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50-585: Olappamanna Mana is a heritage building, the ancestral home of a Nambuthiri family by name, Olappammanna . The building, an Ettukettu , constructed in Kerala architectural style , is situated in Vellinezhi , a village on the banks of Kunthipuzha River , in Cherpulassery of Palakkad district in the south Indian state of Kerala . The building is around 24 km from Ottapalam railway station and
100-652: A Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state of Kerala , India, where they constituted part of the traditional feudal elite. Headed by the Azhvanchery Thamprakkal Samrāṭ , the Nambudiris were the highest ranking caste in Kerala. They owned a large portion of the land in the region of Malabar , and together with the Nair monarchs, the Nambudiris formed the landed aristocracy known as
150-425: A 20-acre plot, is known have been built in 18th century and is surrounded by verdant land. Some portions were added later which are also around 200 years old (as of April 2019). Once a vibrant hub, Olappamanna Mana now functions as a trust, ensuring its continued vitality through hosting public events, film shoots, and performing arts classes. Established in 1990 by Sri Olappamanna Damodaran Nambudiripad to preserve
200-559: A member of the Madras State Legislative Council , O. M. Parameshwaran Nambuthiripad (1899–1942), the publisher of Sahithi , a magazine exclusively for Malayalam poems, O. M. C. Narayanan Nambuthiripad (1910–1989), the Sanskrit scholar who translated Rig Veda into Malayalam and the author of Snapaka Yohannan , a play for Kathakali, O. M. Subramanian Nambuthiripad (1923–2000), better known as Olappamanna ,
250-576: A vasthram. Nambudiris wore their traditional hair tufts ( kuṭumi or śikhā ) on the front like the Dikshitars of Tamil Nadu. Nambudiri Brahmin families practised a more strict version of primogeniture than Brahmin communities elsewhere in India. Under this custom, only the eldest son could marry a Nambudiri woman and thus produce an heir to the family property. Younger sons were restricted to sambandam relationships with non-Brahmin women, whom
300-419: Is certain that in theory hypergamy can cause a shortage of marriageable women in the lowest ranks of a caste and promote upwards social movement from the lower Nair subdivisions, the numbers involved would have been very small. It was not a common practice outside the higher subcaste groups and the Nambudiris had mostly stopped the practice by the 1920s. The form of Sanskrit theatre known as Koodiyattam , which
350-572: Is constituted for each of the languages. The language of the most recent recipient's work is not eligible for consideration for the next two years. Each committee consists of three literary critics and scholars of their respective languages. All the nominations are scrutinised by the committee and their recommendations are submitted to the Jnanpith Award Selection Board. The Selection Board consists of between seven and eleven members of "high repute and integrity". Each member
400-592: Is native to Kerala, was traditionally patronised by Nambudiris. Jnanpith The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to
450-554: Is situated along Ambadi-Para Road, off Ottapalam - Mannarkkad Road, in Vellinezhi, near Mavulliparambu Ayyappan Temple. The rail access is via Ottapalam railway station , around 14 km away and Kozhikode International Airport , the nearest airport, is 57 km away from the building. Nambuthiri The Nambudiri ( Malayalam pronunciation: [n̪ɐmbuːd̪iɾi] ), also transliterated as Nampoothiri , Nambūdiri , Namboodiri , Namboothiri and Nampūtiri , are
500-600: The Jenmimar , until the Kerala Land Reforms starting in 1957. The Nambudiris have traditionally lived in ancestral homes known as Illams and have been described by anthropologist Joan Mencher as, "A wealthy, aristocratic landed caste of the highest ritual and secular rank." Venerated as the carriers of the Sanskrit language and ancient Vedic culture, the Nambudiris held more power and authority than
550-647: The Palakkad Gap , which is also the largest opening in the southern Western Ghats , and settled around the river Bharathappuzha . The region around Coimbatore near Karnataka - western Tamil Nadu border was ruled by the Cheras during Sangam period between 1st and the 4th centuries CE and it served as the eastern entrance to the Palakkad Gap , the principal trade route between the Malabar Coast and Tamil Nadu . The Azhvanchery Thamprakkal , who were
