With Swami Vivekananda aboard a country-boat in backwaters of Kerala in 1892

First and foremost a BIG Thanks to the incredible people in different places and times who have finally come together in the shape of 

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Canals and Backwaters (adapted version with relevance to   the topic)

Among the many natural advantages possessed by Travancore, one of the most important and one which adds materially to its wealth and prosperity, on account of its affording great facilities for water communication from one end of the country to the other, is its extensive backwater system. The backwaters or kayal, as they are locally called, arc inlets from the sea which run in a direction parallel to the coast. From Trivandrum as far as Ponnani in the District of Malabar, a distance of over 200 miles, there is a succession of these backwaters or estuaries, connected together by navigable channels constructed from time to time. The total area occupied by the surface of the lakes amounts to 2274 sq. miles of which 1571 are within Travancore. Their breadth is very unequal, in some places spreading into a wide expanse, at others diminishing to a small stream, presenting on the whole a very irregular and broken figure. 

[Let us start from the place where the waterworks begins in the North, Tirur, the birth-place of Ezhuthachan, the Valmiki of Malayalam Literature. Swami Vivekananda enters the Waterways at Chavakkad near Trichur and we together go to Cranganore]

[We start]from Tirur … across the Ponnani river to Ponnani, and by creek, channel and backwater via Chowghat [Chavakkad] [where Swami Vivekananda joins us midway], we travel] to north of Cranganore. 

[after some days in Cranganore, we again board the country boat to travel].. by backwater to Cochin.

The Kodungalur [Cranganore] Kayal [is] in the Taluk of Parur. Extreme length 9 miles and extreme breadth 5 miles; area 10 sq. miles. It has an outlet in the Cranganore bar which is always open. 

[After about four days in Cochin we are on the boat again. Swami Vivekananda is provided with a very able guide, a Muslim peon in the Services of Cochin Government, to take Swamiji to Trivandrum and to take care of him throughout the journey. It is obvious they had long talks on the way. Organizing Swamiji’s food, stay, and arranging country-boat for his travel, miscellaneous such tasks were accomplished by this unknown blessed person. Other than his brother disciples, this unknown person ranks high among the travelling companions of Swami Vivekananda]

Midway between Cochin and Alleppey stands on... [the] eastern bank, the sacred village of Vaikam where there is a large Siva temple to which thousands of pilgrims resort in the months of Vrichigam and Kumbham for the Ashtami festival. From Cochin to here the backwater is of varying breadths and depths containing small patches of land here and there always adorned with cocoanut trees. 

Beyond Cochin up to Alleppey we [travel through] the very large and spacious bay, the Vembanad Kayal. This stretches across to the east for a distance of over 10 miles. The waters of the Pamba, Muvattupuzha and Minachil rivers are emptied into it. It borders the Taluks of Changanachery, Kottayam, Yettumanur, Vaikam Shertallay and Ampalapuzh. Its extreme length is 52 miles and breadth 9 miles and the area covered by it is 79 sq. miles. It has a small beautiful island in the centre known as Patiramanal, or ‘the mysterious sand of mid-night', filled with cocoanut plantations and luxuriant vegetation. According to tradition, it was brought into existence by the piety of a Nambudiri Brahmin, who, while travelling in a canoe, jumped into the lake to perform his evening ablutions. The waters, it is said, gave way and land arose from below forming a small island. Pallippuram and Perumpallam are two other islands in the lake. 

There are many pretty places along the borders of this lake, perpetually clothed with beautiful groves of cocoanut and other trees and with an endless succession of houses, churches and pagodas. 

Alleppey is now the first commercial port of Travancore, it’s greatest advantage as an emporium arising from its singularly natural breakwater formed in the open roadstead and the long and wide mud bank which helps large vessels to anchor safely even in the stormiest weather. 

[After] Alleppey town is reached [we go] by a canal [at the end portion of which]... there is a deep basin 40 to 50 feet in depth infested by alligators of enormous size.

From Alleppey, Ampalapuzha is 12 miles distant. There are no backwaters to be passed but only canals, which at these places are very broad and join the Pallathurithy River flowing into the Vembanad lake near Alleppey. 

Proceeding along on our way, we see extensive rice fields on either side, the country here being flat and almost submerged in water.

Passing Karumadi near Ampalapuzha by a natural stream through Trikkunnapuzha and Thottapalli chera, we reach the extensive Kayangulam Kayal

The Kayangulam Lake has an outlet bar of the same name which admits of small coasters from the Arabian sea. This made Kayangulam a place of considerable commercial importance in former days. This lake borders the two Taluqs of Karunagapalii and Kartikapalli. Its extreme length is 19 miles and extreme breadth 4 miles; area 23 sq. miles. 

This is followed by the Ayiramtengu Kayal 

We next come to a very small inlet called the Panmana Kayal [and then] the Chavara canal begins and the scenery [is] monotonous [as compared to what is awaiting us in Ashtamudi Kayal. We are five miles away from Quilon].

The traveller [now] enters the romantic and enchanting Ashtamudi Kayal. The name ‘Ashtamudi' is derived from the fact that the lake branches off into 8 creeks, called by different names. One portion near the Quilon Residency is called the Asramom Lake and the other close to the Cutchery is called Kureepuzha or Loch Lomond. On either side we see a laterite bank 50 or 60 feet high enclosing little bays with deep blue waters. The broken side and the fragments of rocks are filled with various kinds of small shrubs while on the summits there are thickly planted gardens. About 2 miles north of Quilon the water opens out into a very spacious bay into which the Kallada River empties itself. There is an outlet to the sea at the western end which is locally known as the Neendakara bar. It is of sufficient depth for small vessels and the barges built at Tuct in Quilon are safely launched into the sea at this point. It covers an area of 20 sq. miles, its extreme length and breadth being 10 and 9 miles respectively. The banks are covered with many kinds of plants 

We [leave] Quilon by the Eravipuram and Quilon canals, a distance of about 5 miles and reach the Paravur backwaters.

The Paravur and Quilon canals aggregating about 11 miles in length were cut between 1826 and 1829, at a total cost of Rs. 90,929. 

