THRISSUR - MY HOMETOWN: PART 2

This is the second part of my note about my hometown. In the last part, I gave a brief introduction on Thrissur city. Here, I am writing about the history of Thrissur, from prehistoric times until the present day. Hope everyone enjoys it.

The history of Thrissur traces back to the stone age, as evident from the presence of numerous pre-historic monuments in the vicinity. Areas like Ramavarmapuram, Viyyur, Kuttur, Cheroor and Villadam witness numerous such monuments. A special thing to be noted is the existence of a huge menhir (single stone) in Ramavarmapuram, a major suburb of the city, which is 15 ft tall and 12.4 ft wide. It is widely considered to be a remnant of stone age, and is believed to be a burial stone. Tools like axes, scrappers, bows, arrows, etc. are also placed in the Archeological Museum located here. While going through the district, we can see such remnants in places like Ariyannur, Chiramanangad, Porkulam, Kattakambal, Eyyal, Akathiyoor, etc., all located in Chavakkad-Guruvayur-Kunnamkulam areas. 

The written history of Thrissur traces to around 200 BC, which goes to a time when the mighty Chera empire ruled allover Kerala. During this time, Thrissur was not even a city, but just a tiny village. The ancient port city of Muziris, which is considered to be Kodungallur, a town which is located at the south-western end of the present-day Thrissur district, and houses the famous Bhadrakali Temple, is the major link which gives a hint about the conditions of Thrissur district. Called Muchiri in Tamil and Mahodayapuram in Sanskrit, it was the capital of the Chera empire, and also was the most important port in the whole empire, almost identical to the present-day Cochin Shipyard. In fact, the island of Kochi did not even exist until a massive flood in 1341, which changed the whole geography and history of Kerala!  The port was well-known for foreign trade, with good trade relations with areas like Mesopotamia, Egypt and Rome. In fact, it was even familiar for the unknown author of the Greek travelogue named Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, who describes it as located on Pseudotomos river, which may be identical to Periyar river, the longest river in Kerala, which flows into the sea in Kodungallur. While coming to the present-day city of Thrissur, the only existing remnant of that era, that too not fully, is a pond named Vanchikulam, located in the south-western side of the city, near Thrissur railway station. Long ago, it was a huge lake filled with canals, and witnessed high amounts of trade. The pond was called Vanchikulam because it was a connecting link towards the city of Muziris, also called Vanchi. Other than that, there is not much mention on the condition of Thrissur.

Later on, numerous Brahmin (Namboothiri) settlements sprang out in the city. Two major settlements were Peruvanam (Near Cherpu) and Irinjalakuda, both of which had presence of numerous Vedic scholars. The present-day Thrissur city was part of the former, which was the largest of all the 64 Brahmin settlements of Kerala. The Irattayappan (Shiva) temple in Peruvanam, the major temple of the settlement, and Sree Vadakkumnathan Temple in Thrissur came under the control of Namboothiri Brahmin chiefs called 'Yogyar' or 'Yogathiri'. It witnessed a major turnover in the history of these temples. Their influence was so high that even the local rulers did not have any direct role in the administration of the temple. This led to the prosperity of numerous Brahmin families. The famous Arattupuzha Pooram conducted in the Malayalam month of Meenam (March-April), which was the largest pooram in Kerala until Thrissur Pooram came to the scene, still reflects their past glory. 

Thrissur district is also famous for the entry of both Christianity and Islam in India. The St. Thomas Church in Palayur near Chavakkad, established in 52 AD, is believed to be the first church in India, and is a major attraction in the district. It is widely believed that St. Thomas, one among the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ, landed in Kerala in a village called Malyankara near North Paravur, which is now a part of Ernakulam district, but much close to the border with Thrissur district; and converted many Namboothiri Brahmins to Christianity, which is now the third-largest religion in India. The Cheraman Juma Masjid near Kodungallur is the first mosque in Kerala, and was established by the last emperor of Chera empire, called as Cheraman Perumal, who is believed to have converted to Islam and went to Mecca. The construction time of the mosque is considered to be 629 AD, which makes it one among the oldest mosques in the whole world itself, younger than probably only the famous Masjid-Al-Haram in Mecca, the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad.

