tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584998960427190142024-03-26T05:22:38.928-04:00Historic AlleysMalabar's historyMaddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.comBlogger244125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-86726961099725934602024-02-27T15:19:00.002-05:002024-03-06T09:28:05.555-05:00Kodaikanal – Amidst the Palani Hills The princess among hill stations and the many stories
it hides.
I will always remember the hill station and the few times I
have visited the place. At that time, I did not know any of these stories, and
other than visiting the few important tourist spots and wandering around the
lake, we just lazed it out. It was while researching the story of the so-called
escape road from Kodai to Munnar that Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-67508015138044702252023-12-29T10:53:00.000-05:002023-12-29T10:53:00.582-05:00Situating HistoriesCalicut and the two battles of 1503 and 1790, Dr
Noone’s new book
Some years ago, I wrote about the famous sea battle of
Calicut fought during the early months of 1503, preparations having been made for
it by Vasco Da Gama of Portugal, as he sailed into Malabar during 1502. A showdown was expected and as the Zamorin was
preparing his flotilla, the Portuguese armada of 5 light caravels and Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-88005945574558238252023-12-20T14:09:00.003-05:002023-12-20T19:31:56.821-05:00T. H. Baber and the Cochin JewsThe White and the Black Jews of Cochin
Several books and papers feature the white and the Black
Jewish community which lived in Cochin. Many of the descendants have since taken
up their Aliyah and moved to Israel and there is hardly a family or two left in
Cochin. Interestingly, though early accounts from the East India Company
officials do mention the community and provide copies of some of Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-57765259837965562462023-11-24T12:14:00.002-05:002023-11-24T14:01:01.910-05:00Brown of Mahe -The Rascally AdventurerMurdoch Brown – The Valia Saheb of Anjarakandy
History enthusiasts and the inhabitants of North Malabar though
familiar with this name, may not know much about this Scotsman. Many myths and
legends have been connected to his name, and he has been routinely derided as an
avaricious colonialist. A detailed study (a first) reveals that he was a
hardcore capitalist, the first British landlord of Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-2257411687106180842023-11-04T16:51:00.003-04:002023-11-09T10:41:37.224-05:00Parsee families of CalicutSome of the prominent families
In the 19th century and until the 21st,
there were several Parsi merchant families resident in Calicut. I had written
about them briefly some years ago, but it needed some revisions and
improvement. Raghu Karnad covered them
briefly in his lovely book, ‘Farthest Field’, but details the Mugaseth’s, to
some extent. So, let’s go back and check on some of the Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-65259096859456040232023-10-21T11:34:00.002-04:002023-10-21T11:34:22.477-04:00Calicut’s SM Street – and its everlasting allure Its influence on the city’s inhabitants, writers, and
a new book by Nadeem Naushad
This little, but busy street in Calicut still has a
tremendous influence on the inhabitants of Calicut. A street which came into
being just over two centuries ago, has as people of Malabar will agree, an
everlasting allure on those living in Calicut or visiting the city center.
Let’s take a look, see how SK Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-87014646011326578672023-09-03T12:25:00.004-04:002023-09-03T12:25:53.801-04:00The Cholas, the Zamorin, and the Perumal’sThe Chola interregnum 1036-54 – A discussion
One of the popular sources referred to when it comes to the
history of the Zamorins of Calicut is the seminal work by KV Krishna Ayyar
titled - Zamorins of Calicut (From the earliest times down to AD 1806). The version available to peruse is the 1938
publication. This was preceded by a concise version - A history of the Zamorins
of Calicut Part Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-69409379035331872422023-06-25T10:49:00.001-04:002023-06-25T10:50:11.838-04:00Volkart Brothers – The Swiss connection Cochin & Tellicherry, through the eyes of AF
Ammann
Kayalinarike…goes the old Mehaboob song written by Meppalli
Balan, brought to life a decade ago by the sonorous Shahbaz Aman. The song
