Watching the Periyar flow is soothing. All that remains of the previous night’s rain is the tip-tap of drops of water — on the grass and the awnings. It makes the morning air crisp as the lukewarm sunlight slowly spreads over the River Lodge: Cranganor History Cafe and Riverside Chateau at Puthenvelikkara, a village near Chendamangalam in North Paravur.
You can see the river from wherever you are you are on the property listed on Airbnb — lounging or having a meal or simply taking in the sights. The rooms face the Periyar too; leave your door open and you can watch the river as you listen to it flow and the birds.
The River Lodge | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
This area of Puthenvelikkara forms a part of the region that comprises the old, once-thriving port city of Muziris, which extends from North Paravur to Kodungallur.
For someone who lives in nearby Kochi, this place with its quiet feels a world apart despite being only 30-odd kilometres away. Fort Kochi usually gets all the attention, but there are parts in and around Kochi such as Chendamangalam which are historically significant. Chendamangalam because it was the seat of the Paliath Achans, prime ministers to the Maharajas of the erstwhile kingdom of Kochi.
And Chendamangalam is fodder for the imagination. While the rest of the country would remember it with reference to the 2018 flood and the handloom sector that took a hit because of it, there is much more to this place with its crisscrossing river channels of the Periyar and tiny islands.
The past straddles the present here, the past more present in some parts of the town. This area was part of the region that comprised the once-thriving port city of Muziris, which was an important part of world trade routes in the region. Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Phoenicians and Arabs traded in spices, ivory, teak, cotton fabric and other goods here. The Portuguese, Dutch and English came later.
“It would have been a multicultural ‘town’ with varied influences... The oil, pickle and vine jars and stoneware that were found in the Pattanam excavations point to that. The traders would have lived here at least for six months when they came here to trade,” says history buff and entrepreneur Rasmi Poduval, also the owner of Cranganor, which she set up with her husband, Vineeth Viswambaran. She adds, “All these factors have influenced how we live, our food, culture… perhaps every aspect of our lives.”
Kodungallur (Cranganore as the Portuguese called it or Muziris), a few kilometres from Chendamangalam, is believed to have been a crucial trading (maritime) hub and urban settlement. Archaeological excavations by the Kerala Council of Historical Research at nearby Pattanam have yielded amphora shards of Roman origin besides a number of other items.
The palace of the prime minister
The charm of the place is irresistible as we begin with a tour of the recently restored Paliam palace, now a museum. It has just stopped raining and the palace and its well-manicured surroundings look freshly washed and white. Entry is ticketed.
The centrepiece of this town is the Paliam Palace, renovated for the family by the Dutch as reward for services rendered by the Paliath Achans. The three storied building, a hybrid of Kerala and Dutch styles, served as a residential and official space. The guided tour offers a glimpse into life in the ‘palace’.
The restored Paliam Palace, now a museum | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Thick columns, carved staircases — the narrow ones, typical of Kerala architecture and the wide Dutch-influenced ones, windows that open in such as way that no one can see inside, a thick wall used as a sort of torture chamber, the prasanga peedika on the third floor from where the Paliath Achans addressed people, curios and paraphernalia used.... It is a treasure trove of curiosities and historical tidbits.
Next door is the more austere Paliam Naalukettu, the living quarters of the women and children of the Paliam family. The well-preserved building offers a peek into the social structure that rules the family where adult male family members moved out of the house to live in the bachelors’ quarters.
Oldest synagogue
Chendamangalam is also home to the oldest synagogues in the region at Kottayil Kovilakam, a village nearby. The Jews are said to have arrived in the region in 69 AD, setting up a colony and making this home for several hundred years. Built in the 15th century, for the Malabar Jews, on land donated by the Paliam family, it was renovated in the 17th century when it was destroyed by a fire. The building with a white facade, sits in the middle of this green shaded village. Stepping into it is like stepping into another place in time. Once located at the heart of a thriving Jewish community, it gets few worshippers as most Jews of the area moved to Israel.
The synagogue | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
There are some who return either looking for their roots or as a pilgrimage to the land of their ancestors. Bezalel Eliahu is one such person. “His was one of those Jewish families from Chendamanagalam which sold everything, in the 1960s, to move to Israel. However, he returned every year, at least till 2018. He and his wife were an interesting couple, they spoke only Malayalam and/or Hebrew.”
Next to the synagogue is a house built by a few Jewish families from the area who moved to Israel. The gate announces two names in Hebrew, Malayalam and English: Eliahu family and Bath Zion and Bezalel.
“Although when they left they had to live in different kibbutz in Israel they created a Kerala community,” Rasmi says. She recalls one family which recreated (as a film) their late mother’s journey from Chendamangalam to Israel. Rasmi organises trips such as these for guests staying at the property.
What makes this synagogue different are the Bema (elevated platform for Torah readings), on two floors. The woodwork is elaborately carved and well-preserved as it is now maintained as a museum of the Muziris Heritage Project.
We leave the site with the sobering thought of how a community has dwindled.
Chendamangalam handloom
A weaver at the weaver’s co-operative | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Finally… what is a trip to Chendamangalam without a visit to a weavers’ co-operative? The clatter of looms drowns conversations in the large, high-ceilinged weavers hall. The large hall has several women weaving on their looms. The famed puliyila kara (tamarind leaf border) sari is GI tagged.
The Paliath Achans were patrons of handloom, which made it a hub of handloom as weavers, brought from neighbouring Karnataka for the purpose, made it their home. Besides dhotis and saris, weavers have expanded their portfolio to include yardage for school uniforms and even home decor, says a weaver, showing me the pink and red striped material she weaves.
The trip is a seamless segue with glimpses of the past interlinked with the present, where one meets the other sometimes hesitatingly and often embraces it!
The writer was at the River Lodge: Cranganor History Cafe and Riverside Chateauon the invitation of Airbnb; ₹13,200 per night
