Kunnamkulam
Encyclopedia
Kunnamkulam is a municipal town situated in the Thrissur District
of Kerala
in India
, spread over an area of 6.96 km2. It is an old commercial town, with a history of more than 300 years, famous for its printing and book binding industry. It was in fact the chief centre of the Orthodox Christians in the Kerala
state.
, at Chattukulangara (a part of Arthat in Kunnamkulam). During the invasion of Tippu Sultan the Christians from Chattakulangara migrated to Kunnamkulam town.
Manakulam, Cheralayam and Kakkad, the suburbs of Kunnamkulam were the seats of the Nambidis of Manakulam, Ayinikur and Kakkad Karanavappad respectively. They were collectively known as Thalappilli Rajas and belonged to three branches of the same dynasty. The history of Kunnamkulam turns back to the Paleolithic age. Kakkad cave and Chowannur cave support this fact. It is said that this place was part of ‘MahodayaPattanam’ and was known as ‘Kunnamkulangare’. C. Achutha Menon
in the Cochin State Manual says that, “it is in fact the chief center of the Jacobites in the State, and there are several of their old churches in the town and its neighborhood”.
Moreover, “Most of the oldest and wealthiest Christian
families are to be found in Kunnamkulam”. Panakkal, Paramel, Tholath and Kakkassery were prominent among them. The ascendancy competition between these wealthy families, its contexture to literary activities opened new dimensions in the development of printing. Panakkal Chakku, Cheru and Koothur Paramel Iyyu Uttoop were arbitrators of some of these families. It is said that the Christian families were settled earlier at Chattukulangare shifted to Kunnamkulam after the invasion of Tippu in 1789. They were invited by the Thalappilli Rajas, provided residences and places of worship. They resided on both sides of the street. This may have helped to avoid threat from Tippu against Thalappilli Rajas.
Those settled on both sides of the street started trade and business, began a new era of transaction.
City and 10 km from Guruvayur
. It is located on the route connecting Thrissur
to North Kerala
. All the buses that go to Guruvayur from Palakkad
and from Kozhikode
to Guruvayoor and Thrissur
pass through Kunamkulam. Buses take around 30 min to reach Kunnamkulam from Thrissur
.
Constituency.
and Kozhikode
(NH 47 and NH 17) pass through Kunnamkulam. Also two major district roads are emerging from Kunnamkulam, one of them goes to Wadakkancherry meeting at Thrissur
-Shornur Road and the other goes to Chavakad via the Guruvayoor town ship. All these roads meet at the heart of Kunnamkulam town namely the ‘Parayil Centre’.
Kunnamkulam region witness a number of traditional, informal and household manufacturing activities. It comprises mainly the creation of rock-cut products, metallic and clay utensils, screw-rings and screw-hooks and paper-based products. Among these, the manufacturing of paper-based products is the bandwagon of these activities for which Kunnamkulam has a unique place in the state. The different paper-based products include , exercise books, X’mas stars, greetings card, paper files, envelopes, cartons and millboards. Printing and binding are the related activities.
There are differences of opinion regarding the ownership of St. Thomas press at British Cochin, VRP press, and the commencement of VRP press at Kunnamkulam. According to Ulloor, Paramel Iyyu Uttoop started St. Thomas press at British Cochin, later on shifted to Kunnamkulam as VRP press. But there are evidences in the ‘Malayalam Grandha Soochi’ showing books published from St. Thomas press and VRP in the same year. Quotes from Christian Encyclopedia, 1976 that, it was established by Pulikkottil Mar Dionysius V in 1869. But P.J. Thomas says that, it was started by Paramel Uttoop. Prof. A. Balakrishna Varrier indirectly says that St. Thomas press was not owned by Paramel Uttoop. Regarding the beginning of VRP, the Development Report of Kunnamkulam for the year 1996 says that, it was established in 1860’s. As per the Malayala Grandha Soochi Vol.I list, it was established towards the close of the 19th century. To K.M. Govi it was started about 1881. He cites the evidences of the publication on
behalf of VRP in the 1880s. Moreover, there are evidences to show the publication of ‘Nyshadham Kavyam’, (Appendix) from St. Thomas press at Cochin in 1879 by Koothur Paramel Iyyu Uttoop. If the VRP had established before this we can presume that it would not have been published from St. Thomas Press at Cochin.
Stitched manuscripts of Christian religious books using wooden plates on top and bottom instead of wrapper can be seen in the library. Briefly, a number of historical reasons point towards the growth and development of this industry at Kunnamkulam. They are the Missionary activities in Kunnamkulam. To K.M. Govi, it was another contribution of Basel Mission
in Malabar
area. They trained Christians in bookbinding at their institute in Mangalore. This gradually spread in the Malabar area.
