Cherpu
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| ?Cherpu Kerala • India |
|
| Coordinates: (find coordinates) | |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| District(s) | Thrissur District |
| Codes • Pincode |
• 680561 |
| Temperature Range: 22.5°C -35 °C | |
Cherpu is a small village in the Trissur District of Kerala state, South India. It is 12 km from Thrissur town and is on the Kodungallur road. This beautiful village is surrounded by a number of temples and rivers. Its inhabitants are mostly educated and well cultured. The village's main attraction is pooram. Cherpu has two main poorams, Peruvanam Pooram and Arattupuzha Pooram. Most people in Cherpu are employed in the manufacture of furniture or gold ornaments. Cherpu is famous for its Namboodiri supremacy. It is the epicentre of Perumanam (Peruvanam) village, which is one of the most prominent Namboothiri village/settlements created by Parashuram, the creator of Kerala.
The name Cherpu means cherunnidam (Joining place)in Malayalam. Cherpu was a central place for Mahatma Gandhi's village renaissance. It was known as 'vardha' at the time of the Kochi kingdom. Cherpu includes the world-famous Arattupuzha temple, as well as the Urakam and Thiruvullakkavu temples. Thiruvullakkavu temple is famous for Vidyarambham (A Hindu tradition in educating children).
The paddy fields spreading as far as Triprayar have been fully covered by water for a long time. The west and east side of Cherpu were marked by rocks. Cherpu is located in between this rock- and water-covered area. This is why it is known as Cherpu or cherunnidam (joining place).
Contents |
[edit] Temples in Cherpu
These are the famous temples in Cherpu
| Temple Name | Prathishta (God name) | Festivals |
|---|---|---|
| Thiruvullakkavu | Sasthavu(Ayyappan) | Vidyarambham, Vishu pooram |
| Peruvanam | Siva | Peruvanam pooram |
| Arattupuzha | Sasthavu(Ayyappan) | Peruvanam pooram |
| Thayamkulangara | Subramanian | Thayamkulangara pooyam |
| Urakam | [[Ammathiruvadi][Bhagavathy]] | Vidyarambham, Peruvanam pooram |
| Mekkavu | Bhadra kali | Peruvanam pooram |
| Cherpu Temple | Bhagavathy | Peruvanam pooram, Arattupuzha pooram |
| Kodalur | Krishna | Sreekrishna jayanthi |
| Mithranandapuram | Vamana moorthy | Othukottu ( Chanting Yajur veda by Namboothiri Brahmins ) |
| Hidumban Kovil | Hidumban | Pooyam |
[edit] Educational institutions
Cherpu is noted for education. Its schools achieve 100% results for Kerala SSLC(Secondary school leaving certificate) exams.[citation needed]
[edit] Schools
| School Name | Medium | Syllabus |
|---|---|---|
| Govt vocational higher secondary school | Malayalam | Kerala state |
| CNN Boys higher secondary school | English and Malayalam | Kerala state |
| CNN Girls higher secondary school | English and Malayalam | Kerala state |
| Lourde matha high school | English | Kerala state |
| Santha Maria academy | English | CBSE |
| Gurukulam public school | English | CBSE |
| Chevvor school | Malayalam | Kerala state |
[edit] Colleges
- Vydyarathnam Ayurveda college Poochinnipadam
[edit] Private tuition centers
- Saraswathy college
- Vivekananda college
- Indian college perumpillissery
- Megabyte Computer Tution centre
[edit] Elephants in cherpu
Thrissur is known as the district for Poorams. Most of the people who live in Thrissur are fond of elephants.[citation needed] Cherpu can also offer a set of elephants. People in Kerala name the elephants and they use them for festivals.
[edit] Bastian Vinaya Chandran
This elephant is 9 feet 5 inches high. Its agreeable behaviour makes people more attracted to it. This elephant belongs to Bastian Timbers Perumpillissery Cherpu. Thrissur pooram 2007 will be the 25th chance to this elephant. It is noted for the fact that it has no hairs on its tail.
[edit] Bastian Vinaya Sankar
This elephant has the 4th rank in all the elephants in Kerala. It has a long tail whose hairs touch the ground. Elephant lovers in Kerala like it because of its wide ears.
[edit] Saj Prasad
This elephant is noted for its humble character. The easy way to identify this elephant is by the square-shaped hole on its ears. It belongs to Saj Timbers perumpillissery. It is mainly used for timber purposes rather than participating in festivals.
[edit] Thrivullakkavu Manikandan
The easy way to identify this elephant is by its tusks, which collapse together, making it difficult for the elephone to sway its trunks. It belongs to Thiruvullakkavu Dharmasastha Kshethram.