The Paravur Kayal, though only a small one, is very deep and dangerous on account of its being very close to the sea and in the wet weather the bar opens of itself, sometimes suddenly.

[then we reach] a canal [which] runs in a north-westerly direction for some 3 miles [and then comes] the Nadayara Kayal. This again is of minor importance. [After] Passing the Nadayara backwater about 6 miles [southwards], [we reach] the tunnels.

There were … the Varkala cliffs, standing as a barrier against direct and free communications from Quilon to Trivandrum. This was removed by the construction of two tunnels at an enormous cost in the Reign of His Highness Rama Varma (Ayilliam Tirunal, 1860 to 1880 A. D). The length of one tunnel is 924 feet and of the other 2,364 feet. The first tunnel was opened to traffic on the 15th January 1877; the second tunnel and the whole of the Barrier works were completed and opened to traffic in 1880. They cost upwards of 17 lacs of rupees. 

Formerly there was uninterrupted navigation only as far as Quilon. It was in 999 M. E. that Her Highness Parvathi Bayi sanctioned the construction of 2 canals, one from Trivandrum to the backwater of Kadinangulam and the other to connect Quilon and the Paravur backwater, both of which projects were contemplated by Col. Munro; but the work was commenced only in 1000 M. E. (1825 A. D.) and completed in 3 years under the supervision of Dewan Vencata Row. The 2 canals measure in length upwards of 17 miles, which including 4 bridges cost about 4 lacs of Rupees. These canals bear the name of Her Highness Parvathi Bayi whose beneficent reign is still gratefully remembered by the people. 

Many of these backwaters are not very deep, yet they are all navigable for boats of any size. Their bed consists generally of a thin layer of soft black mud, incumbent on a fine dark sand, often with some mixture of soil. On account of the large volume of water these backwaters receive during the monsoon time, their water, except in the immediate vicinity of their mouths, is quite fresh; in some places they are always so in the interval of the tides, while in others, they continue to be so from July to October. The places where these backwaters meet the sea are called Azhis or Pozhis, according as the opening is permanent or temporary. The chief Azhis are those at Quilon, Kayangulam and the mouth of the Periyar; and the Pozhis are those of the Veli, the Paravur and the Pidawa. The flood during the monsoons leaves behind a slimy deposit which effuses an abundance of fertility over the lands exposed to it. The backwaters also foster the growth of many weeds and aquatic plants. The shores of the lakes are filled with houses and plantations of cocoanut trees and present the appearance of a perpetual garden. 

Before the construction of the tunnels, travellers used to walk from Edawa mitil, the road used being by the sea-beach, at times climbing over the summit of the cliffs that stretched into the sea. The view from these cliffs is extremely beautiful end the whole landscape charming. Here stands the village of Varkala famous for its ancient temple dedicated to Janardanaswamy, to which Hindus from all parts of India resort.[They walked up to] a place called Kozhithottam (the main line of communication ran by Edawa to Kozhithottam, a distance of 12 miles,..). 

A few miles beyond the Varkala cliffs,  Anjengo is reached. 

[We are now in] the Anjengo Kayal. The length of this Kayal is 12 miles, breadth £ of a mile, and area 8 sq. miles. This receives the Attungal or Vamanapuram river and is formed chiefly by its waters. It is connected with the sea by a narrow bar. 

.. [we pass by] Anjengo, formerly a place of note on account of the English factory and the early commercial relations between the British Government and Travancore, but now a small port and fishing village. 

[Next] we come to the Kadinangulam Kayal. Both the banks are lined with the cocoanut palm and a low brushwood. The water is not deep. [We next make use] of Parvathi Puthenar canal [named after Her Highness as above referred to] to reach the Veli Kayal which looks like an expanded canal, and smaller than the Kadinangulam Kayal but with more depth. On one side the shore is overhung by a high cliff and the other side is skirted on by an extensive range of cocoanut plantations. 

Thus the system is complete for a distance of 213 miles from Tirur to Trivandrum. 

[It has taken us, together with Swami Vivekananda and his able Muslim guide, six to seven days. We reach the end of our boat journey and find ourselves at a distance of 3 miles walk to reach Trivandrum. We have to reach there soon and benefit from the Blessed presence of Swami Vivekananda for nine days and nine nights].

Among other backwaters may be mentioned: — 

The Sasthankotta Kayal in the Kunnattur Taluq; The Vellani Kayal in the Neyyattinkara Taluq; And lastly the Manakudi Kayal in the Taluq of Agastisvaram. This is a small lagoon formed by the course of the Pazhayar before it discharges itself by a narrow mouth. 

As early as 1860 the great Victoria Ananta Martandan canal was projected for connecting Trivandrum with Cape Comorin; but it had to be abandoned owing to several obstacles, though considerable sums of money had been spent on it. 

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From the Book:

THE Travancore State Manual 

BY 

V. NAGAM AIYA, B. A., F. R. Hist. S. 

Dewan Peishcar, Travancore. 

IN THREE VOLUMES 

PRINTED AT THE TRAVANCORE GOVERNMENT PRESS 1906, 

PREFACE begins thus:

Under command of His Highness the Maharajah, the preparation of the State Manual of Travancore was decided upon some time ago, and I was appointed to it with the simple instruction that the book was to be after the model of the District Manuals of Madras. This instruction 1 have faithfully carried out and I am happy to report now that the book is completed and issued in three large volumes. ....

And some portions:

The diflSculty of compiling a work of this nature will readily enlist the sympathies of those who have laboured in similar fields .. … The idea of writing a State Manual was first broached to me by Dewan T. Rama Row, c. i. e., one fine morning 14 years ago, i. e. even before I had begun to compile the Census Report of 1891. He said I must do the Census Report first and then take up the Manual. All this was, of course, to biB done along with my heavy legitimate duties as Dewan Peishcar Einli District Magistrate of Quilon, which I then was. I agreed Without a moment's hesitation though fully alive to the responsibility I thus took upon myself, for it was impossible for me to decline an offer so kindly made .. He immediately  obtained His Highness' sanction and sent me official orders in the last quarter of 1891. He retired a few months later aod* ….I b^vft^ beeo mpre or leas engaged on it, but as the work has had to be carried on in, Addition to m^ other official duties, it has not been possible to finish it earlier. Tfea matter was however revived by Dewan Mr. K. Krishnaswanay Bow, c. i. e., in 1901, and during his time I devoted to ifc, off and on, 8uoh leisure as the pressing duties of the ^:^t;l?B;api^t Depairtmenti pei^nitted. It was only in December 1904 that I took it up as a full-time officer and it may be safely Bai4 that the best part of these three closely printed volunaes is the result of assiduous and sustained labours carried on since.

