KOCHI: Every year, on the last Thursday of the Malayalam month of Dhanu, the Azhakiyakavu temple in Palluruthy hosts a century-old market called ‘Pulavanibham’. People from around the district gather at the north gate of the temple, akin to a festival celebration.
Poles are erected, wares are stacked, and merchants are busy on a clammy Wednesday afternoon. Merchants are busy setting up stalls to sell earthen pots and utensils, kitchen tools, knives, machetes, toys, dried fish, sugarcane juice, plants, snacks, sweets, mats, baskets, etc.
Three elderly women sit under the shades, observing the activities on the sandy ground. “Everything will be set up by evening. That’s when the customers start coming in. The temple opens around 5.30pm,” says Pushpavalli Gopi from Chottanikkara. She and her friends, Rajamma Ravi and Bhavani Krishnankutty, are palmists who visit the market every year.
“The main days of the market are Wednesday and Thursday. However, sales will continue till Sunday,” says Pushpavalli. Though the three friends are not too aware of the history of ‘Pulavanibham’, they say it was initially set up as a barter market for people of the once-marginalised Pulaya caste.
Back in the days, the erstwhile kingdom of Cochin permitted people of marginalised castes to sell their wares on the northern side of the temple. The market that subsequently sprang up has been an annual affair for about 100 years.
Jamal Kunnathel from Aluva, a regular merchant at the venue, says the market has evolved into a full-fledged trade fair in recent years. “This is one of those special places where people come to actually buy things – rather than order online,” he laughs.
Nedumbassery resident Shaju Jacobs, who has set up a stall of knives and other metal tools on the roadside, says he has been part of the market for the past 35 years. “It’s a tradition passed on by my forefathers,” he says.
“This used to be the yearly market where people of marginalised communities would buy household items: knives, kitchen vessels, dried fish, sugarcane, muram, kutta, vatti, etc. Back then, it was a barter system.” K J Sohan, former mayor and state convenor of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, says, once upon a time, many considered it a privilege to have this market adjacent to the famous temple.
“This historical market needs to be conserved. The corporation can build stalls for the merchants to sell their indigenous products, rather than plastic products. We all need to evolve, so does the market,” he says.