And Quiet flows the Meenachil River…………

                            Thomas Chandy

                           This presentation of the story of Thazhthangady is not history as the historians define the word, nor is it a legend, or folklore, and certainly not a fairy tale. As I try to define this write up. I become more and more aware that it defies conventional definition of such articles. It is a collection of broken pieces of history and legends, old tradition passed on from generation to generations, put together in a mosaic for the benefit of posterity. Tryst of this small little dot on the map of Kerala called Thazhthangady (literal translation the lower habitat or lower bazaar-actually somewhere in between) starts in the 11^th century AD. Even before that there must have been habitation therein but was away from “the maddening crowds’ ignoble strife” and has not left any footprints for the coming generations.

                                

                                  Consequent upon the breakup of the power centre of the Kulashekharas, the local chieftains started declaring their independence and establishing their own sovereign principalities. This development in the 11^th century gave rise to the establishment of Thekkumkur Royalty. Their kingdom consisted of present Changanassery, Kanjirapally, Thiruvalla, Kottayam Talukas and the high ranges of Idukki district. Kings of Thekkumkur as well as Vadakkumkur are referred to in Sanskrit books as Bembalisas. Series of geographical changes triggered by the great flood of 1341 appears to have had its impact on the course of the history of Thekkumkur. Emergence of Kochi as a major port and diminishing importance of the port of  Musiris (alias Kodungallur), proximity to the Vembanad backwater, well connected waterways etc must have been the reasons that prompted Thekkumkur Raja to shift his capital from Manikantapuram to Thazhthangady. For about 4 Centuries the fortunes of the geographical area defined above (i.e. around 200 sq kms, a large part consisting of forests and water bodies,) were decided from the royal palace at Thaliyillkotta in Thazhthangady.

                                 

                               

                                  Malankara Nazranis at that point in history excelled in 2 spheres of life- trading and warfare. As far as Thekkumkur was concerned their contributions were mainly in the area of trading. Nazrani settlements in Thazhthangady had open encouragement from the crown. The motive was to improve commercial activity of the kingdom and thereby increase taxes and revenue to the principality. The smart ones who never let go an opportunity rose up to the occasion and made a mini exodus of sorts to the newfound “promised land” Lock stock and barrel! They brought along with them an infrastructure consisting of merchandise, huge cargo boats, its implements, craftsmen, artisans, helpers, servants; oarsmen so on and so forth. Till about the 1950s it was not uncommon for artisans, agricultural workers etc to have a patron Nazrani family to whom they were fiercely loyal. Many of them subsequently improved their lot partly with the help of their patron families. It was more a bond of the hearts than the bondage of labour.

                                  The Meenachil River and its tributaries and distributaries networking a large part of the kingdom of Thekkumkur flowed quietly. Nazranis with their trading skills contributed substantially to the coffers of Thekkumkur. In the absence of a place of worship, as was the practice of those days a cross was built by Malankara Nazranis on the banks of Meenachil river at Thazhthangady around 1350 AD. A prayer hall came up subsequently with Bahanan Sahda as the Patron Saint. It could not develop into a full fledged church, reasons for which cannot exactly be pinpointed at this point of time. Two possible reasons are a) Close proximity to the Thali Mahadevar Temple b) Prevailing practice at that point of time and much beyond that the places of worship should be on high rise terrain. Whatever be the reason, a full fledged church could take shape only in the 16^th century in the form of Valiyapalli, not far away from the cross. Fact remains that the first and still existing place of worship of Malankara Nazaranis is the granite Cross at Thazhthangady.

                                 

                                  The reform movement in the church of Malankara which culminated in the birth of the present Marthoma Sabha had its echo in Thazhthangady also. The prayer hall attached to the cross got destroyed in a fire. The Malankara Sabha followers blamed it on the reformists and the reformists blamed it on a freak lightning. However a replacement of the destroyed prayer hall came up only a century later after a lot of trials and tribulations. The Nazaranis had a burning desire to build a church on the banks of Meenachil River in close proximity to their original place of worship, but destiny asked them to wait.  

