Don’t ever think that lying at the bottom of the country; Kerala will remain unpopular among the Indians. More than any other Indian state Kerala has made a special place in the hearts of not only Indians but also of foreigners. I have been always surprised by what may be the reason behind such large popularity? Later I realized that it may be the colourful festivals and unique culture and traditions. And it is true. The state is blessed with 14 districts and each district is known for its dazzling festivals. Irrespective of the religion and creed all the natives together celebrate the occasions in a grand way. Thus make the state different from other places in the country. It is being a long time since my mother was wishing to attend the famous church festival of St. Sebastian at Kanjoor church located in Ernakulum district in Kerala. I just asked her where she heard the name and what the peculiarity of the church is. She asked me whether I remember the day when my cousin (i.e. my mom’s nephew) told me about the church and the miracles happened over there. I said I don’t exactly remember what he said but I know that he is permanently settled in Kanjoor with his family for years. She said every year the St. Sebastian’s festival takes place in the month of January in St. Mary’s Church at Kanjoor. She also said that the saint is very powerful. I was amazed at how he could be powerful when the main deity of the church is Mother Mary. And I also asked her to share any of the stories if she was able to recollect from her memory. Oh! Why not I will definitely she replied (from her words I understood she was desperately waiting for someone to share the stories as she got me she was very happy).
The famous St. Mary’s Church at Kanjoor which is located on the banks of Periyar River was built in the year AD 1001. Even though it is a Christian pilgrim centre the church was constructed in an ancient Hindu archaeological style. It also has copied the designs from Indian, Persian and Portuguese artworks. The sanctum of the church was made out of gold dust, fruit pulp, and rare plant leaves. The mural paintings of the Nativity, the Annunciation, Blessed Virgin Mother, the offering of Lord Abraham, the presentation of the Lord in the Temple and the Ten Commandments to Moses add beauty to the church. Apart from this the church also has a rare collection of paintings, manuscripts, and antiques. I asked her how could she describe the beauty of the church has she ever visited the famous pilgrim. She said during her school days, she visited this mesmerizing church with her siblings. During those days the travel to the church was a little horrible and it took long hours to reach the destination. The journey has now become easy. Nowadays people from various parts of the world visit the splendid pilgrim shrine by availing of tour packages from the famous Dream Holidays travel operators in Kerala. They curate the packages by inculcating the price of air tickets for travellers to visit the Saint of Kanjoor also known as Kanjoor Punyavan.
There were many incidents took place in the history of Kanjoor that highly reflected the miraculous power of the St. Sebastian. Out of the several incidents, only two stories have gained much popularity. She started explaining the story. Years back on the day of the festival the famous ruler of the local kingdom named Sakthan Thampuran made a visit to Puthiyedam Kovilakam in Kanjoor. He was deeply immersed in a conversation with family. At that time the fireworks from the church interrupted his conversation and made the ruler furious. Angry ruler commanded his warriors to throw all the saluting mortars (Kathina Vedi) into the river. The warriors did accordingly. After returning to the mansion the mortars started bursting. The furious ruler scolded his disciples for not obeying his commands. They said they never disobeyed his words and asked him to go near to the river. By seeing the mortars bursting in the river he realized his mistake and went to the church and paid obeisance. He offered Elephant Lamp (Ana Vilakku) made out of from an alloy of five metals (Pancha Loha).
Followed to it one more incident also took place. Years later the ruler asked to demolish the gatehouse (padipura) of the church. As soon as the demolishing started the elephant of the palace (Kovilakam) started destroying the gatehouse of the palace. Understanding his mistake the ruler apologized and donated a perpetual lamp (Keda Vilaku) to the church and for meeting the expense of the oil the ruler gave permission to possess the paddy filed of the palace without paying tax.
Another miracle that took place during the colonial period in the 18th century. Tipu Sultan visited Kanjoor and decided to destroy the St. Mary’s church. People over there begged the Tipu Sultan to not to demolish the church. If he attempted to do so the saint will punish him. But he didn’t hear anyone’s words. He even tested the power of the saint. He looked at the statue and asked ‘if the statue has divine powers let it speak to me’. Soon the statute replied ‘won’t you allow me to rest’. Hearing the voice Tipu Sultan left the place without destroying the church. And the incident has been mentioned on the walls in front of the church.
After hearing the inspiring stories of Saint Sebastian, I now became a great devotee of him. More than my mom it is now me who desperately wants to visit the church. I told her to avail of the cheap and best tour packages to Kerala as soon as possible so that we could visit the church. But she asked me to wait until January. I asked why to wait for January. She told every year on January 19th and 20th the festival of St. Sebastian commences. And on 20th January after 2nd Holy mass, an eagle flies and it is considered as a glorious moment. I told her that I am going to book the packages for January in advance.