KOCHI: Located in the heart of Kochi, Palarivattom is a vibrant commercial hub that boasts a rich blend of history and modernity. Back in time, however, it was an underdeveloped border enclave sandwiched between the erstwhile states of Cochin and Travancore.
It is said that the current Palarivattom junction was once home to a ‘kothikallu’ or a stone that marked the
Kochi-Thruvithamkoor boundary. The area also witnessed the Battle of Kochi in 1504, where the Portuguese garrison in Cochin, allied with Trimumpara Raja, to fight against the armies of the Zamorin of Calicut and vassal Malabari states, notes former editor and writer Ravi Kuttikad.
Palarivattom was initially not a part of Ernakulam municipality, under the Cochin kingdom. “It became part of the city in 1967, when the Kochi corporation was formed,” recalls journalist and local resident P Rajan. As to how the place got its name, there are many theories. One popular lore is that it evolved from the name ‘Pagalnarivattom’, meaning a place where jackals roam even during the day — pagal (daytime) + nari (jackal) + vattom (circle).
According to the book Keralathile Sthalacharithrangal by V V K Valath, the name Palarivattom comes from a native goddess named ‘Palari’, who used to be worshipped in the area in ancient times. Another popular take is that the name comes from the centuries-old Goddess Sri Raja Rajeswari temple, believed to be among the 108 Durga shrines consecrated by Lord Parasuram in Kerala. As the deity was Initially installed under a ‘pala’ tree, the place came to be known as Pararivattom, goes the legend.
There is a Buddhist tale as well. Some historians suggest that the name might have evolved from a ‘Parariyar vattom’, a healing centre run by a Buddhist community of yore. “This version lacks sufficient historical evidence,” says P Prakash, president of Changampuzha Samskarika Kendram. “However, places that were once influenced by Buddhism were often named with the suffix ‘vattom’.”
With such mangled history, it seems the nomenclature would need a Sethurama Iyer-style probe to unspool the truth. Palarivattom, after all, was the original site of the “dummy” experiment in the case of P K Narayanan vs State of Kerala, a scene later adapted in the film Oru CBI Diary Kurippu.