Tattamangalam - West - 100 Agraharams Project
The Tattamangalam West Gramam is about 20 kilometers away from Palakkad Railway Junction and a short distance south of the State Highway 27.
The Sri Dharma Sastha temple and Sri Santhanagopala Krishna Temple are the primary deities in the agraharam.
I think the Kuttrala Kuravanji equivalent in Malayalam is the Kakkarissi Natakam. Correct me if I'm wrong. The story of Kakkarissi is premised around Lord Shiva with his consort Parvathi Devi who arrived on earth in the form of Kakkalan and Kakkathi as nomadic (tribe) fortune tellers. I wonder if the name of Kakkurussi Shiva was derived from this. This I assume was the initial temple in this area. Later when the first Brahmin migrants moved into the place
Let me paste from S.Jayashanker's notes on the origin of the name Tattamangalam:
"When In those days Sree Ezhuttacchan used to take bath daily in the nearby Sokanäsini (Chittoor) River and worship the Lord. The works of Ezhuttacchan were in the form of kili-patt (as told by Tatta or parrot). In memory of this Father of Malayalam literature, the place of Kakkurissi was renamed as Tattamangalam. It is reported that Tunchatt Ezhuttacchan lived here in 729K.E. (corresponding to 1553 A.D.)."
So we now know the origin of the name Tattamangalam.
About the Agraharam, Sri Padmanabhan a nonagenarian and who has been a resident of the gramam all his life says that migration came from Panruti, Trichy and Kumbakonam. I wondered about Panruti which is not a usual suspect. He adds that the migration to Tattamangalam came from a group from Koduvayur. So it is possible the agraharam has a mix of migrants from different places. I am only guessing. However the others mention about Ganapathy Agraharam amongst other places around Kumbakonam.
The three agrahrams of Tattamangalam are covered in three separate videos and when I come to the other two I would like to mention about the history of the trade and the turmoils with Kongu Desam. A read of Sri L K Anantakrishna Iyer's "Cochin castes and tribes" is highly recommended.
I wished we could get footage from inside the temples as in other agraharams.
Sri Vaidyanathan's narration is measured and effulgent with the happenings in the agraharam.
About the Chinmaya school behind the Ayyappan temple. The Chinmaya Mission in Tattamangalam was established in November 1959 by a handful of committed devotees of Swami Chinmayanandaji. And in June of 1977 the Vidyalaya was formally established in a rented building at Western Village, Tattamangalam. Later in 1979 they shifted to their own building.
At the very end of the video Sri Padmanabhan sends out the message from Shankaracharyas about the need to hold on to our Agraharams and the traditional homes and doing our anushtanams. It is touching and emotional. I hope the message resonates with everyone who views this video and I hope our agraharms will continue to live on.
Radhe Krishna
Sriram(Hari)
100-Agraharams Project
Rama Bhagavathar Charitable Trust
July 31, 2024