.. The additional Ijime thereby gained has however proved of much advantage to the work ; not only were the proofs read carefully and well, but the old data, already collected, were verified, new data added where possible, some chapters were either revised or wholly re-written, additional matter put in, the manuscript throughout w%^ tpjiphedr up and the whole book itself satisfactorily finished apjj. p^*3ed through the Press, with a full table of contents, a gloBft^ry of vea^nacular terms and an exhaustive index. …

As for the plan of the book, it is enough to say that the mass of information collected has been thrown into 21 chapters and placed in 3 volumes for convenience of handling. Under these 21 chapter-headings almost every subject of importance and interest concerning the State has been brought in. For these chapter- headings several District Manuals of Madras have been consulted, particularly the revised ones of Bellary and Anantapur by Mr. W. Francis, i. c. s., and it is enough to observe that the Travancore State Manual is fuller and more comprehensive than the Manuals of Madras. In order to do justice to the amplitude of information collected and the labour spent upon it, the size of the book has been enlarged into three volumes from what was originally intended to be one moderate-sized volume. It would be false economy, I thought, to throw away the results of great labour and research in order to save some printing space. Tediousness were, in my view, a much lighter fault under such circumstances, especially in a book of this nature ; but terseness has been my ambition, though after the most conscientious endeavours to clip and prune I could not do more, on the present occasion, without keeping out matter which I really wished to retain. Even as it is, I feel the chapters on 'History' and 'Castes' are capable of further amplification, particularly the latter chapter, of which onlj' the outer fringe, so to speak, has been touched in these pages. It is a never ending theme of value and interest, and the stores of information still available on it remain unutilised. A whole volume ought to be devoted to 'Castes' alone. The chapter on the 'Gazetteer' may well be amplified in a future edition.

In the writing of this book, niy aim hati been to present to an utter stranger to Travancore such a picture of the land and its people, its natural peculiarities, its origin, history and administration, its forests and animals, its conveniences for residence or travel, itsagricultural, commercial, industrial, educational and economic activities, its ethnological, social and religious features as he may not himself be able to form by a 30 years' study or residence in it. If this is a correct view of the object of a Manual, I trust I may be permitted to entertain the hope that a fairly successful debut has been made, notwithstanding defects or shortcomings that may exist, especially as this is only a pioneer attempt in a novel direction. It is not necessary to prejudge here what a revision might give opportunities for, in the way of condensing in some directions or amplifying in others. If I get the chance myself at a not distant date, I should probably do both and thus try to reach the ideally perfect Manual, perhaps a vain Utopian desire, which standard of excellence however, I know, is far from having been attained in the present performance.

In the ' History ' chapter in which I have spent much thought and study, I have endeavoured to give faithful pictures … of the chief forces that were at work during successive epochs which enabled a petty vilhigo near Eraniel to reach its present dimensions of a compact block of territory 7,000 sq. miles in area, of the European powers that successively bid for supremacy of trade on this coast and the ultimate success of the English East India Company, our early friendships with them and the staunch support which they

in return uniformly gave us through all vicissitudes of fortune, ultimately resulting in a strong bond of political alliance and reciprocal trust and confidence, which assured to us internal security and immunity from external aggression, thus enabling us to achieve the triumphs of peace and good government, until step by step we reached the enviable height of being known as the * Model Native State' of India — a title which we have maintained by wise rule and sound financial policy during successive reigns

up to this day. And this has been no easy task as the narrative had to be woven out of a tangled web of falsehoods and mis-statements, of exaggerated versions and contradictory chronicles, inseparable from oral tradition, fragmentary record and a disorganised debris of scattered and confused materials. The diflBculty of writing a history of events which took place long ago is great indeed, for as pointed out by John Morley, in his ' Life of Gladstone \ '* Interest grows less vivid ; truth becomes harder to find out ; memories pale and colour fades ". It is much more so in the case of a nation — the events of whoso life and progress cover a space of many centuries and comprise multitudinous interests and concerns. …The labour involved in the task was truly gigantic, for it often entailed a wading through a mass of records of all sorts in order to get at a grain of information. The nature of the research may be judged from the following extract of my letter to the Dewan, dated 25th June 1903 :—

" Afl suggested in your D. O. of 1st Inst., I beg to submit herewith a revised list of records to be obtained from Fort St. George. I liave cut down 79 numbers from the list of 33G papers originally selected, which itself was a selection from a total of about 600 papers i*elating to Ti-avancore. In a matter like this where the granting of the application for records is entirely a question t)f pleasure with Government, there can bo no argument ; all tliat T can say is that an indulgent view should be taken of the application and that 1 sliould be given some latitude in the choice of records. Tt is possible that a good many of tlie papers that one has to read through in the f)i'eparation of a book or report may not be ultimately utilized. In the opinion of Milman, one of the biograpliers of Lord Macaulay, * The historian, tlio true historian must not confine himself to the chronicles and annals, the public records, the state papers, the political correspondence of statesmen and ambassadors; he must search into; he must make himself familiar with the lowest, the most ephemeral, the most contemjit- ible of the writings of the day. There is no trash which he must not digest; nothing so dull and wearisome that he must not w^ade througli '. In the instance which the Resident refers to, viz., ' note of the firing of the usual salute on the departure of the king of Tmvancoi'e to the nortli ', I should just like to know what the actual 'salute' fired was, if such information is available from that record. It is not of course absolutely essential for my book. It may even be put down as a mei-e antiquarian curiosity ; but if so, it is a curiosity whicli is justifiable, * * * * ] shall content myself with the paj)ers that are ])laced at my disposal. "

'Archaeology', 'Fauna', ' Census and Population V Language and Literature', 'Economic Condition', and 'Legislation and Statute-book' are new chapters in this Manual, not found in the revised Madras Gazetteers. ' Local Self-Government ' is a heading which I have not utilised as we have nothing corresponding to it here just yet. The information under my other chapters viz,^ * Religion V Castes', 'Trade and Commerce', ^Arts and Industries', *Land Tenures and Land Taxes', and ^Administration' deals with the matter comprised in Mr, Francis' chapters on the People, Occupation and Trade, Land Revenue Administration, Salt, Abkari and miscellaneous revenue and Administration of Justice. The other chapters are the same in both the books.