Trade relationship with neighboring states and Sivakasi
. As mentioned in the Cochin State Manual, hundreds of men and women belonging to Taluks of Thalappilli, Thrissur
and Mukundapuram were engaged in the areca-nut industry from September to January. The major portions of the prepared arecanuts were exported to the Tamil Nadu
and Telugu
districts, where there was considerable demand for it. Besides, there existed trade relationship with Sivakasi
. The oral statements of Kunnamkulam people are that they used crackers extensively during the ‘Epic Phony’ ceremony, imported from Sivakasi
.
The trade relationship with Sivakasi is one of the important factors behind the growth and development of paper based industry in Kunnamkulam. The beginning of educational institutions in between 1837 and 1898. When we analyse the beginning of English
schools from 1837 to 1898, we can see that the number of schools started in Thrissur
, Kunnamkulam, and Irinjalakuda was about 7 out of 15 in the Cochin State. The establishment of schools in and around Kunnamkulam during this period may have encouraged the development of this industry.
and Tirunavaya Yogams compete for superiority in Vedic proficiency. In Chowannur, there was a Sabha Madom, an endowed college where Sanskrit education was given. Arthat was the chief center of Orthodox Christians. It contains one of the oldest Jacobite Syrian churches in the State. All these contributed a cultural rising up in the area which later on helped the development of the publishing industry. These published books were sold during Guruvayur Ekadasi. When the temple was open to all Hindus and a good amount of trade taken place at that time.
Thrissur district
Thrissur is a revenue district of Kerala situated in the central part of that state. Spanning an area of about 3,032 km2, Thrissur district is home to over 10% of Kerala’s population. Thrissur district was formed on July 1, 1949, with the headquarters at Thrissur City. Thrissur is known as...
of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, spread over an area of 6.96 km2. It is an old commercial town, with a history of more than 300 years, famous for its printing and book binding industry. It was in fact the chief centre of the Orthodox Christians in the Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
state.
History
The word Kunnamkulam means kunnu (mountain) and kulam (ponds). The terrain condition and geomorphology of the area itself lead to the name. There are several hills there namely Aduputty, Kizhoor, Kakkad etc. while the same is interspersed with ponds namely Eeenjakulam, Iyyankulam, Madurakulam etc. Kunnamkulam town has its remote antiquity and evident from the history and it was a part of Mahodayapattanam, the capital of Chera Dynasty. It is written in history about the crossinstalled by Thomas the ApostleThomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...
, at Chattukulangara (a part of Arthat in Kunnamkulam). During the invasion of Tippu Sultan the Christians from Chattakulangara migrated to Kunnamkulam town.
Manakulam, Cheralayam and Kakkad, the suburbs of Kunnamkulam were the seats of the Nambidis of Manakulam, Ayinikur and Kakkad Karanavappad respectively. They were collectively known as Thalappilli Rajas and belonged to three branches of the same dynasty. The history of Kunnamkulam turns back to the Paleolithic age. Kakkad cave and Chowannur cave support this fact. It is said that this place was part of ‘MahodayaPattanam’ and was known as ‘Kunnamkulangare’. C. Achutha Menon
C. Achutha Menon
Chelat Achutha Menon was a senior leader of the Communist Party of India . He was the Chief Minister of Kerala state for two terms. The first term was from 1 November 1969 to 1 August 1970 and the second 4 October 1970 to 25 March 1977. Achutha Menon is widely considered as the best Chief Minister...
in the Cochin State Manual says that, “it is in fact the chief center of the Jacobites in the State, and there are several of their old churches in the town and its neighborhood”.
Moreover, “Most of the oldest and wealthiest Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
families are to be found in Kunnamkulam”. Panakkal, Paramel, Tholath and Kakkassery were prominent among them. The ascendancy competition between these wealthy families, its contexture to literary activities opened new dimensions in the development of printing. Panakkal Chakku, Cheru and Koothur Paramel Iyyu Uttoop were arbitrators of some of these families. It is said that the Christian families were settled earlier at Chattukulangare shifted to Kunnamkulam after the invasion of Tippu in 1789. They were invited by the Thalappilli Rajas, provided residences and places of worship. They resided on both sides of the street. This may have helped to avoid threat from Tippu against Thalappilli Rajas.
Those settled on both sides of the street started trade and business, began a new era of transaction.
