala" or the more well known "mallu" look :D
Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed reading this post, don't forget to leave your comments :)
A little bit of history about the temple. It is a temple dedicated exclusively to snakes and the idol there is a snake who is said to live in the premises even today at the "nilavara" (an attic sort of room present in really old kerala homes) and is said to wander around at a nearby area called "appoppan kaavu". Honestly, I have no idea how to translate that in english, anyway, the whole temple is filled with trees and bushes and one feels as though they are stepping inside a jungle and to my amazement I saw a real live COBRA!!!!!! lying lazily on top of a branch and it looked really harmless.......but to be honest I really did get scared. The "kaavu" used to be a part of old kerala homes where they used to idolise snakes, pray and do offerings to them all the time. The snakes are a symbol of reproduction and especialy at this temple, couple who don't have kids come to pray and do special poojas to conceive.
The temple itself was built by the sage Parasuraman. He appointed his favourite disciple to look after the temple and it is his descendents who actually does the main poojas and are looking after the temple even now. Ok......enough with my talk let me get on with the pics now. Photography is prohibhited inside the temple, so I took a couple of pics from the outside.
The many views of the temple from outside. Do you see the man wearing the blue shirt, he is one of the guards there and told me to switch my camera off!!! :(
Once we started the drive back home, the Kerala monsoons simply took over. It was really beautiful. Anyway thank god that it ddn't rain when we were inside the temple!!!
Myself in Desi Avatar lol :D
The perfect "kerala" or the more well known "mallu" look :D
Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed reading this post, don't forget to leave your comments :)
4 comments:
loved the photographs, reminded me of the serene Kerala that i belong to
The photos are gorgeous & really brought out the lush beauty of Kerala. The temple is simply stunning with all that greenery, but I was surprised to see such a huge crowd :D :D And you're not alone in your fear of snakes; I'm terrified too. Once I saw an animal planet show about deadly snakes & I kept imagining snakes everywhere! On the strap of my handbag, on my curtains, under my bed, etc. You look fantastic though. Was just wondering yesterday if you were busy with studies.
@rentu:-thank uuuu :)
@poohkie:-This crowd is nothing! You should see this place during some special occassions......its madness!!!! :D. Yup, I am busy with my studies and nowadays find it a bit boring to take pics label them and put up on the blog during free time......but am trying to manage everything :)
nice photographs.. new to your blog.. liked your blog.. following you right away.. keep posting.. :)
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