takes you through the Kochi of the 50s and tells you about the many companies that
had set up shop at the bustling Cochin (Fort Kochi) port and the travails of a
jobless man. Calicut had lost its sheen as Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-75090295594985458102023-06-07T12:55:00.002-04:002023-07-02T08:23:56.908-04:00Conceição – Our new book The Sad Story of the Conceição – Published by the Chagos Conservation Trust (CCT)Sometimes I wonder at the surprising turns that life takes. I was researching for material to add meat to the article that I was preparing on Deigo Garcia and chanced upon a site related to the Chagos Archipelago, where I found an old copy of ‘Chagos News’. In there, I did not find much on Diego Garcia as such,Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-57209841890397077012023-05-13T12:24:00.004-04:002023-05-13T12:24:45.764-04:00The Kalpathi furorUntouchability, caste rigors, and a turbulent period at
Palghat, Knapp & Sir CP
Villages in Palghat followed caste-based rules as well as
the prescribed segregation strictly during the pre-independence period, and the
caste rigors felt across the whole region exasperated reformists within and
outside the state, especially after Vivekananda termed the state akin to a
lunatic asylum. It is a Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-69679703367422626692023-04-17T09:40:00.002-04:002024-03-20T11:28:06.607-04:00The heart of Montrose Madurai’s peculiar connection to Scotland, Logarithms, Colin Mackenzie, and a hero’s heartMadurai has a great cultural history, and for a long time was Tamil Nadu’s cultural capital, and the ‘Toonga Nagaram, the city that never slept’. It was one of those cities which endured so many rulers and changes, notably by the Kalabhras, the Pandyas, the Cholas, the Tughlaq Sultanate, the Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-31756252272811207282023-04-07T15:23:00.005-04:002023-04-07T15:30:50.960-04:00Mackenzie Manuscripts – Malabar and Travancore collections – Part 1Colin Mackenzie’s assistants involved with Malabar &
Travancore In the previous article about Montrose’s heart
and its connection to Napierian logarithms, we read that Colin Mackenzie had
succeeded in getting a commission with the EIC and had proceeded to Madurai.
With Ms. Hester Johnston’s help, we understood that he had established contact
with the learned Brahmins of Madurai. But did Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-30314241652758203562023-02-23T16:31:00.002-05:002023-03-01T14:45:55.054-05:00The Zamorin’s seat at PonnaniAt the Thrikkavil KovilakomWhile most people associate the Zamorin mainly with Calicut,
avid historians opine that Ponnani was a temporary military capital of the
Zamorin during the medieval years, as Calicut remained his political and
business capital. Ponnani was the location where he marshaled his cavalry
resources (the 50-60,000 Nair pada or foot soldiers as and when required and the
armory) Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-22013914190602506572023-01-17T17:07:00.006-05:002023-01-18T13:15:22.622-05:00The Konkani’s of CochinA look at the community’s history (with particular
reference to the GSB)
All of us have had some interaction with a GSB (Goud
Saraswat Brahmin) Konkani, be it in college or at the workplace, and for people
in Cochin, the community which lives there and their slightly different customs
and their singsong intonation of the Malayalam language. You will remember a
Pai, a Bhat, a Rao, a Kamath, a Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-72534729297107301212022-12-26T15:45:00.003-05:002023-01-18T13:15:42.104-05:00The Devil of Calicut - A MisconceptionVarthema in Calicut
In Christian evangelical discussions concerning the advent
of the devil, there is frequent mention of the so-called ‘Calicut Devil’, and
when I recently came across it, I decided to check a little deeper into what
the discussion was all about. As one could imagine, it was something that came
out due to a complete lack of understanding of the alien culture which the
PortugueseMaddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-37124945702836798392022-12-10T09:49:00.005-05:002023-01-18T13:15:56.066-05:00Ibn Battuta, the Tangerine Ibn Battuta’s Rihala – A product of oral history
I have realized along the way, after some 35 years of global
travel that – you can never understand an Arab sitting and studying books and
power points in Stuttgart, nor can you understand an Afghan by sitting in Zurich.
