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Revision as of 15:17, 26 August 2007
Pallippuram, Palakkad
Pallippuram | |
|---|---|
city | |
 | |
| Population | |
• Total | 21,809 (2,001) |
Orientation
Pallippuram ⓘ Malayalam: പളളിപ്പുറം, is a small town in Palakkad District of Kerala, India. Situated in the western extremity ('the western horn') of Palakkad District, it is 9 kilometers north-west of Pattambi, a bigger town of the district. Part of the greater Parudur Gramapanchayat, this place stands near the confluence of Bharathapuza River (Nila) and Tutha River (Tuthapuzha), and is bounded by these rivers to the south and west respectively. During the British colonial era, this village belonged to the Ponnani taluk of the British Malabar District. On 01 January 1962, the Cherukudangad and Parudur amsams (an amsam is the smaller denomination of village administration) were merged to form today's Parudur Gramapanchayat. The adjacent villages to Pallippuram are Muthuthala, Thiruvegappura, Irimbiliyam, Anakkara, Pattithara, and Thrithala.
Etymology
Buddhism was once prevalent in Kerala. A Buddhist place of worship, the vihara, was popularly called palli in Malayalam language and several Pallippurams emerged in the geographic dominion. The Gramapanchayat is named Parudur because of the existence of several other Pallippurams in the state.
Topography
The village is 20.14 km² in area. It can be divided into six topographical categories:
- Hills
- Valleys
- Even plains
- Low-lying paddy fields
- Riverbanks
- Marshy wetlands
The major hills are:
- Mangalam Kunnu
- Kol Kunnu
- Kaitha Kunnu
- Odupara Kunnu
- Thekke Kunnu
- Mundyara Kunnu
- Ponmala Kunnu
- Thattara Kunnu
Red laterite is the most common soil type. Alluvial soil, rich in clay content, can be found on the riverbanks. The village has more than 20 major ponds/pools, rich in water supply. Every year in June through September, the South-western Monsoon downpour lashes through the place, as it does in all of Kerala.
Demography
This village has a population of 24,499 people (1991 census), where 12,154 are males and 12,345 females. The population density is high at 1,220 persons per sq km. Muslims comprise approximately 65 per cent of the population, and Hindus the rest. The birth rate is 246 and death rate is 5.9 per annum.
This Gramapanchayat might be one of the few areas in Kerala where not even a single Christian is a permanent resident.
Recent History
A major railroad project undertaken by the erstwhile South Indian Railway, the precursor to the present Southern Railway, is the 905-KM (562 mile) long Madras (now Chennai)-Mangalore line. On the 23 September 1861, the first steam locomotive train pulled into the newly built Pallippuram railway station.
The rail link heralded the establishment of a post office in Pallippuram, and anchal (post) was hand-delivered from here to nearby places.
Near Mudappakkad still stands a weather-beaten lamp-post, believed to have been built by Perumthachan, the mythical Keralan master carpenter and architect who is the stuff of many apocryphal legends.
The village was earlier ruled by the Zamorins of Calicut. In Palathara, the remnants of an old kovilakam (a small feudal mansion) from where the Zamorin-appointed revenue officials used to preside over village governance can still be seen. When the royals visited the Kodikkunnu temple, they were taken on a royal procession from Vedithara (near Palathara) to the temple in great pomp and style, escorted by the Panikkers (royal soldiers) of Paadathuveedu clan. The Panikkers of Karambathur Madom were the trusted officers (padanayars) of the Zamorin’s Royal Army. The trustees of Kodikkunnu and Chirankara temples are appointed by the Zamorin, even to this day. The revenue officials of Parudur amsam were the adhikaris (village officers) of Manjapra family and that of Cherukudangad was adhikaris of Kochi family. The granite pillars (athani) standing in Vedithara, Ambatparamb, Mangalam and Mudappakkad hark bark to the royal rule of yore.
Pallippuram once was part of the "reconstituted" Valluvanad Taluk. At another point in time before that, it was a part of Nedunganad. This was when Nedunganad was under Zamorins kings of Calicut.
