Cherpu

Cherpu

Cherpu
Cherpu Cherpu
	Temperature Range: 22.5°C -35 °C

Cherpu is a small village in Thrissur district of Kerala state in south India. It is 12 kilometres south of Thrissur town and is on the Kodungallur road. A green and beautiful village, it is dotted by a number of temples and has quite a few rivers flowing by its vicinity.

The village occupies a prominent place in the Kerala's cultural map as Cherpu is one of the main venues of the state's classical percussion ensembles like chenda melam and panchavadyam, staged as they are during temple festivals called pooram. Naturally, Cherpu is the birthplace of many leading (as well as lesser known) practitioners of ethnic Kerala instruments like chenda, ilathalam, kombu, kuzhal, timila, maddalam and edakka.

Cherpu has two major poorams -- Peruvanam Pooram and Arattupuzha Pooram. Peruvanam, otherwise traditionally known as one of the leading Namboodiri villages of Kerala, has today many of its people employed in the manufacture of furniture and gold ornaments. Legend has it that Peruvanam village was one of the settlements created by sage Parashuram, the mythical creator of Kerala.

The name Cherpu means cherunnidam (joining place) in Malayalam. Cherpu was a central place for Mahatma Gandhi's village renaissance. It was known as "Vardha" at the time of the Kochi kingdom.

As for its temples, Cherpu has the grand-structured Peruvanam temple besides the ones called Arattupuzha, Urakam and Thiruvullakkavu. Thiruvullakkavu temple is famous for initiating children to the world of letters on Vidyarambham, an auspicious day in Hindu tradition.

For long, Cherpu had paddy fields that spread as far as Triprayar. The west and east sides of Cherpu were marked by rocks. Cherpu is located in between this rock- and water-covered area. Hence the name Cherpu or cherunnidam (joining place).

Temples in Cherpu

These are the famous temples in Cherpu:

Temple Name	Prathishta (God name)	Festivals
Thiruvullakkavu	Sasthavu(Ayyappan)	Vidyarambham, Vishu pooram
Peruvanam	Siva	Peruvanam pooram
Arattupuzha	Sasthavu(Ayyappan)	Peruvanam pooram
Thayamkulangara	Subramanian	Thayamkulangara pooyam
Urakam	Ammathiruvadi Bhagavathy	Vidyarambham, Peruvanam pooram
Mekkavu	Bhadra kali	Peruvanam pooram
Cherpu Temple	Bhagavathy	Peruvanam pooram, Arattupuzha pooram
Kodalur	Krishna	Sreekrishna jayanthi
Mithranandapuram	Vamana moorthy	Othukottu (Chanting Yajur veda by Namboodiri Brahmins)
Hidumban Kovil	Hidumban	Pooyam

Educational institutions

Cherpu is noted for education. Its schools genrally achieve 100% results for Kerala SSLC (Secondary school leaving certificate) exams.^{[citation needed]}

Schools

School Name	Medium	Syllabus
Govt vocational higher secondary school	Malayalam	Kerala state
CNN Boys higher secondary school	English and Malayalam	Kerala state
CNN Girls higher secondary school	English and Malayalam	Kerala state
Lourde matha high school	English	Kerala state
Santha Maria academy	English	CBSE
Gurukulam public school	English	CBSE
Chevvor school	Malayalam	Kerala state

Colleges

Vydyarathnam Ayurveda college Poochinnipadam

Private tuition centers

Saraswathy college
Vivekananda college
Indian college perumpillissery
Megabyte Computer Tution centre

Elephants in Cherpu

Thrissur is known as the district for Poorams. Most of the people who live in Thrissur are fond of elephants.^{[citation needed]} Cherpu can also offer a set of elephants. People in Kerala name the elephants and they use them for festivals.

Bastian Vinaya Chandran

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Bastian vinayachandran

This elephant is 9 feet 5 inches high. Its agreeable behaviour makes people more attracted to it. This elephant belongs to Bastian Timbers Perumpillissery Cherpu. Thrissur pooram 2007 will be the 25th chance to this elephant. It is noted for the fact that it has no hairs on its tail.

Bastian Vinaya Sankar

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Bastian Vinaya Sankar

This elephant has the 4th rank of all the elephants in Kerala. It has a long tail whose hairs touch the ground. Elephant lovers in Kerala like it because of its wide ears.

Saj Prasad

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Saj prasad

This elephant is noted for its humble character. The easy way to identify this elephant is by the square-shaped hole on its ears. It belongs to Saj Timbers perumpillissery. It is mainly used for timber purposes rather than participating in festivals.

Thrivullakkavu Manikandan

The easy way to identify this elephant is by its tusks, which collapse together, making it difficult for the elephone to sway its trunks. It belongs to Thiruvullakkavu Dharmasastha Kshethram.

MK Timbers Pathmanabhan

This elephant was brought from Kodanad (a place in the outskirts of Palakkad Kerala) Anakalari (place for teaching elephants). It was born in Kerala itself. The major factor that keeps the image of this elephant in the minds of elephant lovers is its wide ears. Therefore it is known as the elephant which has wide ears.

Thiruvanikkavu Jayaram Kannan

Thiruvanikkavu Jayaram Kannan

This elephant is owned by Malayalam film super star Mr.Jayaram and he has shared the ownership of the elephant with Mr. V.Gopakumar, Thiruvanikkavu temple. It shows a humble character. This elephant has played major roles in several Malayalam and Tamil movies. He has acted in 33 movies sofar and acting in Rapakal with Super Star Mammooty and with actress Nayan Thara is known for his talent and humble behavior. Thiruvanikkavu Jayaram Kannan is also been awarded "Gajarajapattam" by Kodannoor DharmaSastha Kshetram. The function was inaugurated and Gajarajapattam submitted by Honble. Minister for Home and Tourism Mr. Kodiyeri Bala Krishnan in presence of Shri K. B. Ganesh Kumar MLA, Mr. V. S SunilKumar MLA, Mr. Sathyan Anthikad, Mr. T.G.Ravi, Mr. Babu Namboodhiri, Mr. Sreeraman, Mr. Madambu Kunjhukuttan, Mr. Sreekumar Arookutty along with Mr. Jayaram, Parvathy, son Kalidasan, daughter and Mr. V.Gopakumar.