I have been much exercised in the matter of arranging the order of the chapters in the Manual. What I have ultimately decided upon, though slightly diflEerent from that adopted in the Madras Gazetteers, appears to me to be the most natural order. It is thus. The first 4 chapters deal with the lie of the land, its climatic conditions and its exuberant vegetable and animal life. The next 2 chapters deal with History and its chief basis for facts, viz.j ArchsBology. The whole of the second volume (chapters VII to XII) deals \s ith the people as a whole in all their many-sidedness, i. e. their growth of numbers, their faiths, ethnography, language, education and health. The first 5 chapters of the third volume deal with the economic condition of the people such as agriculture and irrigation, trade and industries and the conveniences that exist for the same. Then come 3 chapters dealing with ' administration ' more or less ; and the book concludes with an alphabetical description of places of interest, so necessary for a stranger to understand a country aright. This arrangement I believe is the most natural one to adopt and has been finally resolved upon.

I must next express my obligations to Mr. C. V. Raman Pillai, B. A., the energetic Superintendent of tlie Government Press, for the help and co-operation he has willingly rendered in passing this huge work through the press, in spite of repeated calls on him for urgent work from other departments of the State. He has also prepared the index to the Manual which I entrusted him with, under orders of Government, on account of his special experience in it as the late Indexer to the Travancore High Court. I have to commend his work to the notice of Government.

A map of Travancore specially designed for this book by Mr. G.N. Krishna Rao, Superintendent of Survey is placed in the pocket at the end of the third volume. A few photographs are also inserted to illustrate the book ; more should have been put in but for the cost. If time had permitted, I should have added a volume of appendix of papers made in this connection, containing monographs on several special subjects, Sthalapuranoms of temples and places of pilgrimage, accounts of noble families and the chiefs of petty principalities, extracts made from books, newspapers and magazines and documents examined in the course of these studies and other evidence relied on in the writing of the Manual, all of which will form a mass of valuable data, upon which to base more extended researches in the same direction in the future.

In conclusion, I beg to tender my respectful thanks to His Highness the Maharajah's Government for having vouchsafed to me the opportunity of performing so herculean a task — notwithstanding the many difficulties and obstacles I had at the outset. It is hardly necessarj^ to add that the views expressed and the suggestions made in these volumes, the result of years of patient study and observation, are wholly conceived in the interests of the State and the people ; and as such I have no doubt they will receive careful consideration at the hands of Government in due time, for when carried out they will, I am satisfied, not only add to the credit of His Highness' enlightened rule but, in the wise words of Bacon, " make the estate of his people still more and more happy, after the manner of the legislators in ancient and heroical times.*'

Trivandrum, V. NAGAM AIYA.

16th August 1906.

Canals and Backwaters

Among the many natural advantages possessed by Travancore, one of the most important and one which adds materially to its wealth and prosperity, on account of its affording great facilities for water communication from one end of the country to the other, is its extensive backwater system. The backwaters or kayal, as they are locally called, arc inlets from the sea which run in a direction parallel to the coast. From Trivandrum as far as Ponnani in the District of Malabar, a distance of over 200 miles, there is a succession of these backwaters or estuaries, connected together by navigable channels constructed from time to time. The total area occupied by the surface of the lakes amounts to 2274 sq. miles of which 157i are within Travancore. Their breadth is very unequal, in some places spreading into a wide expanse, at others diminishing to a small stream, presenting on the whole a very irregular and broken figure. 

Formerly there was uninterrupted navigation only as far as Quilon. It was in 999 M. E. that Her Highness Parvathi Bayi sanctioned the construction of 2 canals, one from Trivandrum to the backwater of Kadinangulam and the other to connect Quilon and the Paravur backwater, both of which projects were contemplated by Col. Munro; but the work was commenced only in 1000 M. E. (1825 A. D.) and completed in 3 years under the super- vision of Dewan Vencata Row. The 2 canals measure in length upwards of 17 miles, which including 4 bridges cost about 4 lacs of Rupees. Tliese canals bear the name of Her Highness Parvathi Bayi whose beneficent reign is still gmtefully remembered by the people. 

There were still the Varkala cliffs, standing as a barrrier against direct and free comnmnication from Trivandrum to Quilon. This was removed by the construction of two tunnels at an enormous cost in the Reign of His Highness Rama Varma (Ayilliam Tirunal.1860 to 1880 A. D). The length of one tunnel is 924 feet and of the other 2,364 feet. The first tunnel was opened to traffic on the 15th January 1877; the second tunnel and the whole of the Barrier works were completed and opened to traffic in 1880. They cost upwards of 17 lacs of rupees. 

Many of these backwaters are not very deep, yet they are all navigable for boats of any size. Their bed consists generally of a thin layer of soft black mud, incumbent on a fine dark sand, often with some mixture of soil. On account of the large volume of water these backwaters receive during the monsoon time, their water, except in the immediate vicinity of their mouths, is quite fresh; in some places they are always so in the interval of the tides, while in others, they continue to be so from July to October. The places where these backwaters meet the sea are called Azhis or Pozhis, according as the opening is permanent or temporary. The chief Azhis are those at Quilon, Kayangulam and the mouth of the Periyar ; and the Pozhis are those of the Veli, the Paravur and the Pidawa. The flood during the monsoons leaves behind a slimy deposit which effuses an abundance of fertility over the lands exposed to it. The backwaters also foster the growth of many weeds and aquatic plants. The shores of the lakes are filled with houses and plantations of cocoanut trees and present the appearance of a perpetual garden. 

