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Interesting Sidelights of Kerala

ANCHAL AAPPEES (Post Office)

Colonel John Monroe introduced the Anchal (Postal) system in Thiruvithamkur in 1811. Originally restricted to carrying royal implements, government letters and flowers as offering to Shri Padmanabha temple at Thiruvananthapuram, the facility was later extended to all for a fee of one chakram ( coin of Thiruvithamkur) for any article to any distance. The Post master was universally known as "Anchal Pillai" and was a man of considerable influence. The postal runners by royal decree were allowed to occupy the centre of the road and any obstruction was deemed to be a serious offence.


AMMACHI PLAVU( Mother of all Jack fruit Trees)

Famous in the local folk lore as the tree which sheltered King Marthanda Varma while on the run. A huge hole in it helped the king hide in its hold.


WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Thiruvithamkur had distinctive weights and measures. Some of them are given below :


 
FOR WEIGHING MEASURES
Gold
3 nellida = 1 kunni
4 kunni   = 1 panamida
21 panamida   = 1 pawan ( equivalent to 8 grams of gold)
Rice
2 ozhukku = 1 uri
2 uri = 1 nazhi
4 nazhi = 1 edangazhi
10 edangazhi = 1 para
Distances
8 nellida   = 1 angulam
24 viral   = 1 kol
4 kol   = 1 dandu
800 dandu   = 1 nazhika (equivalent to a mile)

AZHIKODE
The word comes from Azhi Kotta and is the first fortification built by the Europeans near Kodungalore.

ARAKKAL ROYAL FAMILY
The prominent Muslim Royal Family of Malabar. The family had suzerainty over Male and the Lakshadweep Islands.

EMMANUEL FORT

The fort was constructed in Kochi by the Portuguese in 1503. The Dutch under Van Goyan attacked the fort and captured it. By 1795 the fort was in British hands. To ensure no more wars were fought over it, the British destroyed the fort. Today's town Fort Kochi stands in its place.


SYNOD OF DIAMPER

The Synod at Diamper (Udayamperoor near Kochi) was called in 1599 to convert the Thomas Christians to Latin rites and make the Pope of Rome the supreme religious head. The synod had limited success.


EDAKKAL CAVES
In Wayanad in North Kerala, these caves are believed to have been used by the cave dwellers in 7000 BC.

ETTUVEETILl PILLAIS

The local chieftains who were considered to be rivals to the power of the King Marthanda Varma . Their riotous reign was finally ended by the king and all were hanged.


OPHIR

The port of Ophir is mentioned in Biblical times. King Solomon is supposed to have traded extensively with Ophir. One school of thought puts Ophir as Poovar in South Kerala while others think it could be Beypore in the North.


MUSIRIS

This was the ancient world's name for Kodungalloor or Crangannoor near Kochi. Many consider it as the Manhattan of the ancient world. A major natural calamity in the 14th century obliterated the ancient city. The exact location of the old city is much debated upon, but never really pinpointed. In this same calamity, some nearby places emerged from the seas. One such small opening which came up towards the South was referred to as the kochu thura which today is known as Kochi, the major commercial centre and Port of Kerala.


KAVU THEENDAL

In a temple near Kochi, in Kodungalloor a peculiar brand of temple rites is known by the name of Kavu Theendal. The king accepts coconut water from a commoner, a hen is slaughtered and all commoners for once were allowed to rush into the temple. The most interesting part of this ceremony which still takes place, is the ritualistic singing of dirty songs (something like Rugby Songs). The how or why this originated is lost in time, but one version hints at this type of singing was intended to chase away the Buddhist sanyasins (priestesses) from the temple premises in the 8th or 9th century AD.


SACRED GROVES(Kavu)

The sacred groves or forests (kavu) is perhaps the oldest eco-friendly project of ancient Kerala. The evergreen forests with temples within them used to be considered sacred and protected . There was a more earthly reason for this. The kavu normally was surrounded by paddy fields ( most important agricultural crop). The birds which made the kavu their home feasted on the vermin from the fields, thus ensuring crop protection and plentiful harvest. The forests also helped in water conservation, and conservation of plant species especially medicinal herbs. Very few kavu survive to this day. The most famous kavu is situated near Perumbavoor, 20 kms from Kochi.


KOONAN CROSS (Koonan Kurissu )
The Syrian Christians wowed not to accept the suzerainty of the Roman Pope as their spiritual head. To make sure of the sanctity of the oath , some tied themselves to the cross for extra effect. The cross can be seen in Mattancherry (in Fort Kochi).

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