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The Brahmins in Kerala

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There is no State which has a good and fairly distributed Brahmins as in Kerala. When it was Malabar, Travancore, and Cochin, there was high inflow of Brahmins from Tanjore and other places in search of employment, greener pastures.

It is said Parasurama, one of the avatars of Vishnu, who beheaded his mother, at the command of his father, wanted to do penance and gift some land to Brahmins. He threw his powerful axe from the Om beach in Gokarna, and as it landed at a place in the Arabian Sea, land rose from the Sea, and Keralam was born. Modern day scientific inculcated brains may laugh at Parasuram theory, but a British Engineer, Sir Robert Bristow, who made the modern Kochi Wellingdon Port, atteststo this factor in his wonderful book, "Cochin Saga". Seeing the land, and the alluvial formations, and when he was constrcuting grynores and break water so as to prevent the sea from encroaching on land,(soil ersosion) he found a strange phenomenon which he says could be, that the soil must have been lump deposits in the Sea. The same sand structure was visible many many miles away in small islets that lay in the Sea. He says in his book, there could be strong foundation to the Parasurama theory!

However, the Brahmins did not want to accept the land from Parasurama, hence, Parasurama is said to have gifted the land to fishermen. It may be a coincidence, that when the direct disciple of Jesus Christ came to Cranganore, in the I century, he accosted fishermen whom he converted into Christians.

But the Brahmin migration, and reverse migration, both has taken place in Kerala. Palaghat is concentrated with Brahmins and the Kalpathy Car festival is one of the important festivals in Kerala. Kalpathy is again a creation of Brahmin agrahara type of street houses with its queer architecture. You will find the agrahara type of common walls between houses, one flanking the other at Noorni, Kalpathy, Allampallam, Kollengode, Nemmara, Thattamangalam, pre-dominent Brahmin areas of Palaghat. The Shastha cult where Brahmins did have a severe closeness, is proved by the Shasthaprathis organized at Palaghat, Trichur, Cochin, Parur, etc. Malayattur Ramakrishnan, IAS Officer and writer, has written a beautiful book, the "Roots" wherein he talks of the Kerala culture of Tamil Brahmins. Of course, in Travancore, you can see the imprint of Tamil Brahmins across the Sri Padmanabhi Temple because of its Diwan Sir CP Ramaswamy Iyer, during whose time, there was migration of Brahmins. Chambai Vaidyanatha Bhagavattar, is one of the notable classical vidwans. Palaghat Mani Iyer, and there are many distinquished singers, who held kacharis in the nook and corner of Kerala. Sir CP is said to have patronized Classical singing in so much so, he brought Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer to be the Principal of Music College, and it is at his instance the Swati Tirunal kirtanas found its way to the mucis world.

The reverse migration of Brahmins was to Bombay in the 60s, when many of the British Companies in which many Brahmins were employed closed their establishments and left for good to England, handing over their establishments to Indians, left for Mumbai and Chembur and Matunga became citedals of the migrated Brahmins of Kerala!

The Tamil Brahmins, who came to Kerala and occupied many illustrious positions, adopted Kerala and absorbed many of the traits and traditions of the people of Kerala. The Kerala Nambooditiris are called as Kerala Brahmins and in important temples like Guruvayoor, Sabarimala etc. these Nambooditi priests perform pooja. Mappathur Narayana Bhattatiripad, evolved the Narayaneem as a tribute to Guruvayurappan, was also a Kerala Brahmin. But, in the 21 st century, the Tamil Brahmin, who has assimilated all the characters of Kerala, is also known as Kerala Brahmin. They celebrate Onam, Vishu, Karthika, and many festivals associated with Kerala. It is a good sign.Justice V R Krishna Iyer is a Tamil Brahmin, known to the international audience engaged in jurisprudence.Ullur Parameshwara Iyer was a great poet. K V Anantha Krishna Iyer was a great anthropologist. Malyattur Ramakrishnan was a great writer whose works have been made into cinema. There are many such highly placed Tamil Brahmins, who have been in the forefront contributing the richness of Kerala. They have assimilated themselves into the chitanya of Kerala.
 
