KOCHI:History enthusiasts who visit the ancestral house of social reformer and thinker Sahodaran Ayyappan at Cherayi in Ernakulam will soon get a chance to see the mural adaptation of the famed ‘Misra Bhojanam’, (inter-caste dining of the people from the upper castes and the outcastes) propagated by Sahodaran Ayyappan. The authorities have begun the work on the art form which adorns the wall on the compound of his ancestral home.
Speaking to ‘Express’, Muraleedharan, secretary of Cherayi Sahodaran Ayyappan Smaraka Committee, said that the work is being carried out by mural artist Cletus under the supervision of KITCO and the cement mural depicting the characters of the ‘grand feast of all castes’, which was organised as part of a fight against the social evil of caste system, will be completed in three months, he said.
Besides, the work on Sahodaran Ayyappan museum is also proceeding at his ancestral house. The museum will showcase the artifacts associated with Ayyappan along with the digital collection of materials belonging to his life like documentaries, audio clippings and so on, he said. The cement mural is being prepared on a wall measuring 10 feet in width and 25 feet in length. The work on the museum and mural is being carried out under the Muziris heritage project of the state government and a total of Rs 2.6 lakh has been set aside for the art work while the museum is being set up at a cost of Rs 55 lakh, said Muraleedhran.
In 1917, Ayyappan organised the ‘misra bhojanam’ at his ancestral house at Cherayi. The feast, organised under the aegis of the Sahodara Sangham, an organisation that Ayyappan floated for eradicating the social evils attached to the cast system.
According to history buffs, the feast, attended by about 200 people including Pulayas, who were classed as the untouchables in those days, created an uproar in the society and Ayyapan was opposed by not only the conservative sections of society but also influential people from his own Ezhava community.