‘Marangalam Natalee Kathakalam’ traces interesting tales woven around large old trees in the villages of Palakkad, including Banyan, where Ovi Vijayan’s novel Khaskinte Itisam begins. today is world heritage day
‘Marangalam Natalee Kathakalam’ traces interesting stories woven around large old trees in the villages of Palakkad, including Banyan where Ovi Vijayan’s novel especially the historian to start. today is world heritage day
A grand old banyan is the pride of Payyalur, a perennial hub of activities in the picturesque, small village beneath Themala hills in Palakkad, Kerala. Chronicling the stories that connect villagers with banyans is a major objective of ‘Marangalam Natalee Kathakalam’ (Stories of Trees and Fields), a project initiated by the Palakkad Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). Is.
The aim of ‘Marangalam Nattile Kathakalam’ is to identify heritage trees in villages in Palakkad district and document the stories and memories that villagers have associated with the trees.
Arun Narayanan, convener of INTACH chapter, says: “This is to remind people of our green heritage. In our busy, commercially and technologically driven spaces of the modern world, we are rapidly losing our connection with nature and the world around us. We are trying to revive those memories and remind the younger generation of the wonderful stories that were woven around trees and nature. ,
tree stories
Launched in February 2022, the project is documenting heritage trees in three taluks namely Palakkad, Palakkad, Alathur and Chittoor. Videos uploaded on trees www.naattumaram.com,
In the first phase, INTACH volunteers visited villages in three taluks, interacted with senior citizens and collected information. Documentation takes time and planning. Once the volunteers have identified people to talk to, the team visits the village again to document the information in video story form.
The iconic banyan tree at Thasrak, Palakkad | photo credit: special arrangement
The first such document was a banyan tree in Thasrak village, 12 km from Palakkad. Thasrak made the background of Ovi Vijayan Khazakinte Historiam. “Nayak Ravi comes to the village and gets down at a bus stop near a banyan tree. Former Malayalam professor Dr P Murali shared his memories of the author and the place with the audience. He remembers how the wind blows from the high mountains to the hills Carimpana Palakkad’s (palms) permeated the collective consciousness of the readers through the iconic book written by Vijayan.
“We hope that once viewers watch the video, they will send us videos telling stories of trees around them. For the scheme to be successful, it has to be a people’s project,” says Arun.
He narrates how many majestic trees nurtured so many activities and interactions under their benevolent shade.
Several layers have been woven around this banyan tree from Payyalur in Palakkad, documented by the Palakkad chapter of INTACH. photo credit: special arrangement
One such gem was the banyan tree of Payyalur. This eight-minute video shows the activities around its vast greenery. a porter’s slab ( chummaduthangi) still serves as a resting place for the tribals coming from the hills with forest produce. Many decades ago tribal women used to collect firewood from the forest and bring it to the village for sale. The slab was there for them to reduce their load and take a break.
People gather on stage around the banyan and watch the world. A senior citizen of the village says how social reformer and freedom fighter Tyagaraja Iyer started a library to educate Dalits in and around the village and to remove the stigma of untouchability. “It was started under the tree, in thatched shed in 1946. Later, the youth of the villagers collected funds and the library is now housed in a pucca building. When cultural chief and freedom fighter Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was documenting India’s performing traditions and crafts, she came here to document tholpavakuthu (shadow puppetry). ,
A koothumadam The (special stage) where Tholpavkuthu performances still take place stands towards a corner of a tree, while in an open space, a vigorous game of ball badminton is going on. “It must be one of the few places in Kerala where ball badminton is played by a lot of local residents,” explains Arun.
The tree that Gandhiji planted
Another video, shot at the Sabari Ashram in Akkathethara, introduces viewers to a coconut tree planted by Mahatma Gandhi when he accompanied Kasturba Gandhi to the ashram in 1927. T Devan, secretary of the ashram and an alumnus of the school, says this is probably one of the earliest schools in India, in which students from all communities studied together in the same school.
Sridevi Ollappamanna, one of the volunteers participating in the project, hopes that the villagers will wake up before the green money in their villages disappears forever. “During my school days, there was a huge tree near my house. We used to take the school bus from there. Now a supermarket has stood in its place,” she cries.
Tree Documentation Workshop organized by INTACH Palakkad | photo credit: special arrangement
INTACH is partnering with the Departments of Botany at Mercy College, NSS College, Ottapalam and Government College, Chittoor. By documenting the stories of trees and the layers that surround them, INTACH hopes to inspire people to protect green cover and stop cutting down trees or burning plastic under them.
“We are enlisting the help of volunteers to clean the litter from these grand old trees and maintain it. Eventually, we hope that companies or people will come forward as custodians of trees. This is a long-term project which we hope to sustain with the help of sponsors,” says Arun.
As of now, the documentation is supported by Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML). Sridevi says that an emotional connection with nature and trees has to be renewed. “Only then people will feel inspired to protect the trees.”
The project is open to residents of Palakkad to send their tree stories to be uploaded on the site or to contact INTACH volunteers to document the story.
“Through this project, we want to ask residents: ‘Are you losing wood for the trees? We want to remind people that these captivating stories exist around them,” says Arun.