Kalpathy

Kalpathy കൽപ്പാത്തി
Suburb
Kalpathy
A view of one of the streets in Kalpathy
Nickname:  Half Benaras
Kalpathy Location in Kerala, India Show map of Kerala Kalpathy Kalpathy (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 10°49′N76°39′E / 10.817°N 76.650°E / 10.817; 76.650
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Palakkad
Government
• Body	Palakkad Municipality
Languages
• Official	Malayalam,English
• Regional	Malayalam,Tamil [1]
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	678 003
Telephone code	0491
Vehicle registration	KL-09
Parliament constituency	Palakkad
Assembly constituency	Palakkad

Kalpathy or Kalpathi is a residential area in Palakkad city, Kerala, India. ^[2] It is famous for the Viswanatha Swamy Temple, which is located along the banks of the Kalpathy river, one of the tributaries of the Bharathapuzha. It is also famous for the Kalpathy Radholsavam, which is an annual car festival taking place in the month of Thulam(November). ^{[3] [4]}

Three chariots of Lord Shiva, Ganesha & Kartikeya in the Kalpathy Ratholsavam

Kalpathy is an agraharam, or traditional village. It is the first heritage village in Kerala. ^[5] This Tamil migrant brahmin village is more popular as the hub of Carnatic music in Kerala rather than for the legacy and tradition passed down through the generations for the past 600 years.

Kalpathy consists of five smaller villages, which are Old Kalpathy, New Kalpathy, Chathapuram, Govindarajapuram & Manthakkara. The similarity of the Viswanatha Swamy Temple to the Varanasi Kashi Viswanatha temple on the banks of Ganges is responsible for the moniker Kasiyil paathi Kalpathy(Half Kashi or Half Benaras) and the term Dakshina Kashi(Southern Kashi) associated with this temple.

The beauty of the architecture here - each brahmin quarter sharing walls and adjoined with the next one forming a linear pattern, the streets that wake up to the Venkatesha Suprabhatham, Vedic mantra recitals and Shiva Sthothram (hymns) - all musical, the rice flour kolam (artful drawing deemed religious and ritualistic) in the front courtyard of each quarter, Idli, Sambar and ghee rich sweets and savouries announcing the glory of Tamil food culture, and the magnificent Ratholsavam (Chariot Festival) celebrated with fervour; All of these constitute the stamp of life in Kalpathy.The rolling of heavily decorated majestic temple chariots through the village streets of Kalpathy is the major attraction of the car festival.

Sree Viswanathaswamy temple is the main centre of the festival while the three satellite temples in the village of new Kalpathy, old Kalpathy and Chathapuram also take part in it.These were all passed on through the generations of lives in the Agraharam without losing the original charm. ^{[6] [7] [8]} Kalpathy and its neighbourhoods have witnessed large settlements of people in colonies and apartments, making it one of the major residential areas of the city. ^[9]

Kalpathy also has its very own sports event, called the Kalpathy Sports Fest which is conducted annually, it started on October-November 2024.

Aerial view of Kalpathy

Aerial view of a street in Kalpathy

Chathapuram Street of Kalpathy

Manthakkara street of Kalpathy

Govindarajapuram street in Kalpathy

Temples

• Sree Visalakshi Sametha Sree Viswanatha Swamy Temple
• Sree Lakshmi Narayana Perumal Temple ^[10]
• Sree Prasanna Mahaganapathy Temple ^[11]
• Manthakkara Sree Maha Ganapathy ^[12]
• Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple ^[13]
• Vaidhyanathapuram Krishna Temple ^[14]

Viswanatha Swamy Temple Entrance

Lakshmi Narayana Perumal temple, Old Kalpathy

Chathapuram Prasanna Mahaganapathy temple

Manthakkara Mahaganapathy temple

Poster of the Manthakkara Mahaganapathy temple

Lakshmi Narayana Perumal alangaram, Old Kalpathy

Muruga temple within the premises of Viswanatha Swamy temple

Viswanatha Swamy temple, New Kalpathy

Location

Kalpathy is located about 3 km from the center of the city. City service buses are there to connect Kalpathy with other parts. The nearest major railway station is Palakkad Junction railway station and the nearest airport is Coimbatore International Airport.

