Paradevatha-Remnants of an era by-gone

Paradevatha: Remnants of an Era Bygone 

We have to go at least 4-5 generations back to start the story. Kunnath Achyuthan Pillai Vakkeel¹ is the doyen of the family (Karanavar) at that time. He is having a series of very inauspicious happenings in the family. Kalyani, his daughter has died at the age of 32. Another daughter Meenakshy, who had lost a child earlier, had died in the later stages of her second pregnancy. Yet another daughter Ammu (fondly called Annaamma later) had been having a series of miscarriages, 4 to be precise- that too at the extreme advanced stages of her pregnancies.

You cannot even imagine the agony of removing the full grown foetuses, four times, by physically cutting them to pieces. Just remember we are talking about the 1910^s when such words like keyhole surgery, scanning etc. were unheard of. The strong man, though well ahead of his times, must have felt miserable. So he brings in the famous astrologer Nambiyath Karunakaran Pillai from North Paravur for a detailed ritualistic investigation called prasnam. The elaborate rituals which took place in the adukkala thalam (the dining area attached to the kitchen) of our tharawad (ancestral home) revealed the presence of an agitated brahmarakshass (the soul of an ancient brahmin) and some other unhappy celestial beings. An elaborate Chakra Homam was performed and a pilgrimage was undertaken by the Muthassan (Achyuthan Pillai Vakkeel), Muthassi (Kunnath Parvathy Amma) and Annaamma to Rameswaram. And also the brahma rakshass, sarpams (divine serpents) and the other sacred beings were venerated by inducting their presence in these foundations (see picture below).

The Paradevatha and the Sarpams, just before the annual Neerum Palum ceremony. The surrounding area cleaned and cleared of the bushes and vegetation for the ceremony.

One generation passed without any major problems. Annaamma who had had 4 miscarriages previously gave birth to our Gopi ammavan², 7 years later Santha chechi^3, and then Bhasi ammavan⁴. But later there were again some lesser problems. When everybody in Panki chitta’s family got a mysterious fever, the astrologers from Ottappalam who were around, were brought in and again a prasnam was undertaken.

While conducting the prasnam, the astrologers have pointed out that there must have been a revelation of the ‘brahma rakshass’ to the elder lady in the house the previous night in a dream, which our Panki chitta readily recollected⁵. She recollected seeing an elderly man wearing sage-like saffron clothes and carrying a kamandalu (a small jug used by sanyasins to carry holy water). They have also pronounced as if in a clairvoyance, that there must have been a literal burning experience to some one in the ‘sahodara bhavam’ (someone who could be considered as a brother or cousin) right then. And alas, Sivammavan who was ironing clothes carrying Usha chechi⁶  two kms away had an electric shock (yeah, we had electricity in our homes by the second quarter of the 20th century)!

The rituals also revealed the presence of another wandering soul. The female consort of the ‘brahma rakshass’ was wandering without any abode. So she too was accommodated in the existing foundations on the southern part of Panki chitta’s property. Another sarppam (this time of Nair denomination!) also was inducted on the western side anew. The women folk of the family realized that this was why they were not allowed to go or even look towards the southern portions after dusk, by muthassan, who might have had some sightings or apparitions!

A typical Sarpakkavu. These pictures from my wife’s house at Karumalloor.

And from the very first day onwards, every evening, whether its raining or shining, the oil lamps would be lit by a member of the family at these sites, and those who choose to offer their prayers would accompany her. And even in the other houses nearby, the evening ritual lamps lit shall be shown to the paradevatha first in a closely felt reverence.

The only exception was when, every year a ritual called ‘neerum paalum kodukkal’ (offering of water and milk, in literal terms) takes place. That day when the ritual is over, no one would go there even for lighting the evening lamps. A tragedy which directly affected my generation took place on such a day in the mid 1950^s. Revi ammavan⁷, my mom’s younger brother ventured going there for his prayers before going to the work place as usual. Ammoomma⁸ (his mom) reminded him of the ritual and warned him not to go. But he ignored the warning and proceeded to the place which is just across our property, in Panki chitta’s share of land.

A representational picture. The Neerum Paalum ceremony held once a year. This picture also from my wife’s house at Karumalloor.

There was a small wicket gate separating the lands and he tripped, fell down and went unconscious while crossing the same. That would be the last time he walked normally! Then on he would be limping his way. That too after a series of medical treatments! Some twenty years later when he had had to struggle too much to walk, he underwent an operation at the Medical College Hospital, Trivandrum (June,1974) and then on he was totally bedridden, until he breathed his last on the 13th of March 1993.

Ravi Ammavan and Kumari Ammayi, a few months before his demise in March, 1993

Another generation came around. It witnessed catastrophic changes in the social and political set-ups. Land reforms threatened the very foundations of the Nair community. Many lost their agricultural fields. They were no more in a secure position and no more in control of the wast expanses of land and the fertility it offered. The joint-family system was nearing its historic end. Members of the family had to partition the little available land among themselves, for starting their own nuclear families. So there were no comfortable place for the celestial beings, who protected their forefathers hitherto, to fit in. So it was time these celestial beings in our home too were rehabilitated! So on the 19th of march 1988, a Saturday, many of the family members joined for a ceremonial send off to the ‘brahmarakshass’, ‘sarpam’ and other celestial beings who had guarded them so long with their blessings. Even today the elders still contemplate “ente paradevathey!” (Oh..my paradevatha!) whenever in distress.

Today, when the yet next generation takes over with their lap-tops and jet-lags, the ‘paradevathas’ might be just another foolishness or superstition of their ignorant oldies. However, I shall put on record the whereabouts of the rehabilitated beings, here, for in the unending cycle of events, today's youngsters would be in my age, and would be wondering about their own forefathers, and their customs. May be these places too might vanish to accommodate the still oncoming future, and even the computer languages and formats used here might be obsolete and long discarded.

