
On the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram lies a small hamlet that is of late picking up pace as a residential settlement cut away from the din of the city yet at an arm’s length from its facilities.
Known as Peyad, the place has for long been relegated as a suburb yet a prominent one due to the natives of the place who have made it to the creative and literary fields of the state.
But long before it was known as Peyad, the place had a unique name, says historian Vellanad Ramachandran.
“In literature found during the reign of the Ay king Karinthanadakkan in 866 AD, the place has reference as Talaivilappil in a land deed drawn. And quite notably, the place is at the tip of Vilappilsala, which is quite close to the area,” he says.
According to him, Talaivilappil was the place where the workers of the university at Parthivapuram were given accommodation or even ownership of land as remuneration for the work they did at the ancient learning centre.
“The Parthivapuram Sala was modelled on the Kanthalloor Sala in Thiruvananthapuram of which Vilappilsala etc. were all a part. During those days, salary could also be land and the benefits one would accrue from it. That way, the staff were accommodated at Talaivilappil.”
Then when did the name Peyad emerge? “Could be after the 9th century. There are references of people who were worshippers of God being present in the region and assembling at the ancient temple in the region, which stands to this day. ‘Pey’ could mean divine being but it has undergone corruption to also mean dark beings later,” says Ramachandran.
“The temple at Peyad is actually a reminder of the Indus Valley civilisation which was effaced for whatever reason. Some of them migrated to different parts of the country and brought with them their culture of worshipping the divine feminine or Kali. In Kerala, it came via Tamil Nadu, where the mother goddess began to be called ‘amman,’” Ramachandran adds.
According to him, there are several such Ujjaini Mahakali Amman temples, reminders of the Indus Valley cult, in the city. Peyad is one of them.
In Silapadikaram and the Sangam literature, there are mentions of singers of divine tales or dharmic tales who congregated at temples. The temple at the present-day Peyad could also be one such place where the singers congregated and eventually settled.
“Even now, there are descendants of Tamil settlers there, and the temple too is run by Tamilians,” the historian says. Also, since the region is at an elevation, it came to be called ‘aad’ which is also a vernacular term for an elevated place.
“The place’s name is rare and unique and cannot be approached except with an inquisitive mind, because any parallel in linguistic or regional history cannot be applied here. The place had reference differently in ancient records even before the Vilappil panchayat was formed in the 1950s as per the Thiru-Kochi codes,” he says.
Old tales might be many, but natives say they have seen the place emerge as a bustling suburb from a near-remote place in the 1950s.
“Maybe the old records call it a happening place but when I was young, the only public place there was was the temple. Now, however, there are some upmarket schools and offices, and the city seems to be interested in settling here where tranquillity and history together form a unique living space,” says Komalam Pillai, 70, a local resident.