THE BYGONE YEARS OF ARTS AND SPORTS IN UDUMBUNTHALA

EARLY KOLKALI SANGAM OF UDUMBUNTHALA

ഉടുമ്പന്തലയിലെ 

ആദ്യകാലത്തെ കോല്‍ക്കളി സംഘം:

FEATURED HERE: ONE OF THE EARLIEST

BATON-DANCERS TEAM OF UDUMBANTHALA

These boys are capable of taking the audience

to the hypnotizing magic world of Mapplila songs.

Bahumaanaa...Ibraheem...Adhuhamu
Radhiyallah...
Pathinettu raajiyam bittitha...
Karimbadam puthachchidune...

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UDUMBANTHALA FOLKCHILDREN,
IN THOSE GOOD OLD DAYS,
USED TO REJOICE THEMSELVES
WITH A VARIETY OF ETHNIC TOYS:

PLAVILA KUMBIL / JACK FRUIT LEAF SPOON

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OLAKKANNADA / COCONUT LEAF GOGGLES

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OLA WATCH / LEAF WATCH
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OLA PAAMBU / LEAF SNAKE

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OLA PEEPPI / LEAF WHISTILE

*       *       *

OLATHIRIPPU / LEAF RATTLE

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*       *       *

THE SAGA OF

NATIONAL  SPORTS CLUB

UDUMBANTHALA 1969

To ENLARGE,  CLICK on the images.

NATIONAL SPORTS CLUB

UDUMBANTHALA 1969

Back row: P.Ramachandran, V.Bhaskaran, P.T.Sudhakaran, N.V.Govindan,

Ameer Ali, M. Muhammad Ali, P.V.Yaseen, M.K.Balachandran.

Middle row: Abdul Khader (Akkaar, Punathil), V.Narayanan, Kunhiraman,

P.Bhaskaran, K.Balakrishnan, K.N.Hameed.

Front row: Mallika, M.K.Bhanu, P.V.Nafeesath Misiriya, Pushpa,

M.K.Soumini, N.V.Thambai.

A SPORTS CLUB

THAT PROMOTED

SCIENCE EDUCATION

The National Sports Club took birth in Udumbanthala

way back in 1969. 

The club mainly promoted sports like football and ball

badminton.

Besides, it promoted spreading of science education.

Perhaps it was first club in Kerala to promote science

education in rural areas. 

Curiously, during a time when  women's education was

still in the cradle stage, the National Sports Club,

Udumbanthala, encouraged girls in the village to

participate in  the science education programmes

of the club.

Besides providing books and journals on  science,

the club sponsored science exhibitions.

N.V. Govindan, Kuttichi,Udumbanthala was probably

the first schoolboy in Kerala to organize a science

exhibition for the rural folk.

The exhibition introduced and explained many scientific

phenomena through charts, models and experiments.

Most  of  the items featured were conceived

and designed by Govindan himself. Folk people thronged

in large numbers to view the display. 

A school boy conducting such a science exhibition was

quite unheard of  in those days.

N.V.GOVINDAN, Kuttichi, Udumbanthala

The boy who, single handedly, conducted a

Science Exhibition at Udumbanthala in 1969.

This boy soon started radiating  the

light of literacy (Saaksharatha),  teaching the

rural folk in Kuttichi to read and write--long

before the people of Kerala even started talking

about literacy programmes!

THE MINI SPORTS CLUB

UDUMBANTHALA, 1976

Back row:P.Ramachandrn,N.V.Govindan,BasheerAhamed,V.Manoharan,

Damodaran,P.Kunhikrishnan, M.K.Balachandran, P.V.Yaseen, Kunhiraman, Kannan.

Middle row: Raghavan, E.V.Kannan, P.T.Bhaskaran, K.Balakrishnan,P.Narayanan,

M.K.Abdullah,Rajan.

Front row: M.Pappan, T.V.Balakrishnan

The club promoted various folk plays like

Kory, Sodi, Kattiyum kolum and Daalum kolum.

But its primary concern was promotion of football.

It conducted "Sevens Football Tournament" on an

yearly basis. Football fans from the nearby villages

used to converge on Udumbanthala maidani to enjoy

the events.

M.K.ABDULLAH, CHERIYA KUTTICHI,

UDUMBANTHALA

A wonderful footballer of yesteryears.

As a left footer, having an incredible speed,

he was a nightmare to all goalkeepers!

ഉടുമ്പന്തലയിലെ

ആദ്യകാലത്തെ ചൂണ്ടയിടുന്ന 

കുട്ടികളുടെ സംഘം   

RIVERSIDE UDUMBANTHALA:

A TEAM OF

TROLLING BOYS 1969:

P.T. SUDHAKARAN                                 N.V. GOVINDAN

P.V. YASEEN                                             M.K. BALACHANDRAN

In the 1960s and the early 1970s, the four boys 

frequented the banks of Kavvayi river angling fish 

of all sorts "bringing home something for the curry."

The fish they used to catch included:

CHOOTTAH ചൂട്ട

KURUDAN കുരുടന്‍ 

KALLAN KEERAN കല്ലന്‍ കീരന്‍ 

ETTAH ഏട്ട

PULLAN പുല്ലന്‍ 

IRIMEEN ഇരിമീന്‍ 

KACHCHAAYI കച്ചായി

KALLUMEEN കല്ലുമീന്‍ 

Besides, at times, other types fish having only

"fun value" get trapped:

KANNICHCHAAN കണ്നിച്ച്ചാന്‍

VATTITHTHUNTHA വട്ടിതുന്ത 

MERINHAL മെരിഞ്ഞല്‍

Kannichchaan is also known as Maanathukanni, 

for its brilliant diamond sparkling on its head.

It mostly swims on the surface of water, and 

the fish was always a never-ending fascination

for boys and girls.

Vattiththuntha was another "fun fish" which,

usually gives great excitement for the boys.

The fish has sharp teeth as well as a beautiful

yellow patch on its belly.

 വട്ടിത്തുന്ത                                           Illustration: Yaseen P V

The fish can be blown into a balloon and once

caught, the boys usually will never let it go

without playing with the balloon for quite

a while.

Some boys, the really naughty ones,

will "burst the balloon up" by stepping on it--

the poor Vattiththuntha will go B-A-N -G-!

Merinhal was, in fact, a sort of eel and the

"the snake"  often turns out to be a nightmare

for the angler boys. It is really hard to tame

the Merinhal and free it off the hook!

Once a Merihal is trapped, the boys used to

yell out aloud seeking help from the elders!

"Ente choondakku Merinhal Keninheee..."

(A Merinhal got trapped in my hoooook...!)

In the bygone years,1960s and 1970s, the Kavvayi 

river had plenty of varieties of fish.

Presently, some of them have become extinct and 

many became extremely rare to be found.

In the bygone years, the folk children had plenty of

leisure time (having no TV or computer at their homes)

and they found pleasure in  roaming about the

riverside.

They playfully watched huge river crabs crawling in

and out of the gaping holes on the river bank.

Sometimes, they would also haul on to the sandy bank

gigantic jellly fish floating by.

The environmental changes and human greed had 

grabbed a lot of exciting things away. Those wonderful 

things, all those varieties nature offered are gone 

beyond the reach of the present generation.

Udumbunthala too lost a lot of its biodiversity

mainly due to the reckless exploitation of nature

by the  greedy hands of the so called civilization.

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