ATTUKAL BHAGAVATHY TEMPLE

ATTUKAL BHAGAVATHY TEMPLE

The Attukal Bhagavathy Temple, one of the ancient temples of South India, is popularly described as Sabarimala of the Women, as women form the major portion of devotees. The Goddess in the temple of Attukal is worshipped as the Supreme Mother, creator of all living beings and the mighty preserver as well as destroyer of them all. The pilgrims from all over the country, who visit Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple and worship the Lord, do not consider their visits complete without the visit to the shrine of the supreme Mother Attukalamma. Vishnumaya took the incarnation of Bhagavathy to annihilate the evil and protect the good in the world in the present Era namely Kaliyuga. 

According to mythology, Attukal Bhagavathy is supposed to be the divinised form of Kannaki, the famous heroine of Chilapathikaram, written by Elenkovadikal, the Tamil Poet. The story goes that after the destruction of ancient city of Madurai, Kannaki left the city and reached Kerala via Kanyakumari and on the way to Kodungalloor took a sojourn at Attukal. Kannaki is supposed to be the incarnation of Parvathy, the consort of Paramasiva. The all powerful and benign Attukal Bhagavathy reigns eternally supreme at Attukal and nurses devotees as a mother does her children. Thousands of devotees from far and near flock to the Temple to bend before the Goddess with awe and reverence to prostrate and redress their affliction and agony. 

The Pongala Mahotsavam is the most important festival of Attukal Bhagavathy Temple. The offering of Pongala is a special temple practice prevalent in the southern part of Kerala and some parts of Tamilnadu. It is a ten-day programme commencing on the Karthika star of the Malayalam month of Makaram-Kumbham (February-March) and closing with the sacrificial offering known as Kuruthitharpanam at night. On the ninth day of the festival the world famous Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam takes place. The entire area of about 5 kilometre radius around temple with premises of houses of people of all caste, creed and religion, open fields, roads, commercial institutions, premises of Government offices etc. emerges as a consecrated ground for observing Pongala rituals for lakhs of women devotees assembling from different parts of Kerala and outside. The ceremony is exclusively confined to women folk and the enormous crowd, which gathers in Thiruvananthapuram on this auspicious day is reminiscent of the Kumbhamela Festival of North India.

HOW TO REACH ATTUKAL TEMPLE ?

ATTUKAL BHAGAVATHY TEMPLE TRUST
P.B. No. 5805, Manacaud P.O.,
Thiruvananthapuram - 695 009, Kerala, South India.
Phone: +91-471 - 2463130 (Off) 2456456 (Temple)
Fax : +91-471 - 2456457

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NALAMBALAM

NALAMBALAM

The four temples of central Kerala, thronged by Hindu devotees during the holy month of Karkitakam are centred round Ramapuram, within a distance of three kilometres. They are Ramapuram Sree Ramaswamy Temple, Koodappulam Sree Lakshmanaswamy Temple, Amanakara Sree Bharathaswamy Temple and Methiri Sree Sathrughnaswamy Temple. These temples together are called the Nalambalam.

The deities here are the four sons of King Dasaratha of Ramayana. Lord Ram, the eldest of them is the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu, who is the Supreme God of the Hindus. Bharata , second amongst them, is the avatar of the Panchajanya (Conch held by Vishnu) .Lakshmana is the avatar of the Adisesha, the serpent of infinite measures and on whom Lord Vishnu sleeps in the Ocean of Milk. Satrughna (the One who is destroyer of enemies) is the twin bother to Lakshamana and the youngest .He is the avatar of the Sudarshana chakra held by Lord Vishnu.

Visiting nalambalam is considered to be a sacred event during the Malayalam month Karkidakam. Nalambalam consists of temples of brothers Sri Rama, Bharatha, Lakshmana & Sathrughnan.

1.      

       Sree Ramaswamy Temple
 Ramapuram P.O
Kottayam Dt.
Ph : 0482-2263100

2.     Sree Lakshmanaswamy Temple
Koodappulam P.O 
Ramapuram 
Kottayam Dt.- 686576
Ph : 0482-2240540

3.     Sree Bharathaswamy Temple 
Amanakara P.O
Ramapuram 
Kottayam D
Ph : 0482-2264200

4.     Sree Sathrughnaswamy Temple.
Methiri P.O
Ramapuram 
Kottayam Dt.
Ph : 0482-2264235

NALAMBALAM-(THRISSUR)

Thriprayar : - (22 Kms from Thrissur) Famous temple dedicated to Lord Shri Rama. The important festival here is the Thriprayar Ekadasi held for three days in Vrischikam (Nov-Dec). Offering timings - 4.30 am to 12.30 pm, 4.30 pm to 8 pm. Phone 91 487 -2391375

2. Irinjalakuda Koodalmanickam Temple: - (21 Kms from Thrissur). This ancient and historic is dedicated to Bharatha the Brother of Sri Rama. The colour full 11 day annual festival in Medom (April-May) with pageant of 13 caparisoned elephants. This marks the end of temple festival season in Kerala. Offering timings 3 am to 11.30 am & 5 pm to 8.30 pm Phone- 95 480 2822631

3. Payemmel Temple: - (40 Kms from Thrissur near Aripalam- Irinjalakuda) this ancient and historic is dedicated to Shathrugna the Brother of Sri Rama. It is considered to be the only one temple dedicated Shathrugna.