The village claims of a rich history of a bell metal (four parts copper and one part tin) manufacture which was acclaimed even outside Kerala. The metal work industry produced bell metal deities of the Hindu iconographic pantheon. Also manufactured were temple lamps that were well known and much sought after. However, this traditional industry has almost disappeared now. The village held its weekly fair on Thursdays in Palathara that used to be the unofficial shopping festival of the entire village. The fair breathed its last in the mid-1950s.
Education
Pallippuram was an important centre of Sanskrit education in Malabar. Kumarampulakal Narayanan Namboothiri ran a school at his residence dedicated to Sanskrit and Veda studies. The scholar also held numerous Sanskrit manuscripts in his private library. The pioneer in the field of modern education in the village was Chellu Ezhuthachan, who succeeded in converting the Kudippallikoodam (crude basic school, presided by a Gurunathan, the master) situated in Mangalam into an independent government-aided elementary school. He eventually went on to establish schools in Palathara, Pallippuram and Karambathur. Cutting across the caste divide, these institutions were open to all students, a revolutionary idea in Ezhuthachan's day. He even established a Muslim school in Palathara and funded the “mullah” (a teacher of Islamic theology) who ran it. Cholapparambil Achuthan Ezhuthachan and Pazhayangadi KK Ramankutty Ezhuthachan were the other noted personalities in the sphere of education in the early days.
Presently this village has many government-run/government-aided schools up to higher secondary level. They are: Parudur Higher Secondary School at Nadaparamb; GLP School at Parudur; CEUP School at Pazhayangadi; AUP School at Karambathur; GMLP School at Kariyannur; GUP School at Kodumunda; CELP School at Pallippuram; SVA LP School at Chembulangad and ALP School at Kulamukku.
Since 1985, the village has witnessed the establishment of a few unaided English-medium lower primary schools too.
The nearby colleges are Government Sanskrit College in Pattambi and MES College in Valanchery.
Freedom Struggle
India’s Freedom Struggle raging across the country post World War I created ripples in this village too. The launching in 1921 of the Khilafat Movement in the country had a significant impact in the village too, fortunately, sans any violence and many Muslims of the village served long terms of imprisonment in various jails throughout South India. With the suppression and the eventual demise of the Movement, the village saw the strengthening of the nationalist sentiments. The youth of Chayillath Rayikulath Tharavad (upper-caste Hindu extended family) spearheaded the fight against the British colonial rule in the village, against sheer opposition from even within the family. CR Balakrishnan Nambiar assumed leadership of the movement. His sister, CR Devaki Amma became one of the early organisers of Mahilasangam, an associate organisation of the Indian National Congress. CR Narayanan Nambiar of this family participated in the Salt Satyagraha in 1930, and spent a six-month term in jail. He made major forays into the literary arena as well, and his single most notable achievement was the translation of K Damodaran’s work Indiayude Athmave (The Soul of India) into English. CR Devaki Amma led a campaign against ‘Mrigabali’ (the ritual slaughter of animals) in the nearby Muthassiar Temple, leading into the eventual disbanding of the custom. She served an 18-month jail term during the Salt Satyagraha along with her brothers and continued her crusade against the British rule after her release too. Devaki Amma, who died in 1996, was married to Padmanabhan Nambiar (the elder brother of veteran Communist leader, AK Gopalan). Women’s movement also caught the imagination of the village in the early 1940s, and K Madhavi Amma was instrumental in forming the first mahilasamajam (women's club and co-operative) in the village.
C Rajagopalachari visited the village in 1932 and addressed a gathering in Kodikkunnu. His mission was to garner support of the upper caste Hindus in the upcoming referendum on admittance of lower caste Hindus into the Hindu temples of Malabar. Muhammad Abdurahiman Sahib was also in attendance. The year 1939 saw Kasturba Gandhi and Urmilaben come calling the village and attending a public meeting near Mudappakkad. When Congress Socialist Party was formed in the later years of the freedom struggle as an offshoot of the Indian National Congress, several political lights of the village, like Manjapra Appukunja Menon, joined it. This clan later founded Muhammad Abdurahiman Sahib Memorial Library in Kodikkunnu.
