Serpent Gods

One thing amazed me in my childhood was a little forest (a grove) that was in the corner of our property. It had a beautiful pond near to it that had golden colour fishes in it. I used to accompany someone with a bowl of milk to this grove

Initially I was really scared to enter into this grove. As curiosity grew day by day, I got enough guts to enter into this grove and explore it.

To my surprise, I got a feeling that I entered into a different world. A World that was filled with mysteries and stories. I saw lots of serpent idols in the forest. I saw lot of birds that include both resident and visitor species. Rodents, snakes, frogs, lizards, millipedes, termites, ants, earthworms and snails etc.

We put the bowl on the bottom of a tall tree. My relative told me Naga Raja(Serpent King) will come here and will drink this milk.

Usually snakes will never drink milk There is a trick in it.

(MILK! None of the items offered to the snakes formed a part of the snakes’ food. But, it attracted the rats and in turn rat-snakes. These rat-snakes were the food for the poisonous snakes (King Cobra etc.)

We both prayed for a while and left.

After that I used to visit this grove alone and prayed in front of serpent idols and offered milk.

I have a serious thought about this. Why my ancestors made a small forest and why they didn’t put a picture in the house and prayed the serpent gods

I think this small grove is not exclusively for serpent Gods. It had other purposes also
I noticed that the grove is luxuriant evergreen and comprises of several storeys of trees, mixed with shrubs, herbs, epiphytes and lianas. The biodiversity of the sacred groves is very high and includes many endemic species of the Western Gnats.

The place assigned for the grove by the family is usually on the southwestern part of the house, near enough but sufficiently away from the house for the trees to grow and reptiles and birds to live without disturbance to and from the family.

All rare trees and plants would also be planted. When a new house (tharavaadu) is to be constructed, the master architect (known as perunthachan) not only lays out the building plan but also the plan for locating the sacred grove, which is an important element in the conventional house design.

The Vrikshayurveda states that one tree will serve the purpose of ten sons. If a man plants the following trees during his life-time he will never go to hell: 1 pipal tree, 1 neem tree, 1 banyan tree, 10 tamarind trees, 3 wood-apple trees, 3 goose berry trees, 5 mango trees and 5 coconut trees.


The Nayars being a martial community, in historical times, it was thought necessary for Nayar ladies also to be trained in the martial arts. The martial goddess, whose blessings should be obtained for proficiency in the martial arts and for victory in battles, was Kavilamma (the goddess residing in the Kavu), a popular name for “Durga”. Hence their belief regarding trees was not just a matter of blind faith. It was a judicious combination of reason and faith.


Now I can see a total different picture. There was a big marble house built by a gulf returned businessman. There is a beautiful garden filled with roses and other flowers.

The entire grove disappeared along with the serpent Gods
Rodents, snakes, frogs, and snails disappeared
Kites, owls, herons, mynahs, parrots, humming birds disappeared
Mysteries disappeared and stories also

A Mallu in Central Business District

I don’t know who coined this word mallu. Can anyone give me an idea about it. I doubt! But who is a real mallu.

I am not going to call a malayalee who born and brought up in Mumbai, a Mallu and I won’t take this word to a malayalee who has a quick visit to Mumbai and spend couple of months in this city .

Then who is a real Mallu? I would rather call a malayalee who is flushed out of Kerala in his 20s because of so many reasons. I would blame the current political scene in kerala. The poor mallu who has no future in the present UDF and LDF tug of war.

A mallu who born in a nalukettu. Lost his superiority in the land reform bill passed by the Maxists. He has nothing to give to that little state. After his graduation, he has to run. I think the formation of mallu starts from there.

He has an ultimate aim to go out of state. Otherwise his future is dark. So a mallu will born there by catching Netravathi Train to Mumbai.

His journey through picturesque regions of Konkan to this industrial city will be a turning point in this poor mallus life. After landing in Victoria Terminus, he has to find out his distant relative cousin’s flat to find a place .

Joining a computer course will be the mallu’s next aim. After spending thousands earned by his poor father by selling rubber sheets , he will think that oneday I will pay back this debt in dollars!

Lading up at a software company will make this mallu little bit metured. Eventhough he is not metured. His future will depend on the Nasdaq listings

That time he will be around his 28 to 30. This time poor mallu’s mobile will disturb him with lot of calls from kerala asking to get ready for taking a mallu female with him.

So this is a busy time for him. Finding out a flat near to a mallu temple will be the ultimate aim. Because this period will heavily depend on God. Near to Ayyappa temple will ensure him that there are lot of mallus around him

By this period he will come to know that I am a real mallu. From his collegues he will come to know what makes malayalee a Mallu. But this is not applicable to a mallu born here. They will be in the first place along with others to call him A mallu

A mallu will be settled only after marriage. Along with the poor mallu girl, who also in her 20’s, he will get a maruthi, few lakhs. If that mallu is lucky, he will get a ready made UAE visa from her Abudabi based father in law

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After landing in Abudabi, he has to remove the mallu name. Because he is out of Mumbai. So that name has no effect at all

So you know who is a reall mallu