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#1732802227115600-857: The Sahu Jain family , conceived an idea in May 1961 to start a scheme "commanding national prestige and of international standard" to "select the best book out of the publications in Indian languages". Later in November, Rama Jain, the Founder President of the Bharatiya Jnanpith, invited a few literary experts to discuss various aspects of the scheme. Jain along with Kaka Kalelkar , Harivansh Rai Bachchan , Ramdhari Singh Dinkar , Jainendra Kumar , Jagdish Chandra Mathur , Prabhakar Machwe, Akshaya Kumar Jain, and Lakshmi Chandra Jain presented
650-625: The Brahmins who migrated through the Palakkad Gap . Anthropologists Heike Moser and Paul Younger note that the Nambudiri Brahmin presence predates the 9th century, as attested by grants of land given to them by ruling families. According to the historian Romila Thapar , local kings and chiefs encouraged them to move to the area by offering such tax-exempt land grants in return for them officiating in Vedic rites that would legitimise
700-688: The Chief Priest at the Badrinath Temple , one of the holiest temples for Hindus. Furthermore, the spiritual leader of the Nambudiri Brahmins is given the title Azhvanchery Thamprakkal Samrāṭ , with the word "Samrāṭ" meaning "Emperor" in the Sanskrit language. Aside from holding rights over the sacred Guruvayur Temple , the presence and blessings of the Azhvanchery Thamprakkal was a ritual necessity during
750-741: The Constitution of India and English, with no posthumous conferral. From 1965 till 1981, the award was given to the authors for their "most outstanding work" and consisted of a citation plaque, a cash prize and a bronze replica of Saraswati , the Hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom. The first recipient of the award was the Malayalam writer G. Sankara Kurup who received the award in 1965 for his collection of poems, Odakkuzhal ( The Bamboo Flute ), published in 1950. The rules were revised in subsequent years to consider only works published during
800-471: The Nair aspirational culture whereby they would seek to improve their status within the caste. Furthermore, that: ... among the higher-ranking Nayars (and Kshatriyas and Samantans) in contradistinction to the "commoner" Nayars, no two subdivisions admitted to equal status. Thus the relations set up by the tali-rite [ie: the thalikettu kalyanam ] and the sambandham union were always hypergamous. Although it
850-442: The Nambudiris considered to be concubines and whose offspring could not inherit. This tradition limited the extent of marriage within their own caste and led to the practice of hypergamy with the Nair community. Kathleen Gough notes that: These hypergamous unions were regarded by Brahmans as socially acceptable concubinage , for the union was not initiated with Vedic rites, the children were not legitimized as Brahmans, and neither
900-442: The Nambudiris could be found in all matters related to Kerala , including religion, politics, society, economics and culture. Operating from their illam houses, Nambudiris' ownership of agricultural land under the janmi system increased over many centuries and, according to Moser and Younger, they "established landholding temples and taught the people the rules of caste". The Nambudiris have been described to be responsible for
950-477: The Sanskrit influence on Malayalam , a Dravidian language, due to the Nambudiri Brahmin's mixing of Sanskrit and the local Tamil language. Medieval Kerala has been characterised as an oligarchy which was dominated by the Nambudiris, who owned all the temples and their subsidiary villages. The Nambudiris had influence with the ruling class through the practice of sambandam , where younger Nambudiris used to have relationships with Kshatriya women or women from
1000-547: The area, sociologist Randall Collins thinks it is unlikely that such a change could be imposed and says that "more probably it was the result of a process of marriage politics spread by emulation in the decentralised situation of status competition." Some other scholars believe that the matrilineal customs predate the period entirely and cite the queens of the Pandyan dynasty as evidence for this. The unwillingness of Nambudiris to adapt to changes in wider society persisted until