The city of Thrissur, which remained in obscurity until the end of Chera empire, began to get more prominence after its disintegration to various kingdoms. It then came under the ambit of a prominent sub-unit of the empire, Perumbadappu Swaroopam, which later became the Kingdom of Kochi. From here, we can see that until India's independence from the British rule in 1947, Thrissur was under its ambit, except in some points when the Nediyirippu Swaroopam, also called as Samoothiri (Zamorin) dynasty, conquered Thrissur. The Kochi kings made significant contributions to the development of Thrissur, the most important being those done by Raja Rama Varma, popularly known as Sakthan Thampuran, who is widely considered to be architect of the present-day Thrissur city. He cleared a massive forest which surrounded the Vadakkumnathan Temple, which was notorious for executions, and had numerous teak trees, thus called Thekkinkadu (Which is now used for the massive ground surrouding Vadakkumnathan Temple). There is even a story that he killed the Velichappad (Oracle) of the nearby Paramekkavu Temple, who protested against clearing the forest, which was considered to be the matted hair (Jata) of Lord Shiva. He made Thrissur an important trading centre, by inviting Syrian Christians and Brahmins from neighboring areas.  He is also responsible for the starting of the famous Thrissur Pooram. There is a story that it was started in protest of the famous Arattupuzha Pooram. I will write it in detail in another part. Sakthan Thampuran also built a palace here, on the northern side of the city, on the northern bank of a large pond called 'Vadakkechira' (Northern pond), which was also built by him. It is now a museum under the Archeological Department of Kerala state. Thampuran's attachment to Thrissur was so high that he chose to stay here during his last days, and was also cremated here when died in 1805.

After the death of Sakthan Thampuran, the Kingdom faced numerous problems, and Maharaja Rama Varma X, his cousin and successor, signed a treaty with the British East India Company, who ruled the most of India at that time, and thus Kochi became a British protectorate. By this project, the King had almost full autonomy, except in the case of foreign affairs, which was to be done by a British resident. The Taluk of Thrissur (Then Trichur) was formed in 1860, as a part of administrative conveniences. Thrissur became a municipality in 1921, and was the ninth municipality in the present-day Kerala, after Kannur, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Thalassery, Fort Kochi, Mattanchery, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram.  

The Indian Independence Movement had its impacts in Thrissur also, with the formation of a Kochi state committee of the Indian National Congress in 1919. Numerous giants in the Independence Movement, like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, etc., visited Thrissur during the Independence Movement. The visit of Mahatma Gandhi is to be specially noted, since he visited Thrissur twice - first in 1927 and then in 1934. In his first visit, he visited Vivekodayam School, where he addressed children to wear Khadi as a part of national spirit. Thrissur was also the home of numerous freedom fighters, like Kuroor Neelakandan Namboothirippad.

Around the same time, Thrissur got many additional recognitions. The entry of R.K. Shanmugam Chetty as the Diwan of Kochi was a significant game-changer for Thrissur. He is credited for the construction of Swaraj Round, which now stands as the most important attraction in Thrissur city. He also developed the city by constructing numerous buildings which now stand as the icons of the city, like the Thrissur Town Hall and Ramanilayam, both located near Sakthan Thampuran's palace. At the same time, Thrissur got another unique recognition - The first (and till date, only) city in India to produce electricity by its own. It was in 1937 that Thrissur became an electrified city. Today, it is one among the two areas in the whole Kerala where the Kerala State Electricity Board (K.S.E.B.) does not have any role, the other being Munnar. 

When India became independent from the British rule on 15th of August, 1947, Kochi became the first state in South India to willingly join the newly formed Dominion of India. As a result, new electoral systems were formed in princely states, with a representative government headed by a Prime Minister (Yes, the post was called Prime Minister then). Panampilly Govinda Menon was the first Prime Minister of Kochi. This condition existed until 1st of July 1949, when the Kingdoms of Kochi and Travancore merged together to form a new state called Thiru-Kochi (Thiru taken from Thiruvithamkoor, the Malayalam version of Travancore), with Maharaja Shri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma of Travancore as the Rajapramukh (Equivalent of the present-day Governor in the former princely states). The present-day Thrissur district was formed as a part of this movement, and was one among the four districts of the new state, the others being Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kottayam, all formed together. The condition remained the same until 1st of November 1956, when the state of Thiru-Kochi (excluding the present-day areas of Kanyakumari district) and Malabar district of the neighboring state of Madras merged together to form the present-day state of Kerala.