From Tripunithura to Malgudi days

Every time I pass through the busy town of Tripunithura (which is my home town) it gives me the feel that I’ve travelled back in time. The place stands out from the city in almost every way except for the heavy traffic. Tripunithura is a town that boasts of its history through the old streets, temples at every corner, arches, statues at junctions, an age old palace that gives anyone who has watched the movie “Manichitrathazhu” the creeps if he/she passes the doors, a century old banyan tree at the entrance of the “Poornathrayeesha temple” (which was sadly cut and “cremated” inside the temple grounds recently) and the beautiful “kovilakams” which are houses that speak of the ancient Kerala architecture with extensive wood works (which again, sadly are being replaced by flats that quite mar the beauty, even if more convenient for the increasing number of inhabitants in the town). And another interesting aspect of the place is that, even though it’s crowded, everyone seems to know everyone else over here.


So, a dreamy head that I’m and Tripunithura being the place that usually takes me to a world different from today, my travel to this small village that lies in the Shimoga district of the western Ghats called Agumbe or the “Cherrapunchi of the south” got me even more fascinated. Though the place is known for its rainfalls, sunset point and the flora and fauna, what interested me most were the remains of what was “Malgudi” twenty-eight years back.


In 1985, the television series of “Malgudi Days” was entirely shot at Agumbe, transforming the place into Malgudi that captured the imaginations of every R.K.Narayan fan. As I visited Agumbe with my uncle who was part of the Malgudy Days crew then, I had the benefit of his stories about the shoot and the sets, slowly taking me to the world of Malgudi where Swami, Thanappa, Charu, Seth, Leela and many others walked the land. As I passed by the remains of what was once the Malgudi school, the steps by the well which was the town’s important meeting place, the clear waters and the old houses, I couldn’t help recollecting the various scenes of “Swamy and friends” and feel oh-so-nostalgic about it.


After a delicious lunch at the village head’s house, our next stop-over was at a small tea-shop that is almost in ruins and is run by an even older man. As my uncle explained to me how several scenes of the shoot was planned and discussed at this very shop and this man has been there ever since then and today is running this tea shop not for the profits, but for the mere memory of those good times, he got us a glass of a drink that was a herbal infusion, the wonderful taste of which still lingers in my heart..


As he walked slowly stooping a bit, sat down on a three-legged stool with his pet cat on his lap and gazed thoughtfully, I couldn’t help wondering if he was actually an R.K.Narayan character, one who still lives in Malgudi and who took me to those very days in that brief moment..

   

                            AGUMBE, THEERTHAHALLI TALUK, SHIMOGA