1050-439: The basis of the Malayalam language version of the epic. There are lots of theories as to how Nambudiri Brahmins came to settle in Kerala, the commonly accepted point of view is that they moved in from North India via Tulu Nadu or Karnataka . Another theory based on the retention of Mahabharata types as memorized by different Brahmin communities points to Tamil Nadu as the base from which they migrated to Kerala via
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#17328022271151100-518: The coronation of the Zamorin , the Nair king of Kozhikode . They have historically been distinguished by rare practices such as the adherence to Śrauta ritualism , the Pūrva-Mīmāṁsā school of Hindu philosophy and orthodox traditions, as well as many idiosyncratic customs that are unique among Brahmins , including primogeniture . Cyriac Pullapilly mentions that the dominating influence of
1150-488: The cultural, literary and linguistic traditions of Kerala, the Mana gave birth to a number of scholars, art connoisseurs and writers; O. M. Narayanan Nambuthiripad (1838–1902), O. M. Neelakandan Nambuthiripad (1863–1935), both Sanskrit scholars and vedic teachers, O. M. Vasudevan Nambuthirpad (1881–1926), the author of Dhruva Charitham Kathakali drama, O. M. Narayanan Nambuthiripad (1890–1944), holder of Raobahadur title and
1200-467: The descendants of Olappamanna family. It was also reported that Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar , the noted Carnatic musician , used to teach at the Mana. A book has been written on the Mana, by N. P. Vijayakrishnan, which details the history, architecture and socio-cultural contributions of the members of the family; the book has foreword written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair , the Jnanpith laureate. Mana
1250-525: The draft was finalised and later presented to Prasad. The first award selection committee meeting was scheduled on 16 March 1963 and Prasad was appointed as its president. However, Prasad died on 28 February 1963 and thus the scheduled meeting was chaired by Kalelkar and Sampurnanand acted as president of the committee. The first Selection Board consisted of Kalelkar, Niharranjan Ray , Karan Singh , R. R. Diwakar , V. Raghavan , B. Gopal Reddy , Harekrushna Mahatab , Rama Jain, and Lakshmi Chandra Jain and
1300-503: The early years of the 20th century but Susan Bayly believes that their decline in significance can be traced to the period 1729-1748 when Marthanda Varma established the Kingdom of Travancore and chose to use Iyer and Deshastha Brahmins from Tamil Nadu in his civil service. She believes that decision undermined the relationship between the Nambudiri Brahmins and royalty in the region, although others have said that Varma's influence
1350-429: The first woman to win the award and was honoured for the 1965 novel Prothom Protishruti ( The First Promise ), the first in a trilogy. The most recent recipients of the award are Sanskrit scholar Rambhadracharya and Urdu writer, Bollywood lyricist Gulzar jointly awarded for the year of 2023. The Bharatiya Jnanpith , a research and cultural institute founded in 1944 by industrialist Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain of
1400-476: The grantors' status as rulers. They also gained land and improved their influence over the socio-economic life of the region by helping rulers during the wars between the Chola and Chera dynasties when Vedic schools were turned into military academies. Adi Shankara , one of the most revered Vedic scholars of Hinduism, was a Nambudiri ascetic who initiated the protocol of permitting only Nambudiris to lead as
1450-581: The initial draft to the then President of India Rajendra Prasad who had shown interest in the scheme's implementation. The idea was also discussed at the 1962 annual sessions of the All India Gujarati Sahitya Parishad and the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad. On 2 April 1962, around 300 writers of various Indian languages were invited to Delhi for the two sessions conducted by Dharamvir Bharati in which
1500-405: The kings and were "above and outside the political systems of the kingdoms." Nambudiri mythology associates their immigration to Kerala from the banks of Narmada , Krishna , Kaveri rivers with the legendary creation of Kerala by Parashurama , the sixth avatar of Vishnu . According to this legend, the region was created when Parashurama threw his axe into the sea Although it is known that
1550-622: The landholdings, inheritance customs and marriage arrangements of both the Nambudiris and Nairs. The traditional basis of life was challenged by these and other changes, affecting also the other major ethnic groups of the area, such as the Ezhavas and the Syrian Christians . Like others, the desire for social reform went strong among the Nambudiris which led to the formation of the Yogakshema movement in 1908 in order to agitate for