Starting from Trivandrum there is first, at a distance of 3 miles, the Veli Kayal which looks like an expanded canal. On one side the shore is overhung by a high cliff and the other side is skirted on by an extensive range of cocoanut plantations. Passing the Veli backwater, by the Parvathi Puthenar canal above referred to, we come to the Kadinan- gulam Kayal. Here again both the banks are lined with the cocoa- nut palm and a low brushwood. This backwater is a little larger than the Veli. The water is not deep. Going by the canal, we next pass Anjengo, formerly a place of note on accoimt of the English factory and the early commercial relations between the British Government and Travancore, but now a small port and fishing village. Here is the Anjengo Kayal. The length of this Kayal is 12 miles, breadth £ of a mile, and area 8 sq. miles. This receives the Attungal or Vamanapuram river and is formed chiefly by its waters. It is connected with the sea by a narrow bar. 

A few miles beyond Anjengo, the Varkala cliffs are reached. Before the construction of the tunnels, travellers used to land at a place called Kozhithottaiii (the main line of communication ran by Kozhithottam to Edawa a distance of 12 miles), from where they walked to Edawa mitil the back- water is reached, the road used being by the sea-beach, at times climbing over the summit of the cliffs that stretched into the sea. The view from these cliffs is extremely beautiful end the whole landscape charming. Here stands the village of Varkala famous for its ancient temple dedicated to Janardanaswamy, to which Hindus from all parts of India resort. 

Passing the tunnels, about 6 miles northwards there is the Nadayara Kayal. This again is of minor importance. Passing the Nadayara backwater a canal runs in a north-westerly direction for some 3 miles whence the Paravur canal and backwater lead to Quilon. The Paravur Kayal, though only a small one, is very deep and dangerous on account of its being very close to the sea and in the wet weather the bar opens of itself, sometimes suddenly. The Paravur and Quilon canals aggregating about 11 miles in length were cut between 1826 and 1829, at a total cost of Rs. 90,929. Passing the Paravur backwater we reach Quilon by the Eravipuram and Quilon canals, a distance of about 5 miles. 

On leaving Quilon the traveller enters the romantic and enchanting Ashtamudi Kayal. The name ‘Ashtamudi' is derived from the fact that the lake branches off into 8 creeks, called by different names. One portion near the Quilon Residency is called the Asramom lake and the other close to the Cutchery is called Kureepuzha or Loch Lomond. On either side we see a laterite bank 50 or 60 feet high enclosing little bays with deep blue waters. The broken side and the fragments of rocks are filled with various kinds of small shrubs while on the summits there are thickly planted gardens. About 2 miles north of Quilon the water opens out into a very spacious bay into which the Kallada River empties itself. There is an outlet to the sea at the western end which is locally known as the Neendakara bar. It is of sufficient depth for small vessels and the barges built at Tuct in Quilon are safely launched into the sea at this point. It covers an area of 20 sq. miles, its extreme length and breadth being 10 and 9 miles respectively. The banks are covered with many kinds of plants. Five miles beyond Quilon the backwater ends and the Chavara canal begins and the scenery becomes monotonous. 

We next come to a very small inlet called the Panmana Kayal. This is followed by the Ayiramtengu Kayal which again leads us to the extensive Kayangulam Kayal. The Kayangulam Lake has an outlet bar of the same name which admits of small coasters from the Arabian Sea. This made Kayangulam a place of considerable commercial importance in former days. This lake borders tlie two Tuluqs of Karunagapalli and Kartikapalli. Its extreme length is 19 miles and extreme breadth 4 miles; area 23 sq. miles. 

Passing the Kayangulam Kayal we reach Karumadi near Ampalapuzha by a natural stream through Trikkunnapuzha and Thottapalli chera. Proceeding along on our way, we see extensive rice fields on either side, the country here being flat and almost submerged in water. From Ampalapuzha, Alleppey is 12 miles distant. There are no backwaters to be passed but only canals, which at these places are very broad and join the Pallathurithy River flowing into the Vembanad Lake near Alleppey. Alleppey town is reached by a canal, before entering which there is a deep basin 40 to 50 feet in depth infested by alligators of enormous size. 

Alleppey is now the first commercial port of Travancore, its greatest advantage as an emporium arising from its singularly natural breakwater formed in the open roadstead and the long and wide mud bank which helps large vessels to anchor safely even in the stormiest weather. 

Beyond Alleppey we come to the very large and spacious bay, the Vembanad Kayal. This stretches across to the east for a distance of over 10 miles. The waters of the Pamba, Muvattupuzha and Minachil rivers are emptied into it. It borders the Taluks of Ampalapuzha, Shertallay, Vaikam, Yettumanur, Kottayam and Changanachery. Its extreme length is 52 miles and breadth 9 miles and the area covered by it is 79 sq. miles. It has a small beautiful island in the centre known as Patiramanal, or ‘the mysterious sand of mid-night', filled with cocoanut plantations and luxuriant vegetation. According to tradition, it was brought into existence by the piety of a Nambudiri Brahmin, who, while travelling in a canoe, jumped into the lake to perform his evening ablutions. The waters, it is said, gave way and land arose from below forming a small island. Pallippuram and Perumpallam are two other islands in the lake. 

There are many pretty places along the borders of this lake, perpetually clothed with beautiful groves of cocoanut and other trees and with an endless succession of houses, churches and pagodas. 

Midway between Alleppey and Cochin stands on its eastern bank the sacred village of Vaikam where there is a large Siva temple to which thousands of pilgrims resort in the months of Vrichigam and Kumbham for the Ashtami festival. 1?tom here to Cochin the backwater is of varying breadths and depths containing small patches of land here and there always adorned with cocoanut trees. 

From Cochin the water communication is by backwater to the north of Cranganore whence it is continued by creek, channel and backwater via Chowghat to Ponnani, and across the Ponnani River to Tirur Railway station. Thus the system is complete for a distance of 213 miles from Trivandrum to Tirur. 