4. Moozhikulam Temple:- Situated near Angamaly in Ernakulam District. Dedicated to Lord Lekshmana, bother of Lord Sri Rama.

GANGSTER MALAYALAM MOVIE REVIEW

GANGSTER MALAYALAM MOVIE REVIEW

Aashiq Abu tried really hard in 'Gangster', the most expected movie of the year. With his history as an innovative director, Ashiq thought that whatever he puts out in the table will be swallowed by the audience. Thus we have 'Gangster, 'a mafia movie with a lot of guns, blood, and revenge. But that pretty much sums up the whole film. With an awesome animated prologue, it was a  storm  kept waiting by the director, which but never happen.

The movie tells about Illyas khan, a powerful mafia leader in Bombay, a man of resilience and grit with a son Akbar Ali khan. Don Philip, Illyas khan's arch enemy, one who covets his fabled gold reserves offers him the good old power struggle .

Don Philip sends in assassins to deal with Illyas, who is killed along with his family except Akbar. He is saved by Hajjikka, Illya's loyal right hand  played by TG Ravi. And when Akbar turns 16, he pays a visit to the people who killed his family. With his father's gold reserves and a crime syndicate of Mani Menon (Kunjan) and UncleSam (John Paul), Akbar establishes himself in the city of Mangalore taking control of its port.

Things go well for some time and no shots are fired until the arrival of Anto (ShekharMenon), Uncle Sam's grandson. (err... or is it godson?). well; anyway, things get ugly from here. Anto is a chemist by profession and runs a pharmaceutical company under the fade of which he conducts his crime businesses. Anto's grand plan is to import contaminated vaccines from abroad and sell them at a high price in the Indian market,  which Akbar resists citing it as  drug business (hey, do we smell a bit of Mario Puzzo's Godfather here?)

And there! You have all the pieces fall in place for a grand mafia war.

Akbar is hard hit at first. His wife Sana (Nyla Usha) is killed in a bomb blast which was intended for Akbar who also gets injured. Then a series of setbacks follow. Akbar's people get killed, Akbar is betrayed by his own men and just as Akbar himself was about to be killed,Hajikka comes to his rescue. He takes Akbar to his home and there he slowly regains his strength. And the rest is that pretty predictable affair now even with Russian mafia kings in the offer.

The problem with the movie is that it doesn't unleash even a dust wind, let alone a 'STORM'!

As for the acting angle, most have done justice to their respective characters. ShekharMenon'sAnto, the drug addict and sexual pervert gives a chill in the spine. The female roles of the movie are handled by NylaUsha and Aparna Gopinath. The former plays Akbar's bride and the latter is a pimp for Anto; a supplier of girls to satisfy Anto'ssaddist pleasures. But they are almost invisible in the movie. Kunjan appears totally different from his previous roles. John Paul has done the role of Uncle Sam with a subtle elegance. Akbar's second in command, Michael is played by HareeshPeradi. Vidhura, the good cop bad cop, is played by DileeshPothan.

One disappointing thing in the movie is the lack of punch dialogues from Akbar's part. We can bet that he shot more bullets than words in this movie! Though there is nothing remotely 'new' in the movie, what sets it apart is the music. The superb BGM by Deepak Dev, beginning from the titles, is a great relief for the audience. There is only one song in the movie and an apt and relaxing one. It is a short respite from the bloody killings and violence that makes up the movie.

The glamour and style of mammootty deserve a word. The German jacket, the specs and ruffled hair with streaks of grey lets him take on the aura of a real gangster. Plus the black Range Rover, Akbar's ride, adds to the spices. Art direction by Ajay Challisery is superb.

The camera angles by Alby  are good for a gangster movie. A special word of applause should go to the stunt director. The climax of the film sees some of the best executed fight sequences. The knife fight at the end is unprecedented in Malayalam movie. Abilash and Ahmed Siddiqui who have written the shaky screenplay should have seen to it that they at least shorten the 'Yawning time', if not eradicate it!

Still, this movie could be a great ride only for those who like gangster movies.

Ratting = 2/5

Source - indiaglitz.com