KOCHI: Many places in Fort Kochi and Mattanchery are famous due to their unique names. One such place is Kappalandimukku. The name itself suggests that it has something to do with peanuts. But it’s not just that: the place also used to have a large Tamil settlement and that is the reason for its name.
Former mayor K J Sohan says the area was known for peanut and coconut oil. “Around 250 years ago, a lot of Tamil people moved to Kerala and settled in Mattanchery. A section of them used to engage in making peanut and coconut oil. As many foreign ships used to reach Kochi and business with Arabia and Europe was going strong, there was a huge demand for oil. Ship crew members were heavily dependent on oil to preserve food for months. So, the business of Tamil settlers thrived and the place came to be known as Kappalandimukku,” he says.
Around 400 metres away is Pandikudy. “Both are along what is currently known as Jawahar Road. The Tamil people settled in Pandikudy and their oil mills were in Kappalandimukku. Now, Pandikudy has a Tamil temple and has many Tamil residents,” he says.
Some residents in the area say as a lot of people from Pandi Nadu were staying in the area, the place was once known as Pandimukku. As the business grew, the area gradually came to be known as Kappalandimukku.
Dasan, who owns a tea shop in Chullickal, remembers ‘Kappalandi Amma’. “There was a woman who used to sell peanuts in front of my school. She had sold peanuts for about 70 years and was a familiar face to everyone here. She was from Kappalandimukku and children used to call her Kappalandi Amma.”
Muneer Naina, a steel fabrication contractor and writer, says Tamil-speaking Yadavars and Telugu-speaking Manai Chettiars settled in Kappalandimukku. They might have arrived in the area in the late 18th century or early 19th century. The commingling between the communities happened through marriages.
The temple where the Yadavars worshipped their deity came to be known as Shri Mariyamman Temple and the one where Chettiars worshipped was Shri Nagakaleeshwariyamman Temple. As time passed, both the communities started going to both temples.
“The deities at these temples are considered sisters,’’ says Sivan Gurukkal, a Kalari master. Sivadasan, a 62-year-old native of Kappalandimukku and a representative of the Yadavar community, says: “There is no more peanut business here. The fourth generation of Kappalandimukku is into selling dates and snacks.”