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1600-487: The mana's rich cultural heritage, the Deviprasadam Trust oversees its operations. The place has now been converted into a home stay since 2006, managed by Olappamanna Damodaran Nambudiripad, and the facility offers cultural tourism. The principal photography of four Malayalam films, Aaram Thamburan , Parinayam , Aakasha Ganga and Thanmathra , were done on the premises of the Mana. The Mana, which
1650-701: The marriage of all the junior males within the community itself. It also focused on popularising the English language study and abolishing the Purdah system among the Nambudiri females. The Nambudhiri Brahmins are a super-minority community in Kerala. According to the 1901 Census reports, they represent 0.47% of the total population of Nambudiris within Kerala. They are dominant and highly influential in British Malabar , where they account for more than 66% of
1700-413: The nearest airport is Calicut International Airport which is 57 km away. Olappamanna Mana is the ancestral home to Olappamanna Nambuthiri family, in the village of Vellinezhi , situated on the banks of Kunthipuzha , in Cherpulassery , Palakkad district , in the south Indian state of Kerala . The building, an ettukettu (a building with eight sections linked together by two courtyards) housed in
1750-478: The noted Malayalam poet and a recipient of several honours including Kendra Sahitya Akademi and Kerala Sahitya Akademi awards, O. M. Anujan (1928–), poet, Kathakali scholar and academic, Leela Nambuthiripad (1934–), better identified as Sumangala , the noted writer of children's literature, Eminent Psychiatrist Dr.O.N.Vasudevan (1940–2002), and Sri Olappamanna Damodaran Nambudiripad (Heritage Visionary, Patron, and Chief custodian of Olappamanna Mana) feature among
1800-545: The oldest Nambudiri settlements of Kerala are situated around the River Bharathappuzha . The Kingdom of Tanur , Kingdom of Valluvanad , Perumpadappu Swaroopam , and the kingdom of Palakkad , located around the river Bharathappuzha , were once strongholds of Nambudiris. The introduction of Grantha script which later got evolved into Malayalam script , and the evolution of Malayalam language through Sanskritisation of Middle Tamil are highly related to
1850-565: The oldest known rituals, was maintained by Nambudiri Brahmins until at least 1975. Although it may have largely died out elsewhere in India and thus be symptomatic of the community's resistance to change, David Knipe notes that it is still performed regularly in Andhra Pradesh and has been for centuries. Traditionally, they wore a simple cloth around the waist called a thorthu (or thortumundu ), in domestic settings. When they had to travel, they wore two sets of cloth in addition known as
1900-410: The practice of strict primogeniture and patrilineal inheritance. Despite their younger members having hypergamous relationships with Nairs , whose caste traditions were matrilineal , Nambudiri families remained aloof from general society. Although the historian E. K. Pillai has claimed that the Nambudiris from the 1100s enforced matrilineal polyandry on the previously patrilineal communities of
1950-831: The preceding twenty years, excluding the year for which the award was to be given and the cash prize was increased to ₹ 1.5 lakh (equivalent to ₹ 31 lakh or US$ 37,000 in 2023) from 1981. As of 2015 , the cash prize has been revised to ₹ 11 lakh (equivalent to ₹ 17 lakh or US$ 20,000 in 2023) and out of twenty-three eligible languages the award has been presented for works in sixteen languages: Hindi (eleven), Kannada (eight), Bengali and Malayalam (six each), Urdu (five) Gujarati , Marathi , Odia (four each), Assamese and Telugu (three each), Punjabi , Tamil , Konkani and Sanskrit (two each), English, Kashmiri and (one each). The award has been conferred upon fifty-eight writers including eight women authors. In 1976, Bengali novelist Ashapoorna Devi became
2000-583: The present-day region of Kerala was once governed by the Chera dynasty , little information exists regarding its early ethnography. Brahmin presence in the Tamil country is attested from the Sangam period onward. Based on the fact that Nambudiris are Pūrvaśikhā Brahmins wearing the traditional hair tuft on the front, T.P Mahadevan proposes that they are the descendants of these Sangam age Brahmins who moved west into
