padmanabha
18th August 2006, 08:49 PM
Three more weeks left for Thiru Onam. However, the artists at the Melarannoor vilayil veedu, are busy, designing Ona villu.
What is ona villu you ask?
Ona villu also know as pallivillu, is not exactly a bow but a broad, piece of wood on which miniature paintings of Ananthasayanam, Dasavaratham, Pattabhishekam, and Sree Krishna Leela are portrayed.
The consecration of Ona villu is an archaic function observed even today at the Temple of Sree Padmanabha. According to the available temple record, consecration of onavillu was held in 1520. Thiruvadi of Thruppappour, issued orders to Kannelan Matheven Asari, to make ona villu. Today his descendants execute the work.
The family members observe 41 days penance prior to the commencement of the work, which normally begins with the Malayalam New Year i.e. 17 August.
The villu are available in three dimensions-4.5, 4 and 3.5 FT IN length, 6 5.5 and 4 inches in width. They are half an inch thick.
The wood of Kadambu, maruthu, plavu, and aanjili are used for making the villu as they have smooth surfaces. They posses a wooden dye to cut the wood to the required dimension.This dye is more than 300 years old-said Umesh kumar one of the artists. Non-availability of vegetable colors forces us to use synthetic ones informed Bin kumar.
To begin with, the wood is cut into the desired size with the aid of the dye. After applying a coat of red, pencil sketches are made. The colors used are yellow, blue, green, white and black.
On the Thiru Onam day, the villus are taken to the temple. They are neatly displayed on the new cloth at the Natakasala at 5 am. Then they are taken to the accompaniment of music. The musicians render Raag Bilahari. Then the villus are taken as a procession along the oblong corridor of the temple before it is taken to the abhisravana mandapam near the sanctum.
Here red tassels and tender coconut fronds are tied. The A pair of Ananthasayanam villu are consecrated to the Lord Padmanabha, a pair of Dasavaratha to the Lord Narasimha, the villu childhood pranks of sree Krishna are dedicated to Lord Kkrishna, and scene like Crowning of Sree Rama, Sabarimoksham, Paduka pooja are depicted in the villu consecrated to Sree Rama.
The villus are removed on the third day.
In the recent past, the Temple trust has taken steps to distribute Palivillu to devotees for which advance booking is necessary
What is ona villu you ask?
Ona villu also know as pallivillu, is not exactly a bow but a broad, piece of wood on which miniature paintings of Ananthasayanam, Dasavaratham, Pattabhishekam, and Sree Krishna Leela are portrayed.
The consecration of Ona villu is an archaic function observed even today at the Temple of Sree Padmanabha. According to the available temple record, consecration of onavillu was held in 1520. Thiruvadi of Thruppappour, issued orders to Kannelan Matheven Asari, to make ona villu. Today his descendants execute the work.
The family members observe 41 days penance prior to the commencement of the work, which normally begins with the Malayalam New Year i.e. 17 August.
The villu are available in three dimensions-4.5, 4 and 3.5 FT IN length, 6 5.5 and 4 inches in width. They are half an inch thick.
The wood of Kadambu, maruthu, plavu, and aanjili are used for making the villu as they have smooth surfaces. They posses a wooden dye to cut the wood to the required dimension.This dye is more than 300 years old-said Umesh kumar one of the artists. Non-availability of vegetable colors forces us to use synthetic ones informed Bin kumar.
To begin with, the wood is cut into the desired size with the aid of the dye. After applying a coat of red, pencil sketches are made. The colors used are yellow, blue, green, white and black.
On the Thiru Onam day, the villus are taken to the temple. They are neatly displayed on the new cloth at the Natakasala at 5 am. Then they are taken to the accompaniment of music. The musicians render Raag Bilahari. Then the villus are taken as a procession along the oblong corridor of the temple before it is taken to the abhisravana mandapam near the sanctum.
Here red tassels and tender coconut fronds are tied. The A pair of Ananthasayanam villu are consecrated to the Lord Padmanabha, a pair of Dasavaratha to the Lord Narasimha, the villu childhood pranks of sree Krishna are dedicated to Lord Kkrishna, and scene like Crowning of Sree Rama, Sabarimoksham, Paduka pooja are depicted in the villu consecrated to Sree Rama.
The villus are removed on the third day.
In the recent past, the Temple trust has taken steps to distribute Palivillu to devotees for which advance booking is necessary