Tirur: From sugarcanes that sweeten the Navaratri celebrations to flowers for Onam and packets of puffed rice during the festive season, Vaniyamkulam in Palakkad supplies almost everything that adds flavour and colour to the festival scenes in Kerala.

Products from this village travel to festival markets all across a wide stretch from Ernakulam to Kozhikode. The trade is traditionally managed by a community known as the Chittiyanmar, who have been in this business for generations.

The community of around 5,000 people includes families who speak only Tamil, only Malayalam and some who are fluent in both. As the Navaratri approaches, they head to sugarcane farms in Salem, Tamil Nadu, to buy large stocks. By the time the festival begins, truckloads of sugarcane arrive in Kerala. For many, this sight of sugarcane stalls on the roadside is the first sign that Navaratri has begun.

This year, close to the Tunjanparambu in Tirur, about 10 vendors from Vaniyamkulam are selling sugarcane. During Navaratri, they distribute sugarcane across a wide network including Ernakulam, Perinthalmanna, Ottapalam, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Irinjalakuda, and Koppam. They also supply sugarcane to local vendors, ensuring a steady flow until Mahanavami, when extra truckloads are brought in to meet demand.

Beyond sugarcane, these traders are also behind the distribution of puffed rice (pori) and the crunchy local snack called murukku, staples at festive venues across Kerala. Puffed rice is brought mainly from Avinashi in Tirupur, while it is also produced in Koduvayoor and Tathamangalam near Palakkad, as well as in Mysuru. Though Vaniyamkulam once had its own puffed rice units, production eventually stopped.

Murukku, however, is still made locally in Vaniyamkulam, using both rice and tapioca. These crunchy treats, like sugarcane and puffed rice, are an essential part of Navaratri festivitie and have been brought to the state this time too in the state.

The community also plays a big role in supplying flowers to festival markets during the Onam season, sourcing them from the vast flower fields of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. While Selvaraj leads the flower trade, the veteran in sugarcane, puffed rice, and murukku sales at festival venues is Thekkinkattil Krishnankutty of Vaniyamkulam. Now 77 years old, Krishnankutty has been in the trade since his youth and remains a respected figure in the business.