2050-584: The region of Malabar during the Kalabhra interregnum, with those remaining behind in what is today Tamil Nadu composing the Śōḻiya Brahmins. This sets them apart from the later Aparaśikhā Brahmin (wearing their hair tufts on the back) migrants to South India such as the Tamil Iyers . According to T.P Mahadevan, the Nambudiris brought with them a very early recension of the Mahabharata which became
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2100-427: The titular head of all Nambudiri Brahmins of Kerala, originally had right over parts of present-day Palakkad Taluk. Later they moved westwards along the River Bharathappuzha and settled around the river. Finally the Azhvanchery Thamprakkal bought Athavanad- Tirunavaya region in present-day Tirur Taluk and gave Palakkad to Palakkad Raja s ( Tarur Swaroopam ) who were originally from Athavanad region. Many of
2150-621: The total population of Nambudiris in Kerala. Most of them reside in the Palakkad and Kozhikode districts of South Malabar and the Kannur district of North Malabar . A small Population is also found in Cochin and Travancore Kingdom . The following Vedic recensions are attested among them. The ancient Vedic ritual of Agnicayana (the altar of fire), which spans a 12-day period and which Frits Staal and Robert Gardner claim to be one of
2200-421: The upper sections of the Nair caste. The children of such unions were not considered Nambudiris, but a part of their matrilocal lineages. As a result of such unions, many kings and ruling chiefs in Kerala would be the offspring of Nambudiri fathers. These arrangements allowed the Nambudiris to gain political power in addition to religious and cultural dominance. The Nambudiri's grip on land was maintained through
2250-405: The woman nor her child was accorded the rights of kin. By the matrilineal castes, however, the same unions were regarded as marriage, for they fulfilled the conditions of ordinary Nayar marriage and served to legitimize the child as an acceptable member of his matrilineal lineage and caste." The disparity in caste ranking in a relationship between a Brahmin man and a Nair woman meant that the woman
2300-412: Was frequented by the noted Kathakali performer, Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon , assisted him in promoting Kalluvazhi chitta , one of the traditions of Kathakali and Olappamanna Kaliyogam , a Kathakali school which propagated the tradition, functioned from the Mana premises until it was relocated to Kerala Kalamandalam by Vallathol Narayana Menon , the founder of the institution. Known to have promoted
2350-450: Was headed by Sampurnanand. Works that were published between 1921 and 1951 were considered for the first award. The nine language committees that were formed were to submit to the board nominations along with translations of the work into Hindi or English. The final round had four authors; Kazi Nazrul Islam (Bengali), D. V. Gundappa (Kannada), Viswanatha Satyanarayana (Telugu), and G. Sankara Kurup (Malayalam). On 19 November 1966, Kurup
2400-572: Was presented with the citation, statue of Saraswati , and a cheque for prize of ₹ 1 lakh (equivalent to ₹ 60 lakh or US$ 72,000 in 2023) at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhavan , Delhi. In his acceptance speech, Kurup appreciated the concept of the new award and thanked it for bringing "integration of the diverse people of this land on a spiritual plane". The nominations for the award are received from various literary experts, teachers, critics, universities, and numerous literary and language associations. Every three years, an advisory committee
2450-669: Was short-lived and that the main cause of change was the influence of British diplomats who worked with the Travancore Maharaja in the 19th century. After the passing of the Charter Acts of 1833 and 1853 in the British Parliament, the British encouraged the work of Christian missionaries, notably in provision of education, and began the introduction of a judicial system that would have a significant impact on
2500-458: Was unable to live with her husband(s) in the Brahmin family and so remained in her own family. The children resulting from such marriages always became Nairs. K. M. Panikkar argues that it is this type of relationship that resulted in the matrilineal and matrilocal system. It has also been argued that the practice, along with judicious selection of the man who tied the thali , formed a part of
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