Thiruvallikkeni Sri Varadha Rajar Pavalakkal vimanam 2023

These big birds  are famous for their bright pink feathers, stilt-like legs, and S-shaped neck. Their  young are born white, with soft, downy feathers and a straight bill. The bill gradually curves downward as they mature.  When they spot their  potential dinner—favorite foods include shrimp, snails, and plantlike water organisms called algae—they  plunge their head into waer,  twists it upside down, and scoops the fish using its upper beak like a shovel. They are able to "run" on water, thanks to their webbed feet, to gain speed before lifting up into the sky.  It is - ‘flamingo’  said to come from the Spanish word ‘flamenco’ meaning fire, which refers to the bright pink or orange colour of the feathers.

Corals are sessile, which means that they permanently attach themselves to the ocean floor, essentially "taking root" like most plants do. We certainly cannot recognize them by their faces or other distinct body parts, as we can most other animals.  Corals actually comprise an ancient and unique partnership, called symbiosis, that benefits both animal and plant life in the ocean. Corals are animals, though, because they do not make their own food, as plants do. Corals have tiny, tentacle-like arms that they use to capture their food from the water and sweep into their inscrutable mouths.  

Today,  9^th June 2023  is  10th day of  Sri Varadha Rajar Uthsavam - ‘Sarrumurai’ purappadu in the beautiful “Pavalakkal Vimanam”.    Not sure, why this is called ‘Pavalakkal’ – pavazham is ‘coral’.  There is one street in Parrys area known as ‘Pavalakkarantheru’ for traders in coral used to live and transact business here !

Coral organisms, called polyps, can live on their own, but are primarily associated with the spectacularly diverse limestone communities, or reefs, they construct. Coral polyps are tiny, soft-bodied organisms related to sea anemones and jellyfish. At their base is a hard, protective limestone skeleton called a calicle, which forms the structure of coral reefs. Reefs begin when a polyp attaches itself to a rock on the sea floor, then divides, or buds, into thousands of clones.  Corals are marine invertebrates in the class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria. Precious coral or red coral is the common name given to Corallium rubrum and several related species of marine coral. The distinguishing characteristic of precious corals is their durable and intensely colored red or pink skeleton, which is used for making jewellery.   

இன்று ஸ்ரீவரதராஜர் உத்சவம் கடைசி நாள் - திருவல்லிக்கேணியில் தேவாதிராஜர் பவளக்கால் விமானத்தில் புறப்பாடு கண்டருளினார்.  பெரிய திருமடலில் ஒரு வரி : மன்னும் பவளக்கால் செம்பொன்செய் மண்டபத்துள் .. .. 'பவளத்தால் வேய்ந்த மண்டபம்  - : போகங்களின் எல்லையான பரம போகங்களை அநுபவித்துத் தீருகிறபடி சொல்லுகிறது. ஸ்வர்க்கலோகத்து அநுபவங்களின் சரமாவதியைச் சொல்லுகிறதாகையாலே இந்த வாக்கியத்தைச் சிறிது விரிவாகச் சொல்கிறார்.  

பவளக்கால் நாரை  என்பது பெயர்ச்சொல்.  ஆறு, ஏரி, கடல் முதலியவற்றின் கரைகளிலும் வயல்களிலும் நாரைகளை நீங்கள் பார்த்திருக்கலாம். இது கொக்கு இனத்தைச் சேர்ந்தது.  இவற்றில் ஒரு வகை - பூநாரை அல்லது செங்கால் நாரை [பிளமிங்கோஸ்].  இதன் அலகு அகலமாகவும், வளைந்தும் காணப்படும். இதன் கால்கள் நீண்டு சிவந்து இருக்கும்.   

             In his 1842 book, The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, Charles Darwin remarked that coral reefs were like an "oasis in the desert" - they were flush with life despite being surrounded by nutrient-poor seawater. This is a mystery that scientists have continued to grapple with, ascribing the diversity of reefs to the close relationships between the sea life within the reefs. Essentially, all food and waste produced within reefs is rapidly taken up, leaving only a few remnants in the seawater. However, a new study shows that tiny “cryptobenthic” reef fish – so called because they easily camouflage with the seafloor – may help make up the nutrient gap in coral reefs.  Because cryptobenthic fish are incredibly small and reclusive, they can be difficult to study, so their role in ocean ecosystems is still being understood. 

For us at Thiruvllikkeni, it is not sighting of flamingos or the news on Corals  are of interest .. .. but the purappadu on concluding day of Varadhar uthsavam – Sri DEvapperumal in pavalakkal vimanam and rendering of Iramanusanoorranthathi in goshti.  Here are some photos taken during the purappadu at Thiruvallikkeni.

 
adiyen Srinivasa dhasan
Mamandur Veeravalli  Srinivasan  Sampathkumar
09.06.2023.