Among other backwaters may be mentioned: — 

The Kodungalur Kayal in the Taluk of Parur. Extreme length 9 miles and extreme breadth 5 miles; area 10 sq. miles. Has an outlet in the Cranganore bar which is always open. 

The Sasthankotta Kayal in the Kunnattur Taluq. The Vellani Kayal in the Neyyattinkara Taluq. 

And lastly the Manakudi Kayal in the Taluq of Agastisvaram. This is a small lagoon formed by the course of the Pazhayar before it discharges itself by a narrow mouth. 

As early as 1860 the great Victoria Ananta Martandan canal was projected for connecting Trivandrum with Cape Comorin; but it had to be abandoned owing to several obstacles, though considerable sums of money had been spent on it. 

Janmashtami: the day of the Great Birth by Sister Nivedita

http://collections.delcampe.net/page/item/id,164871856,var,Ladoo-Gopal,language,E.html

http://www.ahmedabadcity.com/gifts/largeview/handicrafts/01787.htm

SUDDEN [ringing] of bells, a blaze of lights waved before an altar— while [outside], the watching stars and purple blackness of the midnight sky look down— such is the solemn moment of the Birth of Krishna. Surely it is only in this country, where a temple …. takes the form of a verandah, that Nature wholly mingles herself with worship, to bring the sense of the Divine to the Human.  The Western monk chants his Hours--Lauds and …. Vespers and Nones—but those footfalls of the Sun that he commemorates were trodden long ago in the deserts of the Thebaid and he sings within closed doors, holding himself snug against the chill winds [outside]. Here in India, however, we practise the Faith in the very land, and every day we realise afresh the cosmic events that gave it birth.

http://www.facesoflondon.co.uk/2011/06/saying-a-prayer/

Who has felt the stillness that falls

on lawn and river

at the moment of noon?

Who, watching through long hours, has heard

the distant music of the flute arise

by the Ganges side

with the first ray of dawn?

Who has wandered in field and forest

at the time of cow-dust,

and known the sudden touch of twilight on the soul,

[he knows, she knows]

…. why the village bells ring

and prayers [happen] …. at the stated hours.

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/k/kingsley/charles/k55w/chapter4.html

For that which in one man's eyes is superstition, another may know to be but an added firmness of sensation.  But surely of all the worships in the Hindu cycle, none has the power and force of those celebrated at midnight.

When slumber has fallen on men, gathered together

in the great hive of Night;  

when even the wild creatures are still,

each in his place on hillside or bough;

when all that is trivial and personal has been blotted out

with the passing of the sunlight,  

till, in the sound of the river,

we can almost hear that of the far-off sea—

then the lamps of the altar shine  

as though they were in truth the heart of the universe;

then the worshipper feels    ...self to be but

one of an innumerable host of stars and worlds,

all of which wait with him for the dawn

in the darkness of Light Ineffable.

And most of all this is true of the midnight service of the Birth of Krishna. Among the [people who could afford] in Bengal it is customary that each house shall contain a private chapel of its own, and only the poor …. [go to] to temples for the observance of the great festivals; but to my own household… this is rather a reason for frequenting them than otherwise. We love to see the band of simple worshippers, for the most part women, who arrive now and again and seat themselves to watch the ceremony in the outer court, while an elderly priest gives informal religious instruction during the preliminary stages of the function. We like, too, to listen to that religious instruction itself, and to the questions which now and again it has to meet.

http://swaralu.wordpress.com/2007/06/

And so one night we sat on the steps of a certain temple of Kali, which stands at a corner hard by and looks far across the Ganges with the hay boats drawn up in line beneath the bank, on and on to the edge of the world in the distant North-West. The temple is old, and the corner rounded off with the wisdom and beauty peculiar to the old Indian method of laying out a town, and the image that dwells there, under a sheltering bo-tree, is known as "the Kali of the Hay-merchants." Only a few years ago the spot was at the extreme end of Calcutta, but to-day this can no longer be said, though there is still a large open space opposite, where a great tree stands, and now and then gives a long shivering cry, as if to warn the neighbourhood of coming storm. All the evening through the street had been full of passers up and down. And sudden bursts of singing and sounding of shankh and gongs had disturbed the ordinary quiet in all directions.

For we are early old-fashioned folk in the Hindu quarter of Calcutta. Lights are out and noises hushed, as a rule, before ten o’clock; and by eleven o’clock, even on the Janmashtami, everything was closed except the temples. Here, by the light of his own altar, an Oriya priest still sat chanting the tale of the Holy Birth from a palm-leaf book. There, a few Brahmins chatted late round the foot of an image at which presently they would be offering worship. But the bamboo mats were all up and padlocked in front of the shops, and only the lamplights from the open shrines streamed across the curb.

It was thus that we waited for the moment of the Birth.

The temple had disappeared. The tones of the kindly old priest sounded dim and far away. Centuries had rolled back. The walls of a prison closed about us, and we waited once more with the royal victims, Devaki the mother and Vasudeva the father, for the coming of the Holy Child.

Once more, as on the first Day of the Birth, the rains seemed to fall and the winds to blow, and the only sound that reached us besides the violence of the storm was the heavy breathing of the guards, smitten into slumber by spirits, carrying to the prison of Kamsa the commission of the Most High. Surely never was the anguish of motherhood so great as on that night! Seven times had Devaki given life, and seven times had it been snatched away by the cruel king her brother, as soon as given--for had it not been told that one of her babes should be his enemy and take his life?

And now at the coming of the eighth child, especially named in the prophecy, and looked for with concentrated passion of fierceness and jealousy--how, in that seven-times wounded heart, could there be room for joy? Heavy moments are these, full of bitterest anguish of expectancy and dread; full of the agony of love that longs to save, but finds no means for protection of the Beloved, and yet at the same time moments in which is mingled a sense of lofty faith, a growing awe, an intuition of infinite tenderness and triumph.

It was over at last. Before them lay the Babe Himself, all laughter, all radiance.  One more had been added to the "wretched births" of the Avataras, and even in a prison the mystery of Incarnation made itself felt.

