Thiruvilwamala

Location

The village, which is more of a temple town, is located on the banks of the Bharathappuzha river, with nearest towns being Shoranur and Ottapalam. The place is famous for the Vilwadrinatha Temple, which is among the rare Sri Rama temples in Kerala. Even though people believe the deity as Lord Rama, actually it is of Lord Vishnu. Niramaala & Ekadashi are the famous festive events here.Temple timings are from 5 A.M. to 11 A.M. and 5 P.M to 8 P.M on regular days.

Novelist V.K.N.

Noted writer V. K. N. (Vadakke Koottala Narayanankutty Nair), hailed from this place. It has also been home for writers like Manasi, P.A. Divakaran, Marshal (Colonel Kizhiapate Rajamani). Late poet P. Kunhiraman Nair had stayed here for long, having fallen in love with the scenic beauty and culture of the place. Raobahadur T.K. Nair, a former Kochi state minister, hailed from this place.The current south zone A.D.G.P padmakumar IPS belongs to thiruvilwamala. The place has also given birth to prominent artists in the field of Kathakali, especially madhalam players like the late Venkichan Swamy and his pupil Appukutty Poduval. Also famous for its set of Carnatic musicians, the Sri Rama temple here hosts a relay south Indian classical concert on the auspicious day of ekadasi.

The place is also famous for the kasavu clothing made in nearby villages like Kuthampulli.

Temples

Thiruviwamala has many other temples of ancient years and than four Shiva temples. Ivor Madom, the Krishna temple, is famous for the ceremonies performed in order to ensure peace for the soul of the dead. Other temples and groves of thiruvilwamala are: Parakkottu Kavu, Cheruthrikkovil, the temples of Mariyamma in Aakkaparambu, Eravathodi, Pattiparambu, Kuthampulli, Soudeshwari Amman temple (Kuthampulli) and Poothanakkara Shiva Temple.

Caves

Punarjani Guha (cave) is another major attraction in Thiruvilwamala, which is situated between the Vilwamala and the Bhoothamala towards the east of the Vilwadrinatha temple. It is a natural tunnel in the rocky hill. There is a belief that all the sins will be washed away if a person cross the cave from one end to the other and the person will be free from further births. Crossing the cave is difficult as one have to crawl through narrow sections to reach the other end. This ritual is known as 'Punarjani noozhal'. Only men are allowed to perform this ritual. This cave will be open to the public only on the Ekadasi day and hundreds of people participate in this ritual each year.

Festivals

The Parakkottukavu Thalappoli festival falls on the last Sunday of the Malayalam month of Medam (mid-May).The firework spectacles in this pooram would match up to the fireworks of the world famous Thrissur Pooram. Colonel S P Raman, who created history in Sciachen (highest battlefield in the world). and brother Advocate Sugashree also belong to this small town.

Kuzhi Minnal

Kuzhi Minnal (or Kuzhal Minnal) is gunpowder filled in earth holes and measured in pounds. It has enormous doppler effect due to the hilly Thiruvilwamala region. Picture here shows one of a series of end part of the Thalappoli fireworks .

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