Author: Aranmula Kannadi

The famous Thiruvonathoni of Aranmula Temple is sets for sail of this Onam season.
Keeping alive one of the age-old temple traditions closely linked to the legend of Mahabali, Narayana Bhattathiri of Kattoor Illam at Kumaranallor near here, has set sail on his country boat carrying provisions, for the land of his ancestors who had the privilege of providing the Onasadya (Onam feast) to the deity at the Sri Parthasarathy Temple at Aranmula.

Traditionally it is the eldest male from Kattoor Illam privileged to take the provisions for the ceremonial Onasadya at the temple. As the senior most member of the family.The day began with the special prayers before the deity at the Kumaranallor temple. By 11.45 a.m. he was ready for the journey.

According to legend, the ancestors of Mr. Bhattathiri were ordained to carry the provisions of Onasadya, by the deity at the Aranmula temple. However, generations later, Mr. Bhattathiri’s ancestors migrated from Kattoor to Kumaranallor, but the tradition continued.

Accompanied by representatives of 18 families who offer provisions for the Onam feast at the Aranmula temple, he will change his boat and set sail on the ‘Thiruvonathoni’ on the last leg of his voyage immediately after the deeparadhana at the Sri Mahavishnu Temple at Kattoor on Tuesday, Uthradom day.

He will take the same route for his return journey and reach home on the same Churulan Vallom on which he had set out.

Tour to Aranmula

Aranmula is a picturesque village in the state of Kerala. The vast stretches of backwaters, acres of lush green,sweet humming notes of the birds all combine to create this fabulous tourist destination. It therefore comes as no surprise that the government of India has declared it an international tourism destination.

A Tour to Aranmula will give you the splendid opportunity to witness nature at its very best.
The place has a magnetic quality that will surely draw you very close. The calm and serene surroundings, the sight of the water lilies floating on the lucid backwaters and simple rustic people moving about doing their daily activities all mingle together to create an irresistible charm.

Aranmula is well known for its metal mirrors (Aranmulakannadi). This is the point from where the jewels of Lord Ayyappan are taken in a procession each year to Sabrimala.

Tourist Attractions in Tour to Aranmula
The biggest draw of Aranmula is the Parthasarathy Temple. This ancient Krishna Temple located on the banks of the Pamba River is visited by a large number of people regularly. Do offer your prayers at the temple when you plan a Tour to Aranmula.

It is best to plan your Tour to Aranmula when the water carnival is being held. The Boat Race held each year at the time of Onam, a festival in Kerala draws huge crowds. Special boats are constructed for the race. These boats referred to as Snake Boats are capable of accommodating more than 100 oarsmen at a time.Vastu Vidya Gurukulam is also located in Aranmula.

Accommodation in Tour to Aranmula

Aranmula is at a distance of about 16 km from Pathanamthitta. So it is best to reside in a hotel in
Pathanamthitta and there are plenty of hotels in Pathanamthitta where you will get comfortable accommodation at reasonable price.

Aranmula is 128 km from the state capital Thiruvannathapuram.Aranmula is well connected by road to Pathanamthitta. Buses ply at regular intervals between these two places.
The nearest airports are located at Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. If you are interested in availing the railways, the nearest railway station is at Chengannur which is only 10 km far.

Aranmula Kannadi is featured or displayed in many most popular websites in the web. Let’s see how the TripleClicks features Aranmula Kannadi…

The Metal Mirror known in the vernacular as “Aranmula Kannadi” may be termed as a Wonderful Creation. A mirror in the original sense made fully in metal reflects image from the metal surface as if from a glass mirror without side difference because the image originates from the surface of this mirror unlike the glass mirror where it originates from the bottom of glass at the level of mercury. Bronze and silver melted in a special ratio in a special furnace by a particular section of people of Aranmula, Kerala , India . It is a traditional craft handed over from generations and kept patented now. It is royal in look and used in ancient times by Royal and Aristocratic Families only. As whole it is molded and the mirror part is smoothened and polished, It is golden except the mirror part. It is one of the best items in the world to decorate visitor’s room, drawing room, bed rooms etc. In Kerala it is believed that it brings prosperity to the home where it locates.These are available in different beautiful shapes and sizes. Costs are also different as per the shape, size and quality

Be a proud owner of good quality Aranmula Metal mirror

The author was in search of original good quality Aranmula metal mirror as Onam gift ,for the last one week and was really shocked to hear the prices of the same even in the sales counter functioned under Government sponsorship.Finally,the author got good help from http://www.aranmulamirror.com/.

The customers will never imagine that an Indian company can give them such an international experience. This is the only site where you can get a fair deal as it comes directly from the craftsman to the buyer.Contrary to most of the previous experiences in online shopping ,the communication is very easy through online chat facilty and 24 hour customer care phone numbers.The site provides a photo gallery with description of each model,including the dimensions,weight,special features,traditional use,the concept behind each mirror and aranmula kannadi price tag.

The customer service is very fast like the click of a computer mouse.
Another feature of the site is their wide variety of payment options & customer care which is very helpful to solve inquiries.They received the author’s order on time as promised by them and the item was delivered in a very admirable packing. They offer seasonal discount on selected models.Shipping is absolutely free anywhere in India.

It was pleasant shopping there.The next time when you think of buying a special gift for someone special ,you can just visit this site.

Aranmula, the famed mirror-making centre in Kerala has enormous tourist potential, which the State government could tap, said Prabhakar Dubey, Director in the Union Ministry of Tourism. The Centre was ready to support tourism infrastructure development in Aranmula, if the State Government submitted a detailed project report.

