THE KOZHIKODE TALI - THE SEAT OF PATTANAM

With peerless grandeur and matchless splendor in three realms - religion,' royalty arid letters, as exemplified by the Porkali Bhagavathi at Tiruvalayanad Mamakam at Tirunavayi and pattattanam at Kozhikode the Zamorins have engraved their glory on the glittering pages of history in golden letters, as it were.  

A cusory glance at the working of the Revathi pattatanam is quite interesting, besides illuminating and elevating. The pattatanam begins on Revathi in Thulam falling in Oct-Nov and it is a seven- day literary festival vibrating with discourses, battle or wits, avadhanams, recitations, criticisms etc. Brahmins are sumptuously fed and treated with utmost honour.

At the end, the learned brahmins are fittingly rewarded with purses containing 101 fanams equivalent to 300 measures of paddy sufficient for the maintenance of one person. The recipient of this gets every year the same benefit, and it could be got by proxy even. But to the entitlement of that honour one has  to pass through ordeals. Learned luminaries subject the contestants to the most severest tests and draw out their acquisition from several outlets. It was open to all, and hence many intellectuals from far off places attended and obtained royal honours. 

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