UDAYA, Chakkamkulangara

UDAYA...so many memories of this house! I must have first come to this house when I was just a few days old... way back in October 1971. I, for sure, cant remember this trip! From 1973 onwards every summer, saving 2 or 3 years, I used to come to Udaya to spend time with my grand parents, aunts, uncles & my cousins. Every year before the school summer vacation started, I used to look forward to this annual trip to Udaya.

Udaya used to be the place where my grand parents used to live for many many years - long before I was even born. This house was very near the Chakkamkulangara Shiva temple and bang opposite the temple "kulapura". This house was set admist a garden carefully nurtured by my grand mother who used to spend a lot of her time in the mornings and evenings, pulling out dried leaves, weeds, watering the plants, cutting away branches to give the shrub/plant a nice look.

I have heard that Udaya used to have many small rooms when my grand parents moved into the house. They then had to knock of a few walls, build news ones so that Udaya could be more comfortable to stay in.

During the summer vacation the drawing room of Udaya used to become a room where we as kids would sleep, hear stories from Mahabaratha/Ramayana, watch movies on video or just sit and talk away late into the night.

The "naalukettu" was where we all used to play/hang around. The elders in the family would sit on the "thinna" and we kids used to play around the area. It was always fun during the time it used to rain. Water would come pouring into the naalukettu area. The sound of rain falling on the tile ("odu") roof was in itself music to my ears.

Even though Udaya was such an old house, everybody loved the days that were spent there. But as years rolled on, Udaya, started to have her own problems. Old age was definetly taking its toll on her. My grand parents and everybody else moved to another part of Tripunithura - to a house that was more modern and new.

With nobody to take care of Udaya, parts of the house soon became inaccessible. It indeed was a sorry site to see Udaya falling apart literally. Within a very short span of time, the entire back portion that used to house the dining room, the kitchen, store all fell down.

In spite of trying to do a bit of maintenance, Udaya had become too old to survive. Parts of the house were occupied till as late as 2007, by my parents. After my parents too moved to their own house in yet another part of Tripunithura, Udaya was locked up.

As long as my grand father was alive, nobody from the office of real estate (they were the people who were looking after all the common property that once belonged to the erstwhile Cochin Royal Family) even dared to come and take pocession of the house.

As soon as my grand father passed away, these office bearers took over the land and Udaya. They have now completely demolished the house or what ever that was left of Udaya.

Last time I heard about this place was that they were going to auction the land ....

From now on what ever happens to that piece of land, I, for sure, will have very fond memories of the place that I always used to consider as HOME. I'm sure a lot of people will agree with me on this!