A review of the book 'Temples and Legends of Kerala' written by K. R. Vaidyanathan.
Twenty five important temples of Kerala have been included in this book. Their origin, legends, architecture, rites, rituals and customs, traditions and festivals have been well described. It is a pilgrim's as well as a tourist's guide to Kerala.
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Coming up: A review of the book 'Temples and Legends of Kerala' written by K. R. Vaidyanathan.
Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.
Before I proceed, a full disclosure: This book was bought with my own money and not been provided to me by the publisher.
Little bit about the author:
K. R. Vaidyanathan was an accomplished writer who specialized in writing about temples, legends and worship of God. Apart from this book, he has also authored three other books. They are:
1. Pilgrimage to Sabarimala
2. Sri Krishna The Lord of Guruvayur and
3. Sri Krishna The Lord of Guruvayur: Divine Experiences
He retired from the Indian Railways after forty years of service and has also authored a book on railway humour and 150 years of Indian Railways.
Shri K. R. Vaidyanathan passed away on 4th March, 2016 at the age of 90.
Let me read a brief description of the book:
QUOTE
Twenty five important temples of Kerala have been included in this book. Their origin, legends, architecture, rites, rituals and customs, traditions and festivals have been well described. It is a pilgrim's as well as a tourist's guide to Kerala.
The temple is not only a place of worship but is also a house of prayer, a social club and a cultural center. A typical Malayalee begins his day by taking a bath in the temple pond, going round the deity with his face and chest smeared with ash and sandalwood paste and then starts his work.
Temples in Kerala (as many as 2,200) are places of visits not only for the devotees but also for the tourists. Each temple has its own legend, its own history and it is interesting to find out the details which are given in this book. The author has told these stories in a simple yet interesting manner for the benefit of all readers. Illustrations and pictures give more details.
UNQUOTE
The author starts the book with a very interesting “Dedication” page where he states:
QUOTE
This book is dedicated to the younger generation who were uprooted from their native soil as their parents had to seek livelihood in cities and they were therefore deprived of their knowledge and experience of the rich heritage of the unique Kerala temples.
UNQUOTE
I personally very much agree and identify with this. My parents had left Kerala in the mid 70s and I have grown up in various parts of Maharashtra and I was deprived of experiencing the Kerala way of life.
Of Kerala temples, Stella Kramrisch once wrote: "In this beauteous, bountiful country between sea and mountains, green in the density of high trees and fertile land, the temples - 2,200 are in worship - are part of the scene".
The author has done a great job of covering 20 odd main temples of Kerala in just over 200 pages. If you are planning to visit Kerala, which you should, then this book is a very good and handy reference to some of the most aesthetically designed beautiful Hindu temples in this world.
My perspective of looking at some of the temples I have previously visited has changed a lot for the better after reading this book. Can’t wait to visit Kerala again and look at things in a new way.
If you enjoy visiting temples and learning more about history and heritage, you will find this book very useful. I give the book 4.5/5.
The printed price of the book is Rs. 215/- and is available for the same price on Amazon India and for $15.38 USD on Amazon USA. The book is also available in Kindle format but not yet in Audible format. I have given the respective buy links in the show notes. Please check them out for the latest prices.
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