RV,

not sure which is your right name. greetings. a great introduction.

personally i come from the north malabar side. almost every town used to have a handful of brahmins and it was a close knit bond between the families. i am thinking of towns like feroke, vadakara, telicherry, pattambi, ottapalam, tanur, tirur, payyoli and so many others near kozhikode and trichur which had larger communities.

ofcourse all these came originally from palghat and many of these were professionals - lawyers, doctors, priests or cooks in distant madras, with the family staying behind. with the fifties the migration to the north started, and these migrants children have moved even further across the seas.

many of these towns have hardly any brahmins left. sad to say, there is no lasting imprint left in these towns of pattar stay - though many of them prospered, they did not leave any charitable legacy like school or hospital.

dr. m.s.swaminathan food technologist you left out. also vidya balan, trisha krishnan and madhavan - all my favourite actors though they have made their fortunes outside of kerala. VRK even after 50 years of land reforms, brings out strong feelings among the travancore brahmins who lost the bulk of their land wealth. the malabar ones supported him, as these were professionals or workers. my grandfather, a lawyer, voted and campaigned for VRK.

my extended roots are in kalpathi. again the change. the ancestral houses in kalpathi and also in pallipuram, all have been torn down, and ugly flats have replaced them. yes these have modern amenities, but they could have done a better job ie maintain the old gramam facade, and modernize the interiors. those street houses with their handsome teak and rosewood carved brass handled doors are being auctioned to be bought up by rich norht indians, for whom these are an attractive piece in their huge halls of their homes. i have seen one in delhi and sad to say tamil and brahmin heritage and handiwork unappreciated in our own backyard.

for the malabar brahmins it was madras that was the magnet till the 60s, when finally they too turned towards trivandrum. what little that is left of my extended family, now look to trivandrum, for government service. no one from even palghat comes to chennai any more to seek their fortunes - mid east is a more attractive destination.
 
The Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Brahmins , I think, nowadays prefer to stay in their own states or go abroad, rather than staying at Chennai, which is increasingly becoming arrogant towards Brahmins, not the rich ones, thanks to the DMK regime.
 
Lest I forget

RV,

[
QUOTE]Dr. M.S.Swaminathan food technologist you left out. also vidya balan, trisha krishnan and madhavan - all my favourite actors though they have made their fortunes outside of kerala. VRK even after 50 years of land reforms, brings out strong feelings among the travancore brahmins who lost the bulk of their land wealth. the malabar ones supported him, as these were professionals or workers. my grandfather, a lawyer, voted and campaigned for VRK. Unquote]

I am sorry, I missed the names of the greatest son of Kerala, Dr Swaminathan, who has rendered yeomen service to the Green Revolution along with Shri C Subramanian. I also agree, Vidya Balan and her ilk including Jayaram of Perumbavoor has done Indian cinema proud have been Tamil Brahmins. It is true many of the vignettes that was part treasure of Tamil Brahmins and extensively possessed by generations, today find no keepers, and they find outlets through sale. The spirit of keeping ancestral belongings which are not only rare, precious and ancient vestiges, is not there amongst today's genre of Brahmins due to the Nuclear families. The Joint family system has been systematically been uprooted, and new tidings in the family concept has made many areas where Brahmins used to extend monopoly have gone. But the spirit refuses to die for people like me. Many thanks for sharing your views.
 
hi RV sir,
my mother's parents are from palakkad....i born and broght up in palakkad agraharam....u left chittur/ noorani for famous veda patasalas,,,

fortunately my self the product of chittur veda patasala/sanskrit school....which is unique in kerala....the famous lawyers are from

chittur....famous c v antharama iyer ..ex..chief justice of kerala....palakkad had produced the famous IAS officer....we can remember

as TN SHESHAN......thirunellayi narayanan sehashan ....the famous ex chief election cpmmossoner of india....who introduced voter

card for first time.....the famous tatamanagalam/kodovayur/kolllengode/ vadakkencherry/puthucode famous agraharams around palakkad...

