THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thycaud, a place synonymous with the capital city, houses a slew of very prominent educational institutions, temples and heritage buildings. Many presume that the place got its name from what the word conveys — ‘kuttikaadu’ or forest bush. However, this is not the case.
According to historian Vellanadu Ramachandran, the place got its name after Thycaud Namboodiri, who stayed here for a brief period. When Marthanda Varma came to power, there was an urgency to renovate and reopen the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, which was destroyed in a fire.
“The renovation work began in the 18th century under the auspices of Marthanda Varma. To aid this work, Thycaud Namboodiri, a famous vastu shastra expert, was brought from Thrissur. The place where he stayed to oversee the work became known as Thycaud,” Ramachandran says.
According to M G Sasibhooshan, another acclaimed historian, “Thycaud Namboodiri also built the now 300-year-old Sree Dharma Sastha Temple here during his brief stay.” Before it became the prominent education hub that it is today, Thycaud was also a graveyard. “A lot of people from the Tamil community used to reside in Thiruvananthapuram. Then, various communities had their own graveyards. Thycaud was where the Tamils buried their dead,” Ramachandran adds.
What perhaps also added another layer of sheen to Thycaud was the shifting of the British Residency. “The Residency building was one of the best-looking colonial buildings during the time. This made it a very important place back in the day,” Sasibhooshan adds.
The building now houses the Kerala Institute of Travel and Tourism Studies. It is one of the many premium educational institutions that now dot Thycaud. The other popular ones are the Music College, the Model School, and the Government Arts College.
What’s in a name
Weekly column on the history of place names. Got any suggestions? Write to cityexpresskoc@newindianexpress.com