Thiruvanikkav Devi Krishnan

This elephant is owned by Malayalam film super star Mr.Jayaram and he has shared the ownership of the elephant with Mr. V.Gopakumar, Thiruvanikkavu temple. It shows a humble character. This elephant has played major roles in several Malayalam and Tamil movies. He has acted in 33 movies sofar and acting in Rapakal with Super Star Mammooty and with actress Nayan Thara is known for his talent and humble behavior. Thiruvanikkavu Jayaram Kannan is also been awarded "Gajarajapattam" by Kodannoor DharmaSastha Kshetram. The function was inaugurated and Gajarajapattam submitted by Honble. Minister for Home and Tourism Mr. Kodiyeri Bala Krishnan in presence of Shri K. B. Ganesh Kumar MLA, Mr. V. S SunilKumar MLA, Mr. Sathyan Anthikad, Mr. T.G.Ravi, Mr. Babu Namboodhiri, Mr. Sreeraman, Mr. Madambu Kunjhukuttan, Mr. Sreekumar Arookutty along with Mr. Jayaram, Parvathy, son Kalidasan, daughter and Mr. V.Gopakumar.

Temples

Peruvanam pooram

Peruvanam temple in Cherpu is praised in the Manipravalam work Chandrostavam. Six Vattezhuthu and Malayalam inscriptions have been found in the temple. An 11th-century inscription from Thiruvattoor in north Kerala refers to seven persons originally belonging to this village, along with others being established there and a new settlement created. The main prathishta on this temple is Lord Siva. People believe that Peruvanam was once a big forest. The word vanam means forest in Malayalam. Peruvanam means a thick forest. This temple has artworks on the roof. It has a rare double-storeyed sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum), each presided by a deity of Lord Shiva. It is believed that Lord siva did tapas (penance) on a certain tree and that changed into the present sreekovil.

Peruvanam pooram began a long time ago. Legend has it that it started in the form of an Utsavam (a bit different in rituals from Pooram and extending to 28 days) which went on for 500 years. After that, it was stopped for a period of time. Later it was restarted in the form of two poorams Peruvanam and Arattupuzha. The new version has been in existence now for 1425 years. It is held in the Malayalam month of Meenam (usually, April). There will be an Ezhunnallippu (Malayalam word which means taking out a temple deity atop a caparisoned elephant along with many jumbos -- here totalling seven -- to the accompaniment of traditional percussion ensembles like Panchari melam or Pandi melam. For the Peruvanam pooram, the first ezhunnallippu starts in the evening. More such processions follow, and the festival ends in the morning. The pooram has its highlight in the form of the four-hour Panchari melam starting past midnight and followed by fireworks.

Arattupuzha pooram

The famous Sastha temple at Aarattupuzha is 14 km south of Thrissur town, and celebrates its annual pooram festival in April/May. Arattupuzha pooram is known as Deva mela, a conglomeration of gods, given its massive attendance of dieties from neighbourhood shrines. Historical records suggest that Arattupuzha pooram has been celebrated for more than 1,420 years. Like in Peruvanam, Arattupuzha pooram to features a series of ezhunnallipus. The highlight, however, is the kooti ezhunnallippu, where canonically 101 elephants would line up in the wee hours to the accompaniment of Pandi melams. The deity of Sriramaswamy, called Thriprayar Thevar, would occupy the centre slot, atop a decorated tusker on the main dyke (locally called nadavarambu) of the sprawling paddy fields.

Arattupuzha Pooram is the oldest and arguably the most spectacular of the pooram festivals of Kerala. It is believed that on this day 101 gods and goddesses of the neighbouring villages visited Sastha (Ayyappa), the presiding deity of the Arattupuzha temple. Nowadays around 70 elephants take part in the pooram procession on the sixth day of the seven-day festival. Pachari melam, Pandi melam, Panchavadyam add to the festive tempo. The arattu (holy bath of the idol of the deity) ritual is performed with great pomp and gaiety in the Arattupuzha river on the following day.

The final pooram is conducted -- these days with 61 caparisoned elephants -- bearing bright coloured parasols, presenting an amazing spectacle. The temple ensembles lend the event a touch of majesty. The elephant carries the images of the deities of 41 neighbouring temples to this village. Arattupuzha temple is open 05:00 - 09:30 am & 05:00 - 07:00 pm. The festival concludes with the arattu (holy bath of the idol of the deity).

Thayamkulangara pooyam

Thayamkulangara is another temple in Cherpu. It is known as kerala palani. The main festival in this temple is pooyam. This is celeberated in January-February every year. People celeberate pooyam with kavadiyattom.

Wooden elephant making

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Wooden elephant by Mr Menon

Cherpu is famous for making elephant statues using wood. The person credited with this art is not a full-time sculptor, nor is he an artisan. But he has been associated with the making and sale of elephant carvings for more than half a century, so much so that the septuagenarian P. Krishnankutty Menon is fondly called "Aana Menon" (Elephant Menon) by the locals in Cherpu, Thrissur. A person can identify elephants made from Cherpu easily by looking at the nail. The nail will be painted in white color neatly. An interesting aspect of this is that the elephants are made with a single piece of wood.