Ibn Battuta’s accomplishments can never be surpassed by any other, for such was
the period and the difficulties he faced, going Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-40859970082178059012022-11-05T11:47:00.007-04:002023-01-18T11:22:24.112-05:00Hiranyagarbha – Elevation of the Royal casteWhen royals were reborn from the golden womb
The sacrifices like Hiranyagarbha which had lost relevance
in Northern India, remained in vogue for a longer time in the South, if only
to Brahmaṇize the political powers of the area. Some royal families of the
south are known to have continued with the Hiranyagarbha sacrifice to claim origin
from the Hiranya Yoni. It was quite common in Venad and oneMaddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-6712115755440495032022-09-10T09:23:00.003-04:002023-03-01T14:45:17.233-05:00The Panniyur Sukapuram conflict– The Kurmatsaram A backdrop to the Zamorin’s Tirunavaya conquest The Zamorin annexed Tirunavaya, followed by the Valluvanad and Vettam territories, and with this the chasm between the two feuding dynasties of Perumbadappu and Nediyirippu, widened, fracturing the peaceful life in medieval Central and South Malabar, as well as the territories between Cochin and S Malabar. The catalyst to the move by the Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-90320439000491566942022-08-18T17:54:00.003-04:002023-01-18T13:16:12.520-05:00The Pamban Channel at Rameswaram The Portuguese at Pamban and connections to Malabar
Some years ago, I mentioned the Pamban bridge, while writing
about the Ceylon boat mail, a bridge that was an engineering marvel when it
was constructed in 1914, over 108 years ago. The Pamban bridge was planned as
the first phase of the linkage between India and Ceylon. However, the second
part of the link, connecting Dhanushkodi to Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-81139854834252317912022-07-09T09:52:00.006-04:002023-01-18T11:24:36.269-05:00Whither goeth the Porlathiri?The Bayanor of Cartinaad, or the Ballanore Burgarie…
In a previous article, we covered the highlights of the
Zamorin’s tussle with the Porlathiri and the annexation of Polanad, which locale
by the way, is more or less today’s Calicut. We also mentioned that the
Porlathiri fled to the Kadathanad region. Many questions continue to be asked
about the Kadathanad raja, and so I thought it best to addMaddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-2145002264745981022022-06-18T12:24:00.004-04:002023-12-27T12:44:17.945-05:00Battle of Calicut - 1502 -1503A Turning PointThe people who sailed and commanded the battleships for the
Zamorin, used for fighting the Portuguese were a misunderstood lot. While the
Portuguese and other Western scribes collectively grouped them under the
heading Moors, current writers tended to group them under the Moplahs or
Mappila community. The reality is far from the truth. The original seamen who
commanded the small Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-87972430077917096112022-03-29T12:14:00.002-04:002023-01-18T11:26:13.876-05:00Diego Garcia – Indian connectionsDiego Garcia - A remote island, in the middle of nowhereSouth of the Maldives, some 1,000 miles below Trivandrum, located
at the center of the Indian Ocean, lies the small archipelago comprising the
Chagos islands, and among it, the Island cloaked in mystery, Diego Garcia. It is
of strategic importance these days and occasionally there is talk about its
displaced islanders and the island’s Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-12369114551621625712022-02-27T09:10:00.002-05:002023-01-18T11:26:32.677-05:00Mangat Achan – The Zamorin’s Commander in ChiefAn important dignitary in the Zamorin’s court
Even though most people familiar with the Zamorins know of
the Manghatachan, very few know of any details other than some hazy mentions
and a few myths. It is still not clear, but drawing from various sources, we
can get a general picture. Recall also that while the Zamorin was a titular
position provided to the senior-most Thamburan in the various Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-52171660812374073442022-01-29T08:57:00.003-05:002023-01-18T13:16:20.898-05:00Othenan – The Supreme Warrior of KadathanadTatcholi Othenan – As narrated in the Ballads of the
North
The Northern ballads (Vadakkan pattukal) are a series of folk songs sung by working women in the paddy fields, to fend away boredom and drudgery, composed mainly in colloquial North Malabar Malayalam dialects, without complex Sanskrit infusions. Typically, these are songs about the heroes of the Kadathanad region, especially their armed Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258499896042719014.post-62773528140258801952022-01-10T15:56:00.001-05:002022-01-29T09:10:31.171-05:00The Moothan Community in KeralaThe Moothan, Guptan, Mannadiar and Tharakan communities
The Moothans are a trading
or Vaishya community, migrants from the Tamilakam of yore, comprising broadly,
the Moothan, Mannadiyars, Guptans, and the Tharakan subgroups. A decade ago, a
classmate of mine, Mr Aravindakshan, provided me the gist of a legend connected
to the arrival of the Moothans at Cheranadu, after having to depart Maddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18163804773843409980noreply@blogger.com5