Part 1 - Haines – The Ingliz Sultan and the formation of Aden Having focused thus far on the Calicut end of the Red Sea-Malabar trade route, I thought it would be a good idea to head over to Aden and see how the port developed into the place I had heard so much about from old timers in Calicut and fellow expats in the Middle East. Many spoke of relatives who had worked in Aden, and my
The Odi Cult and the Kalladikode NeeliIn the previous article, we read about Yakshis, especially Kalliangattu Neeli and the Panayanar Yakshi, and their connection to the Kadamattathu Kathanar. While those stories and myths were linked to Travancore, Malabar was also well known for sorcerers, witchcraft, and black magic. Some years ago, I wrote about the Chattans of Malabar and the evil eye; now
Muziris, Arikamedu, and Aalgankulam - Windows to Roman Trade In the previous post, we discussed Indians who ventured abroad and sometimes settled in Red Sea ports and Egypt for short periods while engaged in Roman–Indian trade. While we uncovered some shipping routes, ancient ports, and evidence of their presence, we had planned to examine evidence of Roman presence in South India. A quick
Azad Hind – Head of Secret Service and Intelligence Most INA-related books focus on Subhash Bose's central role as the leader and often overlook details about the people, characters, actions, and stories of bravery at the lower levels of the force he commanded. However, the Rani Jhansi army, which he is credited with forming, and the role of Lakshmi Sehgal are fairly well covered in a few books.
And the graffiti made by Cikkai Korran, in the Valley of the Kings It should be no surprise to anyone interested in the Indian Ocean trade that there was robust intercourse between India and the various dynasties that ruled Egypt and Rome. As one might guess, it was mainly fostered by trade, though in the ancient past it was more about philosophical discourse, stemming from Alexandrian forays to
An elite community of Boston Boston is an amazing place to visit with so much to see. While exploring, you might even come across a Boston Brahmin without realizing it. So, who could this be? There existed a wealthy aristocracy in New England, called the Boston Brahmins (pronounced differently as Bremen or Breymun), a term popularized by Oliver Wendell Holmes, who compared them to the caste
The ubiquitous Malabar Parotta – and its meandering journey I love the Malabar Parotta, and ever since I first tasted it during our college days in Calicut in the 1970s, it has remained a favorite. There was even a time when we only ate it during vacation visits to India since there was just one Pakistani restaurant in Istanbul in the 90s when we lived there. Not willing to give it up, we packed
A discussion on its etymology The state is making headlines, and several discussions will soon begin in the media - on social platforms, and of course, on TV. The official name Kerala, as written in the constitution when the state was formed in 1956, will soon be changed to Keralam at the request of the state government, which has long sought this change. Many people will soon offer expert
The fate of AI 101 Kanchenjunga VT - DMN is well known to many interested in Air India and to those who have studied India’s nuclear developments. Simply put, this commercial flight, a Boeing 707-437 operating between Bombay and New York via Delhi, Beirut, Geneva and Paris, took off without incident on January 23, 1966, and crashed early on the 24th during its approach to Geneva, slamming into
Preethi Vinod Chellappan’s painting – ‘Vasco de Gama’s first audience with the Zamorin in Calicut (AD 1498) It all started last year when I was researching the history of the Tali Temple. After getting off the auto-rickshaw, I went to the Tali Temple offices in Calicut and asked to meet the person in charge to discuss its history. The friendly man listened to my questions and said they had
The adventures of an enslaved Nambiar from Chirakkal Some years ago, I wrote a short note on Ayaz Khan, but it was incomplete and required much revision. In the meantime, journalist Ramachandran had also covered this man's story and referred me to C. Kunjirama Menon's book on Velluva Kumaran. Armed with additional details, I decided to rework the story and retell the adventures of this
An eminent anthropologist's pioneering work in KeralaI came across her seminal work and read several papers she wrote on Nair kinship many years ago while trying to understand the history of the Nairs of Kerala, and as part of my effort to grasp some of our customs. The first time I got hold of the ‘Matrilineal Kinship’ book, coauthored by Gough with Schneider, was after my late uncle, a history
