Sarvani Sadya (Food served by the Royal Family)

Kerala is known for its culture, traditions and festivals. After a gap of 2 years, I had the chance to attend our family festival at Nilambur Kovilakam. Normally people from outside the family are not allowed to enter the temple, since it is my family’s, but this festival, called ‘Nilambur Pattu’, gives a chance for all to attend and seek the blessings of our family God ‘Vettekkorumakan’.

Komaram (God’s messenger)

Vettekkorumakan, the main deity of our temple, was the son of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvathy. History has it that he was born while Shiva and Parvathy were on a hunting expedition to the forest, and that he then went on to become the king of the forest. When Vettekkorumakan accepted the invitation of our King to reside at our family temple as our family God, his only demand was that we make arrangements for him to meet his people, the tribals of the forest, once a year. Thus the ‘Pattu’ festival came into existence and it is conducted each year from the 4th to the 9th of January.

Elephants adorned

January 7th is the main day of the festival and on this day, the tribals who attend the festival, as well as practically the entire town of Nilambur, are fed by the Royal Family. The serving of food doesn’t stop until the ‘Mooppan’ (head of the tribals) announces that he and his people are satisfied with the food and that now the serving can be stopped. It is said that on average about 2000 kilos of rice are prepared during the day.

The head of the Royal Family (left) in front of the main Palace (Valiya Kovilakam)

Adorned elephants, drums, ‘komaram’ (considered as messengers of the God), various cultural programs, etc. are the other highlights of this festival.

Chenda