Dr Dubey was talking to reporters during a visit to Aranmula on Wednesday. The well-known town, he said, had immense tourism potential. Visiting a workshop making the Aranmula Kannadi (metal mirror) on the banks of the river Pampa, he said the metal mirrors would be one of the two artefacts from Kerala to be exhibited at the World Tourism Fair at Los Angeles in September.

The official also visited the centuries old Sree Parthsarathy Temple on the banks of the Pampa, Mural Art Gallery attached to Vastu Vidya Gurukulam (VVG), Heritage Museum of the Palliyoda Seva Sanghom (PSS) that runs the famous Uthrittathi snakeboat regatta on the river Pampa during the Onam festival.

Kathakali artiste and teacher Louba Schild, founder of Vijnana Kalavedi, bids adieu to her adopted land where she lived as a Malayali for 40 years. Her life in Aranmula was dedicated to promoting and preserving the art and culture of the land she adopted as her own.

There is very little of the French in her except for her name and accented English. Louba Schild is otherwise traditionally Malayali, in attire and attitude. Not surprising. For Louba has been in Kerala for 40 years now. Her life in Aranmula was dedicated to promoting and preserving the art and culture of the land she adopted as her own. Through Vijnana Kalavedi, which she established in 1977, Louba has been conserving the praxis of a rich heritage. She has passed on the baton to a large number of people from around the world who have been part of this enriching Vijnana Kalavedi experience.

Louba has now, quite surprisingly, decided to bring down the curtain on this cultural enterprise. Vijnana Kalavedi will be formally closed down by the end of this month. They had their final performance the other day at what looked a rather desolate venue. And in a few months’ time, Louba will be on her flight back home to Paris along with her 94-year-old mother, Nadia Schild Chipiloff.

“Don’t ask me why I’m doing this. It is a personal decision,” Louba tells you even before you try asking her this question. Prod her further and you realise that there is no rancour or ill-feeling, but it certainly appears to go beyond just ‘personal.’

Louba was drawn to Kerala’s rich culture, pulsating art and heritage. She studied Kathakali from great masters like Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, never missed a chance to perform, and dabbled in other classical and traditional arts. Through her institution she tried to pass on what she experienced to others who came from other lands. But somewhere down the line she realised the futility of all this.

“I think my biggest regret has been learning Kathakali. I should have remained a dedicated spectator rather than a practitioner. This art, like Indian culture, is so deep-rooted that anyone like me would be able to touch only the periphery. Even after all these years of learning and performing I have realised that it is still incomplete. There are certain things, simple though it might seem, that cannot be expressed by a person who is alien to this culture, this ethos. All these years I have been doing this, teaching, learning. I should have left it alone,” feels Louba.

Another beautiful new model of Aranmula kanadi (Aranmula mrror) was released yesterday!

The new model is designed by the famous artisan Mr.K.P.Ashokan, who made the most popular Aranmula Kannadi models during the last few decades.

He said that he is very pleased to release the new model on this Onam occasion, through Aranmula Kannadi Online Shop – aranmulamirror.com, the biggest shop of Aranmula Kannadi on web. It is a fixed stand type (Peedom) which weighs about 1.3kg and having the dimension 10.0 x 7.5 Inches and the mirror size of 4.5 inches.
The speciality of the model is its abundant hand work!

Aranmula vallasadya is usually served to the oarsmen of snake boats in a ceremonious ritual at the Sree Parthasarathy Temple at Aranmula.The world famous sadya contains about 56 delicious dishes including 4-5 variety of ‘Payasam’.

The custom of this unique ritual is that devotees who offer Vallasadya to the presiding deity have to serve the feast to the crew of the Palliyodams, which are the snake boats belonging to the presiding deity. Feast served to the crew is considered to be an offering to the Lord himself.

According to my calculations more than 40,000 peoples were participated in the vallasadya during the last year.

Various dishes are served in the background of songs sung to the tune of ‘Kuchelavritham Vanchipattu’. And through a song a team of singers will announce the dishes required for the people . “Kudineeru Kodukkenam Madikoodathe hoyi…Gajapada Valipathil Pappadam Venam hoyi…” these are the songs for serving drinking water and ‘pappadam’.

It is one of the 108 temples and one among the celestial abodes of Lord Vishnu revered by the tamil poets called Alwars(1stmillenium century bc)in their hymns.

Aranmula Parthasaradhi Temple is a major temple in Kerala. The Main idol of worship is Parthasaarathy(Krishna),who was the leader of Arjuna (the pandava prince)in Kurukshetra War. It is said that Arjuna built this temple at Nilackal near Sabarimalai to expiate for the sin of having killed Karna on the battlefield which was against the dharma of killing an unarmed enemy.The idol was brought to Aranmula in a raft made of six pieces of bamboo and
hence the name Aranmula (six pieces of bamboo). It is also believed that Lord Vishnu revealed
the knowledge of creation to Lord Brahma at this place.

The temple is on the left bank of the Pampa River.The temple has four towers over its entrances on its outer wall.The eastern tower is accessed through a flight of 18 steps.The 57 steps from the northern tower leads to river Pampa. The temple is noted for its architecture (vasthu) and fine mural paintings which dates to the 18th century.

The temple is on the left bank of the Pampa River.The sacred jewels (Thiruvaabharanam)of Lord Ayyappa is taken from Aranmula Temple ,in procession to Sabarimalai during the festival season every year.The temple is also known for the watersports (Aranmula vallam kali/boat race)involving a spectacular procession of snake boats.

The Aranmula mirror is also much related to the history of the temple.