Palakkadan serenity in Japan: a stroll through the scenic Little World in Inuyama

A short walk led to Palakkad. A little further on, Mundur... and then, before me, stood the Chanakath Tharavadu from Adakkaputhur. Well, I'm not talking about Kerala; I'm talking about Japan. A miniature Kerala is nestled within the 'Little World Museum of Man' in Inuyama, near Nagoya. It was my friend V.S. Anoop, a native of Kannur residing in Nagoya, who first told me about this Malayali house in Inuyama.

Little World, true to its name, is a small world in itself. Houses and locales from various parts of the globe have been faithfully reproduced here. Among them, the house representing India is the Chanakath Tharavadu from Adaykkaputhur in Vellinezhi Panchayat - a traditional four-sided courtyard house, a 'nalukettu', built with unplastered laterite stone.

From inside the house, a song rises: "Entha Thavam Seithanai Yashoda..." Following the music, a Japanese commentary explains: "This is a house from a rural village in Kerala, India. Malayalam is the spoken language there..." The commentary continues for a short while. Whether you observe it from the outside or step inside, you'd be hard-pressed to tell it wasn't a house from back home.

The pond, the bathing pavilion (kulappura), the sacred basil altar (thulasithara), and the long verandah are all replicated with astonishing accuracy. Inside, traditional items once common in our homes - a reclining chair (charukasera), a palm leaf umbrella (thoppikuda), a wooden grain chest (pathayam), grinding stones (ammi and attukallu), and large traditional utensils - have all been meticulously recreated. What's more, there's even a well, just like those in our villages, with plenty of water in it.

The Little World Museum was established in 1970 on a sprawling 600-acre plot. The Chanakath house was added there in 1987. A Japanese engineer visited Kerala, lived there for a period, and studied the local 'nalukettu' architecture. It was only after this extensive study that the Chanakath house was meticulously modelled and constructed in Little World.

Raw materials necessary for the house's construction, including the laterite stones, were brought directly from Kerala. Being there gives you an undeniable feeling of having travelled back home. Visitors from various countries gaze at the interior of the nalukettu and its long verandah. Outside the compound wall surrounding the house, there's a postbox, authentically labelled 'Cherpulassery Post Office'.

Right outside, there's also a vibrant Indian market, filled with the sounds of Hindi songs. Goods from India, however, are sold at four times their original price. The Japanese shop assistant greeted me with a warm "Namaste…”.
When I mentioned I was from Kerala, she beamed with delight. Indian incense sticks and traditional products are particularly abundant here.

Nearby, a small Indian restaurant offers a taste of home. Madhav, a native of Nepal, is the chef. "These days, not many Indians come to see the house like before, and because of this, business isn't what it used to be", Madhav lamented.