Manjakkodi still very much in demand

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even though times have changed a lot, some traditions remain unchanged. Especially during Onam. ‘Manjakkodi,’ the yellow-coloured cloth which once satiated the long wait of kids for the ‘onakkodi’, still has takers today despite the popularity of western wear.Says S V P Unni, who runs the ‘S Velayudhan Pillai Son Handloom Cloth Merchant’ shop at Kaithamukku: ‘’People of all age groups still like this traditional cloth, which is considered a symbol of prosperity.’’ The shop, which he has been running for the past four decades, was established in 1869 and has been selling the ‘kodi’ from the very early days.Unni can reel off any number of stories about the ‘manjakkodi.’ One goes like this; if the sales cease before Thiruvonam, then the next Onam will be prosperous. He accepts that the current sales stand testimony to this as the stock taken for Onam sales on June 30 empties before Uthradom, the first day of Onam. He takes 1,000 sets during Onam season, which will sell like hot cakes before Onam ends. Many elders, he says, still attribute the concept of a new cloth called ‘onakkodi’ specifically to the ‘manjakkodi.’In the market, a set of four ‘manjakkodis’ is called a ‘thupatta’ and a set of eight, a ‘kacha’.  Unni buys the kodi from handloom centres at Avanakkuzhi and Kattachakkuzhi, near Balaramapuram. The ‘kodi’ comes in three different lengths, of half-a-metre, 3/4 metre and one metre, which cost  Rs. 15,  Rs. 20 and  Rs. 25 respectively. Other than ‘manjakkodi’, the traditional ‘puliyilakkara mundum neriyathum’, ‘set mundu’, ‘kasavu sari’ and ‘Kerala sari’ are also high in demand among women, whereas ‘valmundu’ and ‘chuttikkara thorthu’ are more popular among the older men. The ‘manjakkodi’ is also used as a sacred piece of cloth and it is placed before the pictures of deities and in temples. Tiny tots drape the ‘manjakkodi’ around the waist and also tie it as a headband.According to historian M G Sasibhooshan, ‘’the colour yellow has a divine and spiritual significance. People in Kerala attribute metaphysical or spiritual significance to the colour yellow.’’  Reminisces Asha A, a homemaker in her mid-forties from Thycaud: ‘’During my childhood days, children wore ‘manjakkodi’ on Thiruvonam day and used to sit on the floor to have the ‘onasadya.’ Infants draped in ‘manjakkodi’ were believed to usher in God’s grace to the entire family.” According to K Radhakrishnan of R K Garments at Kaithamukku, ‘manjakkodi’ sells more during Onam than Vishu, another auspicious occasion when it is popular. If some 3,000 ‘kachas’ are on demand during Onam season, during Vishu, only 500 ‘kachas’ are stocked.  The stock is taken from Balaramapuram during the month of Chingam. ‘’Even on the  Thiruvonam day, people come asking for ‘onakkodi’, but usually, the stock would have been sold out by then,’’ he adds.