The books say that it was the new-born child who instructed Vasudeva to wrap him in his cloak, and pass out of the prison to the village on the far side of the Jumna, and then substitute him for the new-born girl of Nanda the cowherd and return.

Was it so, indeed?

Or was it overwhelming clearness of vision

that came with the presence of the Divine

and seemed life speech?

However that be, it met with prompt and eager obedience from the royal prisoners. No mother's weakness of Devaki, no masculine scepticism of Vasudeva, was put forward to check for one moment the course of events. Concealing under his mantle the shining Child, the father turned to make his way through darkness and storm. The guards slept soundly; the prison doors opened silently of their own accord. And none had ever seen the Lord of the Worlds save him who carried Him.

Terrible was the storm, and full of terror the flood of the Jumna when the moment came for crossing it. Here and there Vasudeva tried, but it was impossible to find means, when suddenly a jackal passed in before him, and he, guided by this lowliest of beasts, forded the stream in safety and reached the hut of Nanda the cowherd.

Here, too, sound sleep had fallen upon all, and Yasoda herself, when she awoke in the morning, did not know that the Boy in her arms was a changeling, nor dreamed that he was in truth of the royal house.

http://uddharan.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/yogamaya-devi1.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Yakshagana-Malla-Durgaparameshwari-Kala-Mandali/dp/8188698199

In the prison; however, a terrible scene had been enacted. The infuriated sovereign, Kamsa, informed of the occurrence at last of the long-expected birth, had come in person to visit the prisoners. Suspecting foul play when he saw a female child, but unable to substantiate his suspicions, he seized the infant by the feet to dash it to pieces against the wall. But the girl was an incarnation of Yogamaya, and the king suddenly found his clenched fingers empty, while over above him, illuminating the chamber with her glow, stood the great Goddess. "Your enemy is even now growing to manhood," she said, "in the village of the cowherds," and then the vision faded out and there was none with them. Poor fate-maddened king--doomed by each act only to fill deeper the cup of his iniquities till the destined champion should appear, and in single combat avenge the wrongs of his people and his blood--how sad and yet how necessary was the part that he played in the story of Brindaban and the wondrous childhood! How strange—

but at this point a movement among the priests interrupted our memories and recalled us to the present.

The mystical moment of midnight had come.

The Holy Child was born once more among men, and here, not in a prison but in a temple, and amidst the music of bells, with flowers, and lights, and incense, we were to celebrate that old-time coming of the Lord of Worlds. Many minutes passed in silence and prostration, and then we slipped away through the ….. hush of the quiet street to our own door.

But as we reached it we lingered for a moment regretfully on the threshold. "Ah surely," said we, "this is no accustomed scene. For in truth we have come through wind and storm across the Jumna, and, bearing the Holy Babe beneath our cloak, we are but now arrived at the hut of Nanda the cowherd in the village of Gokul."

By Maragaret Noble (Sister Nivedita) - slightly changed and re-arranged

http://www.speakingtree.in/public/drhemantsant/album/wall-album_2778/photo/jan-masthamee-of-moseshis-egyptian-mother-carries-him-across-seas-as-did-father-vasudev-carry-krishna-across-yamunathis-statue-in-front-of-laxmi-vilas-palace-by-the-fore-visionary-king-shri-sayaji-rao

This is a re-arranged and slightly retold version of Sister Nivedita's chapter from
Studies from an Eastern Home. I strongly advise the readers to read from the Original.
If they liked this they will like the Original better.
If they did not like this they are likely to like the Original.
http://www.vivekananda.net/BooksBySwami/StudiesEasternHome/StudyEasternhome.html

http://www.vivekananda.net/BooksBySwami/StudiesEasternHome/10.html

and I am indebted to various good people all over the Globe. I have put their links here above in their respective places. They are all very, very click-worthy, look-worthy and study-worthy.

Benefits of Ramayana - Based on a talk near Mavelikara

Om Rama

My salutations to the Devotees of Sri Rama, My salutations to Sri Rama and my salutations to Ramayana, the Lore of Sri Rama!

Mavelikara is our own place. Here in Mavelikara we have a Ramakrishna Ashrama at Kandiyoor. This ashrama is related to Belur Math, the Headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, near Calcutta.  From its beginning in the 1920s it was under the direct supervision of Belur Math but since late 1960s it is not being administered by Ramakrishna Mission.

I have come to speak here in place of Swami Kaivalyananda of Kayamkulam Ramakrishna Ashrama, who is a bit indisposed. 

We are in the midst of Ramayana Mela. This is the month of Ramayana. One Swami of our Mission used to say that the best thing that ever happened in India since 1947, after Independence, was the telecast of serials of Ramayana and Mahabharata over mass media. Many children and many of the grown up people too, came to know Ramayana better after seeing these serials. They might have heard and known something about the names in Ramayana: Rama, Sita, Hanuman, etc. But after seeing these serials they came to know these names and their doings much better. This was a very good thing, that Swami used to say.

This is not only the month of Ramayana but this is also the first month of Chaturmasya vrata. This is the season of rains. Sadhus all over India bring their wanderings to a temporary halt and stay somewhere for four months and study the Shastras. You know, the tradition of sadhus is, not to stay in any place for more than three days. They keep wandering from place to place, generally from one holy place to another holy place. They do this so that they don’t develop possessive attachment to any person or place. But during rainy season travelling is very troublesome. So they fix their stay at one place and go into study of scriptures. This is our tradition. Our Ramayana masam is the observance of this practice for the first month of these four. In this month, householders first pay their debts to their ancestors on the day of Vavubali and then start paying their debt to Rishis by study of Ramayana. Our Rishis, our teachers, have left their works for us to help us in our lives. We pay our debt to them by reading their works and trying to follow their teachings. This is a good thing. Only in Kerala we find that Ramayana is given such special attention and respect during this month and people so earnestly go about reading it.

Today, we heard a complaint from a previous speaker, that there were quite good many people at this place for another programme but there are very few here now; here we are about forty, fifty. Well, people come to places where they can connect to. Something so, so old as Ramayana, how do people make connection now? Will you buy an older version of software or an electronic gadget? You always want the latest version. In Religion too, people want the latest. So God answers their prayers and needs and comes again and again as a latest version. We do need old teachings but we need new Acharyas to show us how to use them in these present times and needs.

