TRACING BACK TO EXISTENCE: A NARRATIVE OF CULTURAL EXCHANGE – Akhila GN

The glorified land of spices located in the southern peninsular area of India is popularly known as ‘Malay Nadu ‘(Kerala) renowned through colonization and altered narratives of religion and culture, but the central part of Kerala including the districts present day Kottayam, Idukki and parts Ernakulam and Thrissur. The early evidence of Persian-Arabic influences lies in the spice route of Meenachilriver which leads to a maritime passage connecting the region to the ancient port town of Julfa. The aspect of intercultural exchange is significant as it ends up as a product of secular system and throughout the documentation it has an inevitable presence.

Two languages cancel each other out, beckoning a third”
-Roland Barthes

The dead body lied peacefully in the coffin, the smell of the incense and serenity of death spread around the place. The smell and the sound of funeral spread onto the river currents of Meenachil carried them to the mainland spreading the tale of trade of a human life to the unknown and it’s a story of disintegration and coexistence existence and tostart with it starts with the history of Kottayam

A Short History of Kottayam

The existence of human civilization since the time of New Stone is evident in Kerala. The race popularly known as Negroid-proto-Australoid at different stages of civilization mixed with the different races that came to the land and formed the civilization that existed in Kerala.This forms a major argument of the historians. The rock cut temples found in central Kerala point towards the existence of such a civilization. Writings of Pliny mentions about the famous ports that were in Kerala [Muziris, Korayoor and Semney] and historians try to bring in the argument that Korayoor mentioned here becomes Kottayam. During the Sangam period there are arguments of the place being under the control of Cheras and the emergence of local leaders was also a part of the developing agricultural merchandise. The western ghats had the best of spices and the after the flood of 1341 a lot of the land to the eastern side of today’s Kottayam got covered in alluvial soil and the chances existence of a Portland this side also became suitable for cultivation.