Controversial History

Kalpathy agraharam (the Tamil brahmin settled village next to the temple) was at the centre of a historical controversy in 1924. The famous Kalpathy Radholsavam passed through the main street of the agraharam which was a government funded and maintained road. In early 1920s, the road was not open to the so called lower castes ("awarnas"). The members of the Ezhava community were denied the use of the roads through this Brahmin village and the right to worship in the village temple. To counter this heinous practice, the members of the Ezhava community in Palakkad organized a rebellion by walking thru the public road and towards the temple. Despite the then British Presidency of Madras, under which Palakkad and Kalpathy fell, issuing an order permitting Ezhavas to enter Kalpathy, the conservative Brahmins of the village resisted the attempt. Many an Ezhava was roughed up by the Brahmins for attempting to enter the village.

A group of Ezhavas were "converted" into Arya Samaj. Subsequently, several groups of Ezhavas under various community leaders attempted to walk thru the public road. They were also forcibly denied entry by the residents of the Agraharam. A young man who was severely beaten up later converted to Christianity and took the name John Kittu and went on to become an independent MLA during the first elections to Kerala state assembly. ^[15]

Recent controversy

In 2019, a sitting Kerala high court judge Justice V Chitambaresh hailing from Kalpathy agraraham, questioned the need for caste based reservation. He called Brahmins as twice-born endowed with good deeds of past births, having "characteristics like clean habits, vegetarian, a lover of Carnatic music and all good qualities rolled into one... is never communal, he is always considerate, he is an ahimsavadi (non-violent person)"

This raised the century old incidents to the fore.

"The Ezhava Uprising in Kalpathy" - ^[16]

^[17]

References

1. "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Kerala". www.censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
2. "Pin Code: KALPATHI, PALAKKAD, KERALA, India, Pincode.net.in". pincode.net.in. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
3. "Kerala HC Judge Calls on Brahmins to 'Agitate' Against Caste-Based Reservations".
4. "Why the century-old Ezhava rebellion in Kalpathy remains a forgotten footnote in Kerala history". 29 November 2023.
5. kareemadathil, nadeesh (16 November 2014). "Kalpathy heritage village on bad days". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
6. "Kalpathy Agraharam and Kalpathy Ratholsavam | Heritage & Cultural Zone | Palakkad District | Malabar Districts in Kerala". www.keralatourism.org. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
7. Staff Reporter (14 November 2021). "Scale-down". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 30 September 2022.
8. "State govt gives nod for Kalpathy 'Ratholsavam'". OnManorama. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
9. "Kalpathi Heritage Village | Kalpathi Rathotsavam | Tourist Places in Palakkad". Kerala Tourism. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
10. "Temple finder - Sri Lakshmi Narayana Swamy Temple, Kerala, Palakkad". www.templefinder.in. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
11. "Contact Us – Chathapuram Sri Prasanna Maha Ganapathy Temple" . Retrieved 30 September 2022.
12. "Festival fervour grips Kalpathy". The Hindu. 15 November 2018. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 30 September 2022.
13. "Govindarajapuram Varadaraja Perumal Temple". templesofindia.org. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
14. "Vaidhyanathapuram Krishna Temple, Palakkad, Kerala, India". indiasthan.com. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
15. "Why the century-old Ezhava rebellion in Kalpathy remains a forgotten footnote in Kerala history". 29 November 2023.
16. "The Ezhava Uprising in Kalpathy". 18 August 2019.
17. "Kerala HC Judge Calls on Brahmins to 'Agitate' Against Caste-Based Reservations".