Visit to Pervumba Village in Gods own country

One has just returned after a close encounter with nature at Pervumba village in Kerala State.
Pervumba is a 30 minute drive away from Palakkad Town. It is interesting to note the historical
origins of the word Pervumba. Tamil Brahmins migrated to Kerala from Thanjavur a few
hundred years back and settled down in communities which came to be known as agraharams.
Pervumba has one such agraharam known as East Village. This village is home to an ancient
temple dedicated to Goddess Ameba. As this temple was big, it was known as Periye Ameba
(periye means big in Tamil). Periye Ameba metamorphosed into Pervumba over the years and
today, the village is named Pervumbva.
One passes the historical village of Kalpathy along the way. We are welcomed by a group of
Malabar Hornbills flying in formation ,as soon as we enter Palakkad Town. We start our trek
through the verdant rice fields and coconut groves on foot. and soon find ourselves in the
middle of a tiny village with concentric rows of identical houses at the agraharam.
After thirty minutes of cruising through the fields, one sees a large water body in the
distance. We are informed by our guide that the water body is a lake surrounded by three
temples. The water is crystal clear and transparent and surrounded on all four sides by giant
trees.
We come to the edges of this lake to find many colourful birds. It is a pleasure to watch a
multitude of birds at close quarters, as they flock to the edge of the water. The water is
shallow and swampy and boating is not possible, so one has to be content watching the birds
from a distance. However, the deep blue sky, reflected in the crystal clearness of the waters is
a joy to behold. Watching the crimson sunset over the Ambala Kolam (Malayalam for Temple
Lake) is memorable.
After a brief stop to watch the birds, one goes deeper into the fields to spot the Malabar
Hornbill. After an hour of walking through the fields one can see a glimpse of this magnificent
bird. Hornbills are black in colour but have two large elliptical brown spots one on each side of
their large yellow coloured beak which makes them look incredibly attractive to behold.
Hornbills are shy creatures and fly away at great speeds on hearing the sound of footsteps.
Hence the ideal strategy to spot these gentle and shy friends, is to stealthily trek towards them
in a non menacing way and shoot with the camera as I did. Hornbills live on the coconut trees
and use their beaks to break open dried coconuts and eat the coconut fruit.
Pervumba, in Kerala situated in the border with Tamil Nadu is a sanctuary for the Malabar
Hornbill and several other colourful birds. This extraordinary area gets partly inundated by
about 2 feet of water in the monsoon months (July-September). Once below sea level, this area
was raised by earth movements which cut it off from the Eastern Ghats. It was broken up by
later earth movements into flat farmlands (where people can be seen growing rice) and higher
grounds with sandy, salt-free soil. The Hornbill depends on the thorny scrub of the higher
ground area for its feed. The other wildlife sighted at Palakkad includes blue bull, elephants,
foxes, jackals, wild-cats, and caracals.
How to get there?
Pervumba is 10 km. away from Palakkad Town. The non-stop drive from Palakkad to Pervumba
should not exceed thirty minutes.
By road:
Visitors traveling by road have to drive from Palakkad to Pervumba which is approximately10
km.
By air:
The nearest airport to reach Palakkad is at Coimbatore. Coimbatore is connected by direct
flights from most Indian cities.
By train:

Palakkad Railway Station is the nearest railhead to reach Pervumba. From Palakkad private
buses ply to Pervumba.
All trains going to Kochi and Thiruvanthapuram via Coimbatore stop at Palakkad.
Where to stay?
The Kairali Health Resort is one of the most convenient places to stay during ones visit to
Palakkad. This Resort arranges jeeps for the jungle safari. The resort charges Rs. 4500/- for an
air-conditioned double room with an attached bathroom during May to July which is the off
season.
Homestays are the only option for tourists who want to visit Pervumba on a budget. A family
of four can avail a homestay at Rs. 2000/- per night, exclusive of food. Breakfast, lunch and
dinner which includes traditional Kerala delicacies like idlis, dosas, injipuli (ginger with
tamarind) , rice and elisseri (pumpkin) can be home delivered from the small eateries at
Pervumba.
Where to eat?
Lots of small restaurants serving Malayali vegetarian cuisine dot Palakkad. Freshly steamed
vegetables with spices, cooked in coconut milk, with hot freshly steamed idlis are available at
most roadside dhabas. The food at the high profile hotels is only for the gastronomically
adventurous who like greasy food. Vegans can opt for fresh tropical fruits including watermelons, papayas, tender coconuts and bananas which are available at the local market.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
Murli Menon, is a travel writer, stress management consultant and
author based at Ahmedabad, India. He is the author of "ZeNLPLearning through stories" published by The Written Word Publications,
"ZeNLP-the power to succeed" published by Sage publications and
ZeNLP-the power to relax by New Dawn Press. He can be reached at
ceo@tips4ceos.com
________________________________________________________________________
_____
Courier payments/published magazine author copies to:
Murli Menon
E/503, Borsali Apt;
Khanpur
Ahmedabad-380001
Phone:079-25600269
________________________________________________________________________
High resolution digital photographs attached with caption.
The following article and photographs are copyrighted and all rights
are reserved. No part of this article or the accompanying photographs
may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information
storage or retrieval system without written permission from the author
by emailing us at ceo@tips4ceos.com

________________________________________________________________________
Courier payments/published magazine author copies to:
Murli Menon
E/503, Borsali Apt;
Khanpur
Ahmedabad-380001
Phone:079-25600269
________________________________________________________________________
High resolution digital photographs attached with caption.
________________________________________________________________________

Giant trees inside an evergreen forest at Pervumba

Rice fields surrounded by coconut and palm trees at Pervumba

Sunset over Pervumba

Traditional houses at Pervumba

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
Murli Menon, is a travel writer, stress management consultant and
author based at Ahmedabad, India. He is the author of "ZeNLPLearning through stories" published by The Written Word Publications,
"ZeNLP-the power to succeed" published by Sage publications and

ZeNLP-the power to relax by New Dawn Press. He can be reached at

ceo@tips4ceos.com
________________________________________________________________________
_____
Courier payments/published magazine author copies to:
Murli Menon
E/503, Borsali Apt;
Khanpur
Ahmedabad-380001
Phone:079-25600269
________________________________________________________________________
High resolution digital photographs attached with caption.
The following article and photographs are copyrighted and all rights
are reserved. No part of this article or the accompanying photographs
may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information
storage or retrieval system without written permission from the author
by emailing us at ceo@tips4ceos.com
________________________________________________________________________
Courier payments/published magazine author copies to:
Murli Menon
E/503, Borsali Apt;
Khanpur
Ahmedabad-380001
Phone:079-25600269
________________________________________________________________________
High resolution digital photographs attached with caption.
________________________________________________________________________