kalpathy theru is still famous in kerala.......

regards
tbs
 
There are a number of Carnatic musicians who have their roots in Kerala.Palakkad K.V.Narayanasvami, M.D.Ramanathan, Parassala Ponnammal, Puthukkode Krishanamoorthy,
T.N.rishnan (violinist, M.S.Gopalakrishnan, M.S.Anantharaman, T.V.Gopalakrishnan are a few names that comes to my memory now. Also in the literary field there was Ulloor Paramesvara Iyer whose Kerala Bhasha Sahithya Charithram is a monumental work on the history of the Malayalam Language.The great composer Neelakanta Sivan also belonged to the Travancore State. He was born in Vadiveesvaram in Nagercoil, spent his early years at
Padmanabhapuram and then settled in Karamanai in Trivandrum.
 
Padma Lakshmi, Suganya (w/o Pandit Ravishankar) too could be added to the list....
 
There is Lot of confusion regarding Brahmins(mostly shaivites) who Reside in Palakkad today as to whether----

1) They were allotted land by Tipu Sultan.
2) Or they came to escape prosecution by him.

Shashi Tharoor is also a Kerala Brahmin.
 
Sri/Smt Meerkat
AFAIK Palakkad and surrounding areas had a number of Nampoothiri Illams before the advent of Tipu Sultan. They were doing the puja in the various temples.When Tipu Sultan attacked
Malabar, these Nampoothiri families fled northwards (Payyannoor, Kannoor etc.).The Samuthiri of Kozhikode (the ruler) then brought Tamil Brahmins from Thanjavoor to conduct the pujas in the temples.Thus Palakkad became a settlement of Tambrams.Now there are very few Nampoothiri illams in Palakkad whereas there are large number of them in Payyannoor and surrounding places.
This was told me by a friend of mine who is a nampoothiri and its authenticity is to be verified.

I have heard that Sasi Tharoor is a Keralite, but I doubt whether he is a brahmin.
 
Sir,

In the "Tamizh Semmozhi Manadu" which was held earlier in the year there was an presentation by an academic from Coimbatore Bharatiar University. According to that gentleman, Nair chieftains were determined to see themselves to be anointed as kings (c17th century), but the native brahmins the namboodris refused to annoint them.

As brahmins were considered essential for officiating as priests for the ceremony, the Nair chieftains lured the brahmins from the Thanjavur with manyam and other facilities into the region. When the Nair power declined with the ascendancy of British and due to other factors, they found themselves in dire straits.

But the brahmins, the Iyengars from Srirangam, who migrated to Mysore for similar purpose by Wodeyars were far more luckier.


Could you please tell me whether there is any truth in what the academic from Coimbatore had said?
I find the common male names like Sundaresan, Ramanathan possibly Panchapakesan prevalent in Palghat as in the Thanjavur region.

With regards,
Swami
 
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Iyers of Palakkad are migrant Brahmins from Tanjavur District. They are called Pattars and Paradesi Brahmins in land records.Very enterprising and close knit Social group known for their hard work and intelligence.They were brought by the Nair Chieftains of Palakkad area around 13th century when local Namboothiris showed reluctance to perform priestly duties.

Dr. Sashi Tharoor is the son of Chandran Tharoor of Tharoor Nair (Tharoor Swaroopam) Tharavad of Chittlancheri Palakkad and his mother Lily Tharoor (nee Sulekha Menon) hails from famous Mundarath Tharavad in Elavancheri, Palakkad. He is an exceptionally brilliant and academically well qualified person. His Uncle Tharoor Parameswaran was the founding Managing Director of Reader's Digest, India.

Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore
 
The Brahmins in Kerala

One prominent Palghat Brahmin who has been left out from the list of Tamil Brahmins from Palghat was Sir Kumarapuram Seshadri Iyer (1845-1901). Born in Palghat and a lawyer by profession Sir K.Seshadri Iyer joined the Mysore judicial service and served as the Diwan of Mysore state from 1883-1901 was considered as maker of Modern Bangalore. He was the longest serving Diwan of Mysore who brought Hydro Electric Power for the first time in Asia by installing generating unit at Sivasamudram in 1900, which supplied Electric Power to start Kolar Gold Fields. He added 270 Kms of Railway lines to MSRy. He remodeled Bangalore's topography by adding new extensions of Malleswaram, Basavangudi (1898) and Seshadripuram. He was a great administrator. The Glass house at Lal bagh (1889), Hesarghatta Water supply scheme (1896) and Victoria Hospital (1900) were constructed during his period only. He was instrumental for establishment of Indian Institute of Science (Tata Institute) in Bangalore by donating 372 acres of Land to Tatas free of cost.
This statesman's contribution to Mysore State is remembered by the Sir K. Seshadri Iyer Public Library and his statue at Cubban Park, Bangalore.

Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.
 
The Brahmins in Kerala

and one cant miss the name of T.N.Seshan.

Sri Saarangam,

Yes, Sri T.N.Seshan is one of the well known Palakkad Brahmins of our time who is known for his caustic comments. It is he who said “Palakkad Iyers are reputed to be great cooks, crooks and civil servants,” There are a few more sayings about Pattars in lighter vein, “that there are no fools among Palakkad Iyers” (pattaril pottanilla) and that “they will not jump into the well without a motive” (onnum kanathe pattar kinattil chadilla).

Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.
 
I would like to each and everyone of you for going through my blog and giving valuable inputs like the various famous Brahmins of Kerala, who left indelible marks on the various facets of their professions by their contributions. Thanks a lot.
 
There was one musician Ayaalur Krishnan. Though I have not been to his concert, I have liked his style listening to the radio. Also there was one violinist Chalakudy Narayanaswami.

Swami
 
Good start sri Ramanathan venkataraman, we could able to know more and more about kerala brahmins. and we have to find out more KBs ,prominent in other parts of the world also.

thanks expecting more from you
 
There was one musician Ayaalur Krishnan.
Dear Swami
There is a village named Ayalur in Palakkad, Kerala and another town named Ayyalur in Dindigal district of Tamil Nadu.I googled in vain to find the nativity of the great musician Ayyalur Krishnan.I hope you have some reference regarding his Kerala nativity.
 
Dear Swami
There is a village named Ayalur in Palakkad, Kerala and another town named Ayyalur in Dindigal district of Tamil Nadu.I googled in vain to find the nativity of the great musician Ayyalur Krishnan.I hope you have some reference regarding his Kerala nativity.
Dear Sri Saarangan,

The Ayyalur I am referring is in Palaghat region. I had a colleague who hails from a village called Ayyakad and he would say that Krishnan's family was humble and his father was a cook.

Also the name of 'Cartman" N.S. Ramaswamy the first director of IIM (Bangalore) who spoke with the distinctive Palaghat accent comes to my mind.

With regards,
Swami
 
Dear Sri Saarangan,

The Ayyalur I am referring is in Palaghat region. I had a colleague who hails from a village called Ayyakad and he would say that Krishnan's family was humble and his father was a cook.

Also the name of 'Cartman" N.S. Ramaswamy the first director of IIM (Bangalore) who spoke with the distinctive Palaghat accent comes to my mind.

With regards,
Swami
hi swami sirm
im from Ayakkad village in palakkad....my mother's relatives are from Ayyakkad....the whole village are called thayadhis.....my childhood spent

many vacations in Ayakkad village.....nice village with typical palakkad agraharam....

regards
tb
 
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