THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chakkai, once the heart of the erstwhile Travancore princely state, derives its name from the Urdu word ‘chowka’, which means toll booth. Over time, this word became Chakkai as people mispronounced it.
“Back in those days, the state had a long waterway, which extended all the way up to Shoranur in Palakkad district. Most of the trade, commerce, and freight traffic in Travancore happened through this canal, and Chakkai was the arrival point. Then the aqueduct was extended to Vallakkadavu,” says M G Sasibhooshan, a noted historian. Up until this extension, Tamil Brahmins who attended the popular 56-day-long Murajapam, a ritual that is held once in six years at the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple, preferred using the waterway, which could be accessed till Chakkai.
According to Sasibhooshan, Travancore had a canal way from Kadinamkulam. Then, during the time of Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma, a plan was made to develop an artificial waterway from Kadinamkulam to Veli Lake.
“The plan was executed during the period of Maharani Uthrittathi Thirunal Gowri Parvathi Bayi, and the waterway was made between the current NH47 and the Arabian Sea,” he adds. With the intermediate development of waterways, Chakkai lost its prominence as an arrival point.
Records also say that the Madras-Quilon rail line which was once extended to the capital of the princely state of Travancore, Thiruvananthapuram, had Chakkai as the last station. “The railway station was then shifted to Thampanoor between 1924 and 1931, at the time of regent Rani Sethu Lakshmi Bhai. Then came the Pettah railway station and thus Chakkai lost its importance,” says Sasibhooshan. Now the place is known for the airport, Mall of Travancore, and the Industrial Training Institute, he adds.