After India gained independence in 1947, Pallippuram continued its resistance against true-blue feudalism and casteism. Communists earned a victory in the election to the Malabar District Board in 1952. The ‘Eviction Barring Ordinance’ in 1957 by the EMS Namboodiripad-led Communist Government of Kerala naturally invited the ire of the village's feudal landlords. Yet, anti-feudalism vibes only strengthened with the successful implementation of the ordinance.
Culture
Meanwhile, the village's cultural firmament was dominated by music experts like Kunnathveetil Madhavan Nair, Meluveetil Echunni Menon, Kodikkunnu Karunakara Marar [who was a guru (teacher)] of the Chenda maestro, Njaralathu Rama Poduval, Naduvilappad Shankunni Adigal and Puthan Veetil Krishnan Nair. The early 1930s saw the emergence of two theatre outfits in the village presided by Kochiyil Appu Menon and Karumathil Govinda Menon and they staged highly popular musical dramas like Bhakta Prahlada and Nalacharitam.
Bharath Circus, which toured many parts of India successfully, was founded, owned and managed by KS Menon of this village.
Pallippuram claims a rich legacy in the field of traditional Ayurveda medicine. Puliyappetta Velukkuti Vaidyar, Balakrishnan Vaidyar, Mukkadakkatil Krishnan Vaidyar, Appu Vaidyar, Kodikkunnath Krishna Pisharody, Chappan Vaidyar, Kunhunni Vaidyar, Hyderkutty Mullah, etc. were masters among the skillful Ayurvedic exponents of the village. Kunnath Veetil Narayanan Nair, LMP was the first registered allopathic practitioner.
The mid-1960s witnessed the establishment of Brothers’ Arts Club in Pallippuram which enacted theatrical plays aimed at the empowerment of the poor and the downtrodden. Poverty and the injustice instigated by the uneven distribution of agricultural land and wealth in the society were the dominant themes of these dramas.
The Muhammad Abdurahiman Sahib memorial library in Kodikkunnu was registered with Kerala Grandhasala Sangh (Kerala Library Association) in 1957. In 1968, it was rechristened Parudur Library and Recreation Centre, which still maintains a well-run library.
The first Malayali judge in the Supreme Court of India, Justice Parakkulangara Govinda Menon hailed from Parudur Gramapanchayat. So is the acclaimed Sanskrit scholar KP Narayana Pisharody.
Among the few who are still remembered fondly in the village are Paadathuveetil Aboobacker (the boatman of Velliyamkallu Kadavu), Govindan Velichappad of Kodikkunnu (who had the unusual legacy of possessing two ritual swords), Panangadan Chattappan (who excelled in witchcraft), Perumkollan Chattu (the chief blacksmith), Karuvan brothers of Karuvanpadi (exponents of a performing martial art, Paricamuttukali), Mannan Govindan and Parayan Chennan (stalwarts of odividya, a crude form of sorcery).
The major temples of the include Sri Kodikkunnu Bhagavathy Temple(കൊടിക്കുന്ന് ഭഗവതി ക്ഷേത്രം), Pallippuram Sri Krishna Temple, Chirangara Sri Maha Vishnu Temple. Of these, Sri Kodikunnu Bhagavathy Temple is very famous and people from even other states come and pay obeisance to the presiding deity, Bhagavathy. The temple is undergoing a grand renovation now.
The temple festival of Kodikkunnu Bhagavathy (കൊടിക്കുന്നത്തമ്മ) is conducted at Chirankara Temple which is known as the “Keezhekkavu” (alternate sanctorum) of the former. The festival is called “Chirankara Pooram” (ചിരങ്കര പൂരം) (annual harvest festival). The village is divided into 13 desoms (a desom is a geographical unit in village administration bigger than an amsam)and it is incumbent upon each desom to dispatch at least one pair of ‘Poothan and Thira' ”(തറ, പൂതന്) ” (traditional mask dancers) for performance at the temple during the festival. The 13 desoms are: Mangalam, Kodanthur, Pazhayangadi, Parudur, Kariyannur, Karambathur, Cherukudangad, Chembulangad, Kannad, Kodumunda, Pallippuram, Kulamukku and Mudappakkad. This is by and large the chief festival of the village, with the whole village participating. The village also has a number of Muslim mosques. Kodanthur mosque Nercha(നേര്ച്ച) (the annual feast and festival) is famous.
