CN Nimal - The Spiritual Advisors of Kerala

THESPIRITUAL ADVISORS OF KERALA

C NNIMAL

Copyright 2015 CN Nimal

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CN Nimal

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It is always agreat privilege to write about your family, but doubly so when youhave been commissioned to do it by family members who are no meanwriters and raconteurs themselves.

I am gratefulthat they have given me this opportunity to bring out a book thatchronicles the history and legends that surround the ChittoorNamboodiris. As in any effort that covers the hoary past many factsmay have a hazy tinge to it. But I have tried my best to keep tothe straight and proven.

The ChittoorNamboodiri family tree has at present two branches and mineoccupies the Tharavadu or the family home, a building which wasrebuilt into its present form somewhere towards the end of the1700s, which has been meticulously maintained and is in a state ofgood preservation. The second branch of the family was housed tillrecently in a building that was completed in the early 1940s by mygreat grandfathers younger brother Thrivikraman (Kunjan)Namboodiripad. At a time when many magnificent old buildings arefalling into disrepair and decay I am glad that my esteemed familymembers under the able leadership of OM Rakesh have with visionaryzeal converted this stupendous edifice into a heritage resort. Thusthey have been able to ensure its continuing existence in proudgrandeur without in anyway diminishing its dignity and status.

I thank all myfamily members who have taken the pains to provide me with theinformation required to put together this piece. I am very muchindebted to Adv. C.K.Narayanan Namboodiripad who meticulously wentthrough this manuscript, and Rajan Chittoor and Hari Chittoor fortheir coordination efforts. Bindu Sajits amazing enthusiasm inputting together all things Chittoor Mana including the familylineage and old photographs was of great help in this venture.

All that isgood and worth reading in this book is the result of their effortsespecially that of my father Narayanan Chittoor Namboodiripad and Itake the responsibility for any mistakes and shortcomings that mayhave occurred.

A specialthanks is also due to Padmasri Pepita Seth, a close friend of thefamily who agreed to write a foreword to this book.

At the feet ofthe Divine Mother, Cherpil Bhagavathy.

C N Nimal

Cherpu

On Tuesday, May18th 1982 I wrote just four words in my diary: Vadakkunathan.Chittoor Narayanan Namboodiripad. He had come to oversee theelaborate rituals of a Mahakumbhabhishekam being conducted in theThrissur temple dedicated to Lord Siva as Lord of the North; I wasthere to photograph them. While these are basic facts it is moredifficult to articulate and quantify the profound effect that ourmeeting has had on my life, beyond the statement that I have beenimmeasurably enriched by knowing him. No-one has ever used the wordguru but in essence this is the role he has played in my life. Arole that became more obvious when I began working on a book aboutGuruvayur Temple in the blind belief that some miracle wouldhappen, indeed would have to happen, when it came to grasping eventhe basics of the temples rituals and their concepts. The miracleduly appeared one morning when the telephone rang and Thirumenisinstantly recognisable voice said: This is ChittoorNamboodiripad. He came straight to the point: Who, he asked, ishelping you with the rituals? I hesitatingly said no-one. Thenyou come here. And so it was that for seven years and, generallyspeaking at least once a week, I would take the bus out to Cherpu a journey first taken, according to my 1982 diary, on July 3rd, aSaturday, the entry as brief as the one recording our initialmeeting: Cherpu. Chittoor Mana.

Since it is alltoo easy to begin using hyperbole at this point I will state anindisputable fact: the Guruvayur book could not have been donewithout Thirumenis willingness to teach me and his patience in sodoing and, to add a lighter touch, the sense of humour he so oftendisplayed. At times my brain threatened to give up the struggle andI used to return to Thrissur with equal parts of elation anddespair, often increasingly concerned at how much of Thirumenistime was being frittered away by my inability to comprehend theworld he was opening up to me. But he never displayed irritationand I eventually relaxed, enjoying both the process and lunch! Thencame the day when I hesitatingly handed over a draft of the chapteron Guruvayurs daily poojas; a chapter I had struggled with forfour years. When I returned the following week I was nervous andunable to contain myself. How is it? I asked. His reply wasunemotional: Its alright. Instantly I sensed he had his doubtsand began working towards unearthing them. Finally he said: It isalright; nothing is wrong. There was then a slight pause before hespoke again: But it is very superficial. And I knew he was right.Yet I also knew something else: if the chapter was to havesubstance and depth it was all very well if I was prepared tostruggle to achieve it. The catch was that it would mean he toowould have to struggle to see that I reached a point where I couldgrasp the required knowledge. I told him this. And saw anincredible smile light up his face. That is what I was hopingfor, he said. We continued.

It was, ofcourse, a moment of personal satisfaction when I was able topresent him with a copy of the book. However I also saw thedownside: the project was over, the work was done. Yet I could notignore a basic fact: that I enjoyed learning from him. Would it,I asked, be possible to keep coming? Again the smile. In manyways perhaps these have been the best sessions, at least for me,since there was no pressure and we could, as it were, roam whereinterest and curiosity took us. Now, we have again returned,unexpectedly, to my present project on Theyyam where his insightfuleye and knowledge is helping shape and explain, involving longphone calls to and from Malabar and discussions with practitioners,adding a layer and dimension which would not have been otherwiserealised.

What is alwaysapparent in all the visits I make to Chittoor Mana is that itsinhabitants are, and always have been, people whose unique cultureand customs have played a major role in Keralas often turbulenthistory. I see the sadness of destruction, an erosion of therespect and understanding once given to a community in general andthis family in particular, a family the Zamorins trusted to protecttheir interests when their kingdom was temporarily without a rulerand vulnerable. All this is being swept away, casually cast asideby a population now more interested in instant gratification andmaterial wealth where responsibility, trust, learning and cultureare seen, at best, as old fashioned, at worst, as worthless andwhere everyone has an agenda. Thirumeni once said to me, and with alaugh: I am an endangered species. One morning his wife showed mearound the Mana, room after room, sprawling, with three feedinghalls, a place once a centre of thriving activity, of learning nowfallen silent. It is hardly an original thought to wish walls couldspeak but if it were possible those at Chittoor Mana could,perhaps, make us listen and value what they once enclosed. Weignore the past and its gifts at our peril, since, whether we likeit or not, it is what has made us.