6 December
2012.
PAPPAVALASU is a tiny village that lies on the world map at the coordinates 11°16’45.32” N
and 77°26’57.17” E, in the Erode district of Tamil Nadu, India. It is 36 Km
west of Erode and 5 Km east of Kunnathur (Aadhi Kunnathur). The entire
village is constructed within two lanes/ streets. This is
almost the center of the Erode to Coimbatore, Tiruppur to Erode, and
Tirupur to Gobichettipalayam bus route. The post office is
located at Kunnathur. Once it was in the Coimbatore district, and now in the Tiruppur District. There is no river or Kulam nearby. People depend on a bore-well for
drinking water. All the houses are built with mud, and the roofs are
Mangalore tiled. We were the first to get a TNEB
power supply when I was studying 4th or 5th standard
in a Government elementary school at Velampalayam, about 1 km away from
my village.
LOCATION OF THE PLACE: CLICK HERE
( The view of our village from the main road )
There
is an Odai on the western side of our village, and the water will flow
only during heavy rain. The burial ground is on the banks of the Odai. We used
to play in the Odai water when we were young. About 25 years ago, there
was a very heavy rain and the Odai got flooded. The flooded water
carried the ground nuts, which were laid for drying in the fields.
( The view of our village from the main road - Our house is back of the coconut tree )
Our
village was very famous for the bullock carts, used for transporting materials
by the farmers, and these were also used for transportation. After the Industrial Revolution, the scenario was completely changed. The people in
the village could not adopt the latest technology and change. Hence, the
total manufacture of bullock carts vanished from history, and the
people migrated to various places, but did the same job of Carpentry (doors, windows, etc.) to take care of their livelihood. Now this tiny
village looks deserted during the day, and almost all the houses are
locked. I was a little upset to see that.
The TNEB's Office in our village
Since
my Uncle (Mr. Avinachiappan, otherwise called Kadaiannan, who used to
spend most of his time in a small tea shop) does not have a child, he encouraged us
to study and switch over to some other job. So my brother, A Ringeswaran, studied up to a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, and he, in turn, helped me acquire my
Diploma in Electrical Engineering. (I increased my qualification up to the MS level
through distance education later).
Our ancestors' house our Grandfather and grandmother lived in this village. This house's walls are built with mud without a foundation
The
youngsters of our Village reconstructed the Sri Sakthi Mariamman and a
Vinayagar temple. The Kumbhabhishekam was conducted a year before, and a special pooja is conducted on every No Moon (Amavasya) day night, and Annadhanam is also served. The temple looks beautiful.
( View of Sri Sakthi Mariamman temple with Sri Vinayagar Sannidhi)
I
used to go to my village frequently to see my mother, who is now 90+ and
takes care of herself and does not want to depend on anybody for her routine
work, including cooking (She is reluctant to come to Chennai). When she happened to see me, she became healthier. When she
was young, she used to help the village ladies during delivery and after childbirth.
My mother is now 90+ with her grandson
LOCATION OF MY VILLAGE: CLICK
HERE, CLICK HERE
Some
of the photos taken during my recent visit have been uploaded.
The street that leads to our ancestors' house
Another view of our grandfather's house. The bathroom and kitchen were built at a later stage.
Sri Sakthi Mariamman temple vimanam in the sanctum
Sri Vinayagar sannidhi and Nagars on both sides
Sri Sakthi Mariamman in Santhana kappu
View of the temple
LOCATION WITH IMAGES: CLICK HERE
SAKTHI MARIAMMAN TEMPLE ANNUAL FESTIVAL 2024
--- OM SHIVAYA NAMA ---
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