The village has a C-class cinema, which these days draws less crowd as Malayalam soaps and films broadcast by the local TV Channels have taken hold as the primary means of family entertainment.
Transportation
Though the village was connected by railways in 1861, viable road transport did not take off for over another full century, till 1970. Rivers bounding the village to the south and west and the railroad almost diagonally dividing the village remained major obstacles in the development of a paved road network. The earliest unpaved road in the village was built during the British Raj, connecting Pallippuram with Trithala, terminating at Mudappakkad. Following the commissioning of a manned railroad level-crossing in Palathara in 1969, the road link opened and the first bus started plying between Pallippuram and Cherpulassery. After the inauguration of the Chembra bridge in 1985, Pallippuram was connected to Valancherry to the north-west by road. Anchumoola-Thiruvegappura road was initially built in 1957 by volunteer work of the village community. A new road is under construction, along the banks of Bharathapuzha, linking Pallippuram with Pattambi. This would cut the distance between the towns by 5 km. A new bridge is being built over the Bharathapuzha to connect Pallippuram and Trithala (Velliyamkallu regulator-cum-bridge).
The work is nearing completion and has many visitors these days, as this is the largest such project over Bharathapuzha. The bridge was a longstanding demand of the people for many years. When the bridge is open to mass road transport before long, it will be a great shot in the arm in the history of the village's development. The construction of an additional platform and new station building at Pallippuram Railway Station has been completed. This was done in connection with the introduction of double track of railway between Mangalore and Shoranur. Although there are many places having the name 'Pallippuram' in India, this is the only one with a Railway Station.
Trade and Commerce
The first commercial bank in the village was stated in 1940 by Cheukudangad Chuvaakkat Madathil Mani Iyer. Pallippuram Co-operative Society is the predecessor of Pallippuram Service Co-operative Bank. The society was formed in 1961 with KR Nair as its president. Pallippuram now has a branch of the Punjab National Bank, an Indian public sector bank.
Athanikkal Mayan, Mampulliyalil Kuni Ahamed, Pakkath Zainudeen Haji, Parambath Raman Nair, Velath Appu Nair, Panikkaveetil Cheku, VP Aithruman Haji, etc were the early noteworthy traders in the village.
Economy
According to the official estimates, there are 728 hectares of land under cultivation of various crops like rice, coconut, areca nut and tapioca. Rice is the staple crop occupying about 487 hectors of land. The yield of rice, the crop staple, according to the 1991 estimate, is 1255.6 metric tones.
Agriculture, once the mainstay of the local economy, has turned out to be least attractive in recent times. It has also become, and as many farmers complain, less profitable too. The result is that there is a steep decline in agriculture as the only source of income in any given family.
Many old-timers lament the hard fact that agriculture as an occupation has lost its prestige among the educated youth and the status-wary. The outcome is predictable: the area of arable land is rapidly eaten away by the house construction spree fuelled by the money earned in the Persian Gulf countries. Various government-run projects aimed at reviving agriculture appear to have failed to reverse the trend in this village.
Urbanisation coupled with the exodus of the young workforce primarily to the oil-rich Persian Gulf states and to other parts of Kerala and the country is also seen as a reason to downfall of agriculture. The early 1980s saw the agrarian economy shifting to ‘Money Order Economy’ and then to "Demand Draft Economy". It would not be far-fetched to surmise that the local economy would collapse but for the remittances sent by expat community working in the Persian Gulf.
However, changes are happening. Pallippuram has now become a leading centre of leather bag manufacturing. This cottage industry provides occupation to the unemployed youth of the village now. Besides, it now also contributes to the village economy substantially. This village also provides considerable unskilled/semiskilled workforce to the construction and sand-mining industries in the area.
Indiscriminate river sand-mining in the area has led to the drying of the riverbeds and destruction of breeding grounds of fish stock in both the Bharathapuza and Tutha rivers, limiting fresh water fishing opportunities. Livestock levels have also fallen considerably.
External links
References
http://www.localgovkerala.net/htm/inner.asp?ID=817&intId=5
http://www.realpalakkad.com/ingeneral.html