Vallarpadam, for people living with the sea breeze on Kochi’s backwaters, is miracle town. One among the many small islands that dot the landscape, the Vallarpadam church is where all the magic happens. Of special significance is the Mother Mary painting hanging in its deep recesses. Vallarpadathamma (Mother of Vallarpadam) has a curious history that dates back to the 16th century. The Portuguese had established a small shed as a church for the Holy Spirit on the island and installed a wooden painting of Mother Mary and child titled ‘Blessed Mary of Mercy’ that they had brought from Portugal. In the floods of 1676, the church was washed away and when the Diwan (prime minister), Paliyath Raman Valiyachan, was out surveying the damage by boat, he found the picture floating in the waters. He picked it up and was instantly taken by it. He donated an acre-and-a-half of land to build a church and also donated two lamps and a year’s supply of oil to keep it lit all year long. (Even today, on feast day, September 24, the fire in the lamps are put out and a member of the Paliyath family lights the lamps for the next year.)
However, it was in 1752 that the icon began to be known as Vallarpadathamma and the church as Vallarpadam church. If local lore is to be believed, it all started with “the miracle of Meenakshiamma, by far the most amazing in the history of miracles”. Apparently, on May 23, 1752, Meenakshiamma of Palliyil house and her one-year-old child were going to the Ernakulam mainland with their relatives. The boat had reached the middle of the lake when a storm picked up suddenly and it sank. The men swam to shore but the woman and child were not to be seen. Islanders began a search but to no avail and finally gave them up for dead. That night, church vicar Fr Miguel Correa had a dream that the woman and child were alive underwater. He directed the rescuers to the spot he had dreamt about and Meenakshiamma and child were lifted out of the waters alive.
The story goes that when Meenakshiamma was sinking she called out to Vallarpadathamma—and she wasn’t even a Christian. She promised to devote the rest of her life to Mary’s service if she and her child were saved. It was a promise she kept. After her death, the church put up the picture of Meenakshiamma and her child alongside the painting of Mary.
Photograph by Sivaram V.
Centuries on, Vallarpadathamma has transcended religion and is now part of the island’s common heritage. “Every household in my extended family has a picture of Vallarpadathamma,” says Hajeendra Kumar. “We seek her guidance before we do anything. Every year, all our relatives gather on the island and we give a pot of buttermilk to the church. It’s a symbolic gesture, but we continue with the practice for in earlier times my family used to supply buttermilk to the pilgrims who visited the church by boat,” he adds.
The miracles haven’t stopped either. Two years ago, 10-year-old Carmala Sindhya, a frail girl in a blue uniform and pigtails, was knocked down by a bus while crossing the highway. Eyewitnesses say her bloodied left wrist hung by the skin and her skull had flooded with the pressure of her blood. She lay lifeless on the road directly in the path of the two white magnificent towers of the Vallarpadam Church. Carmala’s mother Jasmine Joy, like most people on this tiny island, believes strongly in divine intervention. “Carmala was a bright young girl who loved to dance and paint. Soon after the accident, doctors were struggling to save her. I knew death was hovering close and we had almost given up hope,” she says. But the church’s vicar started an all-night vigil for her pleading for mercy. “The operation went off well and she was out of the ICU on the third day. Today, she’s just like every other bubbly teenager. There’s no evidence she has had an accident except for a small scar on the left wrist,” says Jasmine.
Fr Joseph Thannikott, the present rector and vicar, says at least 15 miracles happen every week in Vallarpadam, not to forget the numerous other minor ones like people getting their desired jobs, funds for building a house, visas to go abroad etc. “Childless couples seem to benefit the most. One couple was blessed with a child after 19 years of marriage,” he says. Whether all this is just a series of happy coincidences or a curious case of people only looking at the positive side is a matter of debate. But for the folks in Vallarpadam, their faith in their beloved church cannot be shaken.
