It’s quite fascinating to discover how a quaint nook of Elamkunnapuzha village in Vypeen traces its name to a style of trousers once worn by Western sailors of yore. Yes, as the headline suggests, we are talking about bell-bottoms.
Fashion heritage columns note that bell-bottoms were initially worn by American and British navy men in the early 19th century, purely for functionality: the flared bottoms could easily be rolled up during work.
Decades later, by the 1960s and ’70s, they became a fashion statement — first as high fashion, and later popularised globally by the counterculture wave.
Now, what does this have to do with Vypeen? What caught our eye was a location here with a unique name — ‘Belbo Junction’. The first guess that springs to mind is that it’s a vestige of Kochi’s colonial past. But no, that’s not the case.
As we ask around, all fingers point to an old, tiny tailoring shop.
The story behind the name Belbo Junction unfolds the past of Lonan Kaipperi—better known as ‘Belbo ashan’ in this part of the world.
The board simply reads Belbo. Lonan, now 82, carries forward a legacy that has endured for over 50 years.
He studied only up to Class 7 due to financial constraints at home. In his teenage years, he was drawn to theatre, karate, and fashion. He also dabbled in carpentry.
“Later, I joined under a relative named Kunjappan ‘ashan’ to learn tailoring. After gaining experience at the job, I joined a priest named Mathew on Jew Street in Fort Kochi. He was an ace. His clients included those foreign visitors who would come to Kochi on board ships,” Lonan recalls.
“I learned to tailor different styles from him, such as elephant-cut and parachute trousers. In 1975, I decided to open my own tailoring unit. While searching for a unique name, one of my college-going friends suggested ‘Rainbow’. I didn’t find it charming enough. Another one proposed the name Belbo. He told me about the bell-bottom craze, and a town named Belbo in Italy.”
Lonan reminisces how he would be overwhelmed with requests for bell-bottoms, especially after the legendary macho actor Jayan popularised it. “I would work from 8am to midnight back then,” he smiles.
Soon, the shop and its name became famous. “People from various places came looking for me as I stitched different styles. Gradually, my shop became a landmark,” Lonan recalls.
“First, KSEB named its feeder in the area ‘Belbo’. Later, the road, nearby bridge, and the junction also got the name. Unfortunately, I don’t have the fortune to live in Belbo Junction. I live nearby in Murikumpadam.”
Today, Lonan mostly stitches school uniforms and garments for old loyalists. Bell-bottoms? “Some new-gen youngsters — freakkans, as they are called — occasionally ask for them,” he laughs, pointing to a pair of elephant-cut trousers he is stitching for a teenager.
Lonan also gets unusual visits from curiosity-driven strangers now and then. “Some years ago, a bunch of youngsters from actor Jayan’s hometown in Kollam came here just to see the shop and meet me,” he laughs. “Recently, a group of students from St Albert’s College visited me.”
Ward member Adv T M Dolgove says ‘Belbo ashan’ is part of Vypeen’s collective nostalgia. “I remember hearing about the Belbo story as a child. It was the first tailoring shop in the area. There wasn’t even a proper road here when ashan started the shop,” he says.
“Now the place has been developed—more residents have moved in, new stores, container yards, and other ventures thrive here,” he adds. “What we miss is having a Belbo bus stop.”