                               An attempt was made to build a Church in Kummanam, the other bank of Meenachil River. A piece of land was purchased, but the efforts for building a Church was abandoned for reasons of communal harmony. The land which was purchased for constructing a Church changed hands many times over, but even now a part of that plot is called “Pallipparambu” which means Church Compound. It is another matter that a Church was established in late 1960s in Kummanam although due to totally unrelated developments.

                             The long cherished dream of Thazhathangady Nazranis became a reality in 1953 when foundation stone was laid for a Church in Thazhathangady. There are a number of people who contributed to the establishment of the Church materially, by labour, intellectually, by devoting their time and efforts –but one name needs to be mentioned. And that is Mr.E.J.Joseph Ericattu, former Secretary of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Christian Association.

                                 Coming back to the history of Thekkumkur, the tranquility bordering on sedatory, life of Thazhthangady was overtaken by major upheavals that altered the destiny of Travancore if not the whole of India.  Unification of small principalities into a powerful regime by Marthanda Varma saw the end of Thekkumkur regime headquartered at Thazhthangady. Marthanda Varma sent his trusted lieutenant and Diwan Rammaiyyan Dalawa to Thekkumkur.

His mission was to persuade the Thekkumkur Raja to accept the over lordship of Marthanda Varma and in return he could rule over his existing kingdom subject to the superintendence of Marthanda Varma from Trivandrum. The younger generation of Thekkumkur found the offer too humiliating to accept and reacted sharply to the extent of humiliating and manhandling Rammaiyyan Dalawa. This enraged Marthanda Varma who saw the humiliation of his emissary as humiliation to himself. A powerful army under the command of Captain Delenoy the Dutch commander in chief of Travancore army was dispatched with clear instructions to destroy Thekkumkur completely- Men women and materials. The Thekkumkur palace was razed to the ground with no stone remaining atop another one.. Only a few members of the royal family could escape the swords of Travancore forces. Some of them escaped through underground tunnels which took them to the waterways and could manage to reach the Suryakaladi illam in Nattassery. The Namboothiris had lot of immunities and Suryakaladi was not a place where even the powerful Marthanda Varma dared to trample upon. Another female member of the Thekkumkur royalty got amnesty on the grounds of her being an expectant mother.

                                  Political importance of Thazhthangady diminished. It became one remote corner of the pravarthiarate (official designation at that time equal to the present Thahasildar)- headquartered at distant Cherthala. But the commercial importance continued till such time waterways were the main means of transportation-to be more precise till late 1940s. Huge kettuvallams carried merchandise of all kinds to the length and breadth of central Travancore (these kettuvallams which were an endangered species have now taken a rebirth as luxury boats and crisscross Vembanad lake carrying international and domestic tourists). Over a period of time the commercial activity got shifted to Kottayam town with the road transport overtaking water transport. Thazhthangady remained a freeze shot- time which overhauled the rest of the world, could make very little changes on the face of Thazhthangady. The old world charms refused to leave Thazhthangady. Not that the inhabitants are cut off from the rest of the world. They are there all over the world in all kinds of vocations, but wherever they are they hold Thazhthangady dear to their heart. Whenever they can manage a little breathing time, they get into a time machine and land in Thazhthangady to breathe some fresh air with the old world charms.

                                

                             River Meenachil also called Kavanar flows quietly even now though much of her beauty is lost due to the greed of the new world order, perhaps heaving a sigh, reminiscent of a more glorious past. She was a spectator to the rise and fall of a Kingdom, played an active part in a flourishing trade and commerce even after the Kingdom vanished. She now has only a boat race to showcase to the rest of the world.

                               The image of Mar Basalios Mar Gregorios Church reflected in the waters of Meenachil River is a great visual treat-a la Tajmahal on the banks of Yamuna. On moonlit winter evenings it is bliss to watch,

                    And Quiet Flows Meenachil River, tranquility and quiet of the old world being carried in the ripples…….

       

Acknowledgement:

1.    Sreedharamenon A-Kerala Charithra Sangraham

2.    Paret Z.M Malankara Nazranikal Vol 1to8

3.    Panicker K.M.Sardar-Kerala Charithram

4.    Edamaruku Joseph-An article published in Paschima Tharaka Weekly in October 1983

5.    Philip E.M- Malankarasabhayude Rahasya Pedakam

6.    Kunjanpillai Ilamgulam-Kerala Charithram