Geography
Kunnamkulam is located at 10.65°N 76.08°E. It has an average elevation of 57 metres (187 feet). It is around 23 KM from ThrissurThrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
City and 10 km from Guruvayur
Guruvayur
Guruvayur is a municipal town in Thrissur District, of Kerala State in India. It houses the famous Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple, the fourth biggest temple in India in terms of the number of devotees per day.-History:Guruvayur, according to the legends may be 5,000 years old as the Guruvayur...
. It is located on the route connecting Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
to North Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. All the buses that go to Guruvayur from Palakkad
Palakkad
Palakkad , formerly known as Palghat, is a municipality and a town in the state of Kerala in southern India, spread over an area of 26.60 km2.The city is situated about north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District...
and from Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
to Guruvayoor and Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
pass through Kunamkulam. Buses take around 30 min to reach Kunnamkulam from Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
.
Government
The Kunnamkulam Municipality was formed as a IVth grade Municipality in the year 1948. The Municipality has an area of 6.96 km2 and is divided into 31 electoral wards. In 2000, it was upgraded to Grade-II Municipality by merging adjoining panchayats of Arthat (full) and panchayats of Porkulam and Chowwannur (parts). Original area of the municipality was 7 km2 which was increased to 34.18 km2. Earlier, there were only 16 municipal wards. The municipality extended its area in 2001 and now it has 31 wards. Total population is 51,585 of whom 24,396 are males and 27,189 females with the density of population being 2,824 per km2. Kunnamkulam assembly constituency is part of Alathoor (Lok Sabha Constituency). Earlier it was part of OttapalamOttapalam
Ottapalam is a town in Palakkad District of Kerala state in India. It is also the headquarters of Ottapalam taluk. Situated on the banks of the Bharathappuzha river , it has a rich cultural heritage and has played host to many historic events. It is famous for having several films shot here...
Constituency.
Transport
The State Highway No 30 which connect ThrissurThrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
and Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
(NH 47 and NH 17) pass through Kunnamkulam. Also two major district roads are emerging from Kunnamkulam, one of them goes to Wadakkancherry meeting at Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
-Shornur Road and the other goes to Chavakad via the Guruvayoor town ship. All these roads meet at the heart of Kunnamkulam town namely the ‘Parayil Centre’.
Business
Beginning of Printing
It has been seen that Iyyu Uttoop, an appreciator of Malayalam literature, a businessman having trade relationship with Cochin, decided to reveal the literary talents of Kaikulangara RamaVarrier. He published the works of Kaikulangara from the St. Thomas Press at British Cochin. The books he published from there include; ‘Raghuvamsom’, ‘Magham’, ‘Nyshadham’, ‘Kumarasambhavom’ etc. Within a short period he started a press on his own at Kunnamkulam in the name of Vidya Ratna Prabha (VRP) in the IInd floor of his house. He published a number of religious and other books from there. It includes, ‘Astangahrudayam’, ‘Amarakosam’, ‘Samudrika Sastram’, ‘Noothana Sidharoopam’, etc. These books and Christian religious books published from here at a cheap rate have got wide currency in the State. According to Ulloor.S. Parameswara Iyyar, it is the wealth of Uttoop, the intellect of Kaikulangara and the caliber of Malliammavil Kunjhuvareedu, an expert in printing, brought together the human and material resources for publishing books in Malayalam.There are differences of opinion regarding the ownership of St. Thomas press at British Cochin, VRP press, and the commencement of VRP press at Kunnamkulam. According to Ulloor, Paramel Iyyu Uttoop started St. Thomas press at British Cochin, later on shifted to Kunnamkulam as VRP press. But there are evidences in the ‘Malayalam Grandha Soochi’ showing books published from St. Thomas press and VRP in the same year. Quotes from Christian Encyclopedia, 1976 that, it was established by Pulikkottil Mar Dionysius V in 1869. But P.J. Thomas says that, it was started by Paramel Uttoop. Prof. A. Balakrishna Varrier indirectly says that St. Thomas press was not owned by Paramel Uttoop. Regarding the beginning of VRP, the Development Report of Kunnamkulam for the year 1996 says that, it was established in 1860’s. As per the Malayala Grandha Soochi Vol.I list, it was established towards the close of the 19th century. To K.M. Govi it was started about 1881. He cites the evidences of the publication on
behalf of VRP in the 1880s. Moreover, there are evidences to show the publication of ‘Nyshadham Kavyam’, (Appendix) from St. Thomas press at Cochin in 1879 by Koothur Paramel Iyyu Uttoop. If the VRP had established before this we can presume that it would not have been published from St. Thomas Press at Cochin.
