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Classic overview

Kari Gurukkal, also known as Pulimaranja Thondachan (the great grandfather who turned into tiger), is a folk god of Pulayas, a subaltern community in North Kerala. According to legends, Kari was a master of martial arts and other arts. Envious, the upper caste people ordered him to bring tiger mane and tail to cure the madness of the ruler. For this, he had to take the tiger form and go to the forest. To get his human form back when he returns from the forest, his wife should pour water used for cleaning rice and beat him with broom. But when he returns from the forest, his wife got terrified by his form and fails to do what she was told to do. Unable to take human form, Kari goes back to the forest.