Still, I find it my duty as the self appointed family chronicler, to record what I have gathered.⁹ Here’s the list of places where these celestial beings were taken for their next tenure. 1. Both the brahma rakshasses- Chelamattam Temple, near Perumbavoor. 2. Sarpams- Ameda Temple, near Thrippoonithura. 3. Paramasivan- represented by the Cresent- Siva temple, Aluva (the temple where the great Mahasivarathri festival is conducted). 4. Ganapathy- Edappally madom. 5. Durgadevi/Bhagavathy, represented by the Thali- Pallippattukavu, Desom, Aluva. 6. Balakrishnan, represented by the gopi- Narasimhaswamy Temple, Kadungalloor, Aluva. 7. Sastha, represented by a gold foil- Paratt temple, near Karothukuzhy hospital, Aluva. And to be frank, even the seniors in the family like my mother was not aware of the fact that our Sarpakkavu accommodated such deities as Paramasivan, Ganapati, Durga Bhagavathi, Balakrishnan, and Sasthavu until the moment they were rehabilitated in 1988!

Footnotes added in October, 2026

1. Family names, or the Veettuperu (വീട്ടുപേര്)‌ in Malayalam, of the Nairs used to run through the matrilineal line. Kunnath, therefore is the family name of Parvathy Amma D/o Kalyani Amma, who originally belonged to the Kunnath family in Thiruvaloor (തിരുവാലൂർ), near Aluva. She was married by this Achyuthan Pillai Vakkeel. Vakkeel (വക്കീൽ) in Malayalam means a ‘Barrister’. He himself originally belonged to yet another Nair family in Aluva named Edayali (എടയാളി), also known as Elanjakodath (എലഞ്ഞാക്കോടത്ത്‌). He is the one who has founded the Kunnath tharavad of Thottakkattukara (തോട്ടക്കാട്ടുകര), Aluva. In a partition deed of 1932, the original of which is in my possession, this Parvathiamma is shown as aged 58 years. So this founding of the Thottakkattukara branch of the Kunnath tharawad must have happened somewhere towards the end of the 1800^s

2. Gopi Ammavan died before the turn of the century, I think. His wife Omana Ammayi had had the misfortune of witnessing the untimely demise of her younger son Sarath fondly called Mani (മണി) first, and then her elder son Padmakumar fondly called Madhu (മധു), in November, 2023, before breathing her last in September, 2024. If I recall it correctly, Mani was a senior executive at Aramex, a leading logistics firm at the time of his death. Madhu was a Retired Asst. Vice President of the Federal Bank, and was 61 years old at the time of his death.

3. Santha Chechi, whose official name was A. Saradamma, was the first woman graduate from the family. She joined the Kerala Government Service early, rose to the position of the Department Head, and retired as the Chief Controller of Stationeries, Government of Kerala, around 1980. She breathed her last in June, 2022.

4. K.P. Bhaskaran Nair. He was working with the Seshasayee Wire Ropes, at Edathala, Aluva. He was also a trade union leader during his career. He and his wife, our Sathyammayi, are long dead when I scribble this note.

5. Panki Chitta: Achyuthan Pillai Vakkeel - Parvathi Amma couples’ younger daughter. Official Name: K.P. Pankajakshi Amma. It was in her plot of land at Thottakkattukara, the paradevathas and sarpams were installed. She or someone in her house usually lighted the oil lamps daily there, after ritually purifying themselves, and with due reverence. The Vakkeel-Parvathi Amma couples’ another daughter, K.P. Kamalakshy Amma was my grandmother- my mom’s mother. Her property lied adjacent to Panki chitta’s property, and hence someone from our house also accompanied them to offer our prayers, and supplied the oil needed as an offering whenever possible.

6. Usha Chechi: Official name- Parvathy Krishnan. The Vakkeel-Parvathi Amma couple had six daughters and two sons. The youngest son was A. Krishnan Nair, our Unni Ammavan. Unni Ammavan had six children, and Usha Chechi was his only daughter. She was a teacher in the Vidyadhiraja HSS, Aluva. She breathed her last in March, 2023. The well known cinematic photographer Mukesh Muraleedharan is her son. Sivammavan mentioned here was her maternal uncle Sivaraman Nair, who later joined the army and retired as a Honorary Captain.

7. Ravi Ammavan: My mother, K.K. Sarojini Amma (1928-2023) had seven siblings and Ravi Ammavan was one of them. Official name- S. Raveendranathan Nair (1930-1993). He was working as an Asst. Security Officer in the Hindustan Insecticide Ltd. (HIL),  Udyogmandal. He is survived by his wife Sooryakumari, and his son R. Sreedhara Menon, a musician, and his daughter, Sreeja Anil Nair.

8. Ammoomma: literally, grandmother, i.e., my grandmother, Kamalakshy Amma. Mother of Ravi Ammavan, and of course, my mom. She was born in 1906, and died in 1977.

9. The Rehabilitation: Luckily, my youngest maternal uncle, Raghumman scribbled these information as a note in one of his diaries. Raghu ammavan somehow was officially named just S. Raghu, without any surnames. He was born in 1948, one year after the independence. Maybe modern values like caste-eradication might have infiltrated to his parents’ mind. He too has retired from HIL. And finally, my genealogy: Vakkeel + Parvathiyamma > Kamalakshyamma > Sarojiniyamma > Jayachandra Menon D (me). 

 For an extended Malayalam version of the story please click the link here: https://ammaana.blogspot.com/2010/04/blog-post_17.html