Printing vs Binding
The question as to whether printing or binding initiate first in Kunnamkulam is relevant. The oral statement of the local people goes in favour of binding. There are evidences of ancient bounded manuscripts of religious books available at the Church library at Thozhiyoor in Kunnamkulam. Moreover, the western part of Thalappilli Taluk was chiefly a center of trade for agricultural products and areca-nut in the earlier period. Trade and exporting of agricultural products requires books for the accounting purposes. In the beginning therefore, informal production of account books might have started for the wealthy traders in Kunnamkulam. The bound manuscripts of religious books available at Thozhiyur support the arguments of local people.Stitched manuscripts of Christian religious books using wooden plates on top and bottom instead of wrapper can be seen in the library. Briefly, a number of historical reasons point towards the growth and development of this industry at Kunnamkulam. They are the Missionary activities in Kunnamkulam. To K.M. Govi, it was another contribution of Basel Mission
Basel Mission
The Basel Mission is a Christian missionary society active from 1815 to 2001, when it was merged into Mission 21, the successor organization of Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione founded in 2001....
in Malabar
Malabar District
Malabar District was an administrative district of Madras Presidency in British India and independent India's Madras State. The British district included the present-day districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad , and Chavakad Taluk of Thrissur District in the northern part of...
area. They trained Christians in bookbinding at their institute in Mangalore. This gradually spread in the Malabar area.
Trade relationship with neighboring states and Sivakasi
Sivakasi
Sivakasi is an active town and a municipality in Virudhunagar District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the capital of India’s firecracker industry with about 8,000 factories, big and small, producing 90 percent of the total fireworks output.It is also known as "kutti japan" meaning "small...
. As mentioned in the Cochin State Manual, hundreds of men and women belonging to Taluks of Thalappilli, Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
and Mukundapuram were engaged in the areca-nut industry from September to January. The major portions of the prepared arecanuts were exported to the Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
and Telugu
Telugu people
The Telugu people or Telugu Prajalu are an ethnic group of India. They are the native speakers of the Telugu language, the most commonly spoken language in India after Hindi and Bengali...
districts, where there was considerable demand for it. Besides, there existed trade relationship with Sivakasi
Sivakasi
Sivakasi is an active town and a municipality in Virudhunagar District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the capital of India’s firecracker industry with about 8,000 factories, big and small, producing 90 percent of the total fireworks output.It is also known as "kutti japan" meaning "small...
. The oral statements of Kunnamkulam people are that they used crackers extensively during the ‘Epic Phony’ ceremony, imported from Sivakasi
Sivakasi
Sivakasi is an active town and a municipality in Virudhunagar District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the capital of India’s firecracker industry with about 8,000 factories, big and small, producing 90 percent of the total fireworks output.It is also known as "kutti japan" meaning "small...
.
The trade relationship with Sivakasi is one of the important factors behind the growth and development of paper based industry in Kunnamkulam. The beginning of educational institutions in between 1837 and 1898. When we analyse the beginning of English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
schools from 1837 to 1898, we can see that the number of schools started in Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
, Kunnamkulam, and Irinjalakuda was about 7 out of 15 in the Cochin State. The establishment of schools in and around Kunnamkulam during this period may have encouraged the development of this industry.
Culture
Kadavallur, Chowannur and Arthat, the nearby places of Kunnamkulam had a rich cultural background. Kadavallur is well known throughout this coast as being the place where Nambudiris of the ThrissurThrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
and Tirunavaya Yogams compete for superiority in Vedic proficiency. In Chowannur, there was a Sabha Madom, an endowed college where Sanskrit education was given. Arthat was the chief center of Orthodox Christians. It contains one of the oldest Jacobite Syrian churches in the State. All these contributed a cultural rising up in the area which later on helped the development of the publishing industry. These published books were sold during Guruvayur Ekadasi. When the temple was open to all Hindus and a good amount of trade taken place at that time.
Line Houses
A particular residential replica ‘line houses’ (angadi veeducal), is seen in Kunnamkulam area. The streets of these houses are exceedingly narrow. The ‘Line Houses’ are built in 3-5 cents of land on both sides of the street. The front room of the house functions as shops while rear rooms was used for residential purpose. There used to be rear yards for every so called ‘Angadi” house which was used for processing of their agricultural products.Religion
Kunnamkulam is famous for its religious harmony as Hindus, Christians and Muslims live here. The religious tolerance of Kunnamkulam people can be seen from the “Ambala Palli’ which is temple converted to a church where in, the temple character can be seen in the church entrance. Kunnamkulam people expressed extreme resistance to part with their Hindu based rituals, at the functions like marriages, church festivals etc.Archeology
- Roman coins of Eyyal: Archeologists have unearthed a collection of old Roman coins at Eyyal. These coins date from 123 BC to 117 AD. They are currently exhibited in the Archeological Museum of Thrissur.