Swami Vivekananda gave a lecture on, Sages of India, in Madras. That was about Rishis of India. He added Sri Rama to the list of Rishis. There were Rishis during the times of Upanishads. We know many names but very little of their life details. Take for example, Yagnyavalkya, we know little about his life. Then when the times of Itihasa come, we get to know many details. When we come to know many great things about their lives, we are overwhelmed and we give a new name to these sages, we call them Avataras. Such are Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Sankaracharya, Ramanuja, Chaitanya and Ramakrishna. This is the lineage of the Rishis. Sri Rama is a Rishi in this parampara.

Now, what interest can we have in reading Ramayana? If we are assured that we will get something now in reading Ramayana, than we will read Ramayana. Well, Swami Vivekananda says, that even if almost the whole of the Hindu population dwindles, God forbid such happening, if there were only a handful of Hindus, speaking a far cousin patios, of its classic languages, even then there will be a version of Ramayana current amongst them. In such a way has the story of Rama entered the very veins of Hindus. It courses through our body and soul.

So Ramayana is in us. Here a speaker mentioned about common stories of hidden treasure put in a pot and kept buried in our backyard, hidden by our ancestors, so as to escape the hands of plunderers and later, be of use to us, their descendants, but we have forgotten about it or we are clueless where to dig; in such a way, Ramayana is inside us, but we don’t make use of it or don’t know how to make use of it. So let us start considering Ramayana and figure out ways to get things of great benefit out of it. What do we get from Ramayana? Well, I will say, we get four things essentially….

One, we get Ramakatha, Rama’s story, from Ramayana.  Ramayana is the tale of Rama’s doings. It is good to read the story of Rama as early as possible. I, as far back as my memory go, read the story of Rama when I was about eight years old. I was in class 3. That was the Ramayana written by Rajaji (C. Rajagopalachari), in Tamil. Later I must have read it ten, twelve times. The many incidents that we read in Ramayana will come useful to us when we come across similar situations in our lives. We will get tips from Ramayana on how to handle our situations here now.

Two, we get Ramarupam, the Rupa of Rama, the form of Rama.

Okay, we have read the story of Rama and draw our lessons and use that to handle the present problems. Is that all? No. We have to think deeply. We have to meditate. To help us in that we need the form of Rama. If we meditate on the form of Rama together with Sita, then we get strength.                                   

What are the forms of Rama that we meditate on? There is the form of Ramlala, the Child Rama. We have heard much of Kochu Krishnan, Unni Krishnan, the Child Krishna, but in South we have not heard much of Kochu Rama, though we have the name Ramunni quite commonly. There have been great people who have meditated on Child Rama and have had Vision of Child Rama. The Rama in Ayodhya is Child Rama. We find in Sri Ramakrishna’s life, incidents where Child Rama moved and played with him. The form of Child Rama is an ideal form for meditation. Or one may meditate on the form of Rama with Sita. We think of Rama, we meditate on Rama, and then very soon He becomes our own Rama. So on meditation one gets Rama. Generally we don’t meditate on the heated Rama threatening to dry up the ocean. Maybe, that Rama is good to look up sometimes but when we meditate, we let our mind stay with serene Rama, like Ramlala or Sita Rama.

So this much about Ramakatha and Ramarupam.

Then comes Rama Namam. The highest thing we get from Ramayana is the Name of Rama. The repetition of the Name of Rama is called Taraka Mantram, the Mantra that that liberates the soul and gives Salvation to the soul. One has to do Japa of Rama Nama. We don’t know if Mahatma Gandhi read the story of Rama frequently but we know he repeated the name of Rama incessantly. So let us try repeating the Name of Rama.

So after reading the Ramayana and applying the lessons we learn to situations in our present times, after meditating on the form of Rama and after repeating the Name of Rama, and while we are doing all these, we happen to get doubts. We stand still on our tract and doubt if we are doing things right. We doubt if it really works. We want proof that things will work out all right.

At this juncture we get the fourth benefit from Ramayana. Ramabhaktas, a grand succession of devotees of Rama starting with Hanuman. There were always Ramabhaktas with us: from Hanuman to Ramakrishna, Vivekananda and many till today, we have devotees of Rama with us. Shivaji was a Rama Bhakta. He was a devotee of Durga but he was a Rama Bhakta too. There had hardly been anyone who had done great good to the country who had not heard the story of Rama in their youth. We see that every one of them had heard the story of Rama from their mother or father or grandmother or grandfather or someone. The boy Gandhi was once afraid and a servant in the house told him to chant the name of Rama to ward of that fear, so he started repeating Ramanama and found it beneficial. So we hear when we go to Porbandar. They show a place where he received Ramanama. He went on to repeat it till the last moment when he faced death.

So we have to read the lives of the devotees of Rama and get inspiration from that.

Now comes the last word, the bottom-line. Why do we do all this? We hear Rama’s Story, we think of his Form, we repeat his Name, we familiarize with his devotees; where do we go after all this?

We are here to get to see Rama. We have to meet Rama. We may be enjoying the story of Rama and all the world’s poetry on that; We may be pundits knowing minutest thing to do with the Story of Rama; But the real thing is to see Him. To see Him as you see me, as you see each other, or even more directly, as Ramakrishna said to Naren, when he answered his question about tangibly seeing God. You think of him and try to call him by your mind, you try to establish contact through telephone, or you try to Google search for him and contact him, or you may search for him in Facebook. Somehow or other, you have to get Him face-to-face. And, once you get the touch of Rama on your shoulder, then that instant you understand this is the real Rama, the living Rama who is with you. Your life becomes fulfilled, Sampurnam.

So the Last Word is Vision of Rama. For that we have to plead to Hanuman to show us the way. That is what Tulasi Das did. Or you beseech Sita to do this favour for us, to put in a word for us...

May Sita shower Her grace on us; May Hanuman grant us all strength; May we all get the Vision of Rama. This is my Prayer.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti