THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Many places in the capital city hold interesting fables even in their names. Kattakada is one such place. There are many stories behind its name some connected to the famous wild banyan tree, some to its rich history as a trade centre and so on.
Kattakada can be split into two. Kattal is a place surrounded by wild banyan trees and Kada means shade. So, Kattakada means a place shaded by wild banyan trees. According to historian M G Sasi Bhushan, there is another story behind the name.
“There is a landlord family called Kattalkada Veedu. Members of the family served in the Travancore army. Later, the government appointed them to collect taxes for imports and exports. Automatically, their house name became the place name,” he says. “There is also another opinion that Kattakada used to be a commercial centre.”
As per some old-generation residents, a trade route called Amba Samudhram existed connecting Kottoor with Tamil Nadu. Illegal pepper trade happened for years through this route, many say. The king, Marthanda Varma, blocked the route.
“Goods from Kottoor and Neyyar Dam were sold at Kattakada market. Also, it was more developed than Kottoor. And the residents here earned a livelihood by selling forest products such as firewoods, honey etc,” says historian Neduvattam Gopalakrishnan.
Kattakada is the first tribal settlement area if you’re going on a pilgrimage to Agasthyakoodam. In the book, Kattakada Talukinte Thattakam, V Ramachandran Nair mentions Agasthiar mountain as the heaven of Kattakada.
Weekly column on the history of place names in the city. Got any whacky suggestions? Write to cityexpresskoc@gmail.com