[edit] MK Timbers Pathmanabhan
This elephant was brought from Kodanad (a place in the outskirts of Palakkad Kerala) Anakalari (Place for teaching elephants). It was born in Kerala itself. The major factor that keeps the image of this elephant in the minds of elephant lovers is its wide ears. Therefore it is known as the elephant which has wide ears.
[edit] Thiruvanikkav Jayaram Kannan
this elephant was bought from Malayalam film actor Mr.Jayaram to the Thiruvanikkavu temple. It shows a humble character. This elephant has played major roles in several Malayalam movies.
[edit] Thiruvanikkav Devi Krishnan
The main feature of this elephant is its tusks. The right tusk is wide away from the trunk and the left tusk goes down.
[edit] Peruvanam pooram
Peruvanam temple in Cherpu is praised in the Manipravalam work "Chandrostavam". Six Vattezhuthu and Malayalam inscriptions have been found in the temple. An 11th-century inscription from Thiruvattoor in North Kerala refers to seven persons originally belonging to this village, along with others being established there and a new settlement created. The main prathishta on this temple is Lord Siva. People believe that peruvanam was a big forest. The word vanam means forest in Malayalam. Peruvanam means a thick forest. This temple has artworks on the roof. It has two siva Sreekovils. One is at the top with the height of a big tree. It is believed that Lord siva did tapass (Malayalam word which means worshipping with high concentration) on one tree and that changed into the present sreekovil.
Peruvanam pooram began a long time ago. Legend has it that it started in the form of an Utsavam (a bit different in rituals from Pooram and extending to 28 days) which went on for 500 years. After that, it was stopped for a period of time. Later it was restarted in the form of two poorams Peruvanam and Arattupuzha. The new version has been in existence now for 1425 years. Usually it will come in the month of April. There will be an Ezhunnallippu (Malayalam word which means combining a set of elephants and chendas ). Ezhunnallippu starts in the evening and will be over only in the morning. Most of the people in the village attend the pooram.
[edit] Arattupuzha pooram
The famous Ayyappa temple at Aarattupuzha is just 14 km south of Thrissur town, and celebrates its annual pooram festival in April/May. Arattupuzha pooram is known as deva mela. Arattupuzha pooram has been celebrated for more than 1420 years. This festival is attended by all Hindu gods. This is why it is called deva (God) mela. More than 70 elephants will be available for making the pooram more beautiful.
Arattupuzha Pooram is the oldest and the most spectacular of the pooram festivals of Kerala. It is believed that on this day 101 gods and goddesses of the neighbouring villages visited Sastha, the presiding deity of the Arattupuzha Temple. Nowadays 61 elephants take part in the pooram procession on the sixth day of the seven-day festival. Panchavadyam, nadaswaram, pacharimelam and pandimelam add to the festive tempo. The arattu (holy bath of the idol of the deity) ritual is performed with great pomp and gaiety in the Arattupuzha river on the following day.
The final pooram is conducted with 61 caparisoned elephants bearing bright coloured umbrellas and parasols, presenting an unparalleled spectacle. The temple ensemble lends a majestic tenor to the extravaganza. The elephant carries the images of the deities of 41 neighbouring temples to this village. Arattupuzha temple is open 05:00 - 09:30 am & 05:00 - 07:00 pm. The festival concludes with the arattu (holy bath of the idol of the deity).
[edit] Thayamkulangara pooyam
Thayamkulangara is another temple in Cherpu. It is known as kerala palani. The main festival in this temple is pooyam. This is celeberated in January-February every year. People celeberate pooyam with kavadiyattom.
[edit] Wooden elephant making
Cherpu is famous for making elephant statues using wood. The person credited with this art is not a full-time sculptor, nor is he an artisan. But he has been associated with the making and sale of elephant carvings for more than half a century, so much so that the 76-year-old P. Krishnankutty Menon is fondly called "Aana Menon" (Elephant Menon) by the locals in Cherpu, Thrissur. A person can identify elephants made from Cherpu easily by looking at the nail. The nail will be painted in white color neatly. An interesting aspect of this is that the elephants are made with a single piece of wood.
[edit] Further reading
- http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/pollupd/ac/states/S11/Aconst57.htm - Kerala state elections
- http://www.namboothiri.com/articles/peruvanam-graamam.htm - Peruvanam gramam
- http://wikimapia.org/744195/ - Wikimapia
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pooram - Poorams
- http://chitram.org/kerala/thumb/index.htm - Cherpu Festival Pics
- http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/25/stories/2007032512240500.htm - News regarding Arattupuzha pooram on The Hindu
- http://www.answers.com/topic/pooram - Pooram
- http://www.thrissurpolice.com/thrissur/festivals/arattupuzha/arattupuzha.htm
- http://www.kerala.com/wiki-Pooram
- http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2003/01/13/stories/2003011300380100.htm - Wooden elephant making