Although many Malayalis are familiar with this fascinating character from folklore, and quite a few probably know of Naranathu Branthan (who is similar to the Greek mythological figure Sisyphus), his brother, the lunatic from Palghat, I haven't come across any thorough studies on Pakkanar. Kottarathil Sankunni introduced him in his Aithihyamala. Kundur Narayana Menon published parts of Pakkanar
Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, ABB, Hitachi, and me… The other day, I visited some historic sites related to Tesla and Westinghouse, which brought back memories of my time at ABB and Hitachi, both of which had links to Westinghouse over the years. While you might find stories about Tesla, Edison, and Westinghouse in many American books, magazines, and articles, there are hardly any about how
Sambhar – the curry and its originsThe other day, we discussed the origins of Idli, and a few days later, I came across a different version of Rasam, popularized by a well-known wedding caterer, cook, chef, and restaurateur, Nataraja Iyer, which turned out quite good. (However, it should be even better with less jaggery next time.) This indicates that every basic recipe evolves over time,
Panchavankadu Neeli a.k.a Kalliankattu Neeli Two days ago, we watched the exciting Malayalam film Lokah – Chapter 1, starring Kalyani Priyadarshan, and it was a fantastic experience. Kalyani brought the character to life vividly on screen as Chandra, an incarnation of the Venad Yakshi - Kalliyankattu Neeli, as a modern-day action heroine fighting evil. If you haven't seen it, you should
Cabral, Pacheco or ? Recently, I was discussing history with a Brazilian colleague of mine, and I mentioned Cabral's voyage to India, noting how he veered off course and ended up in Brazil, thereby being credited with the discovery of Brazil. My colleague, Ricardo, frowned after listening patiently and said that the issue remained contested, with differing opinions on the matter, and added that
And its involvement in Indian affairs During the early 40’s, as the world was engulfed in a great war, pitting the Allies against the Axis, the battles drifted Eastwards, and the skirmishes in the air and over the seas intensified. Frigates churned the waters and bombers roared overhead in many war theaters, while submarines prowled the depths waiting to pounce on enemy warships and merchantmen
A Victory slogan and Abid Hasan Safrani Many articles and books mention that Champakaraman Pillai was the originator of the usage of “Jai Hind,” and I was also misled by it initially. Though Pillai was a hardcore patriot who fought for Indian independence from Berlin during the early WW1 years and until he died in 1934, he was barely involved with Subhas Bose and the INA. Pillai’s seminal work
A Raja Rani Story Raja Ravi Varma, the great painter, on assignment to the Tondaiman palace for a month, could not have imagined that the little eleven-year-old sitting across from him, modeling for a remarkable painting (which you can still see and admire at Google Art), would go on to create waves across many continents after he grew up. The painting itself shows a demure little boy,
My interview with Jimmy at Dream Malayalam....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2IHzrDqGN4Please watch, comment and share! Part 2 Below https://youtu.be/IFp-R83nXsA
Sankara Variyar, Sankunni Menon and Govinda Menon – Dewans of Cochin Ikkavamma the poetess Many families produced illustrious bureaucrats, but only one produced three dewans. They were Sankara Variyar and his sons Sankunni Menon and Govinda Menon who served as the Dewans at Cochin during the second half of the 19th century. Today there are buildings and roads named after them, but it
A story from Victoria Point – Burma- May 1942 – WW II Japan entered the war with an attack on the American Pearl Harbor naval base at Hawaii, on Dec 7th1941. It was a devastating attack, launched mainly from Japanese aircraft carriers, destroying many ships in the American Pacific fleet. Their primary intention was to cripple the Western command, thereby preventing the Pacific Fleet from
Cricket in the 19th century – MalabarKerala finally got into the Ranji trophy finals and played two-time winner Vidharba. Sadly, they conceded a first-innings lead and in the resulting draw and loss of the title, were outclassed by another Malayali player Karun Nair, playing for Vidharba, who scored close to 200 runs across his two innings. But well, I will call it a Malayali triumph nevertheless
Kinnaird, a matrimonial proposal, and the Christians of Travancore I mentioned this incident in the TNB bank article, and as you study this story, you may, like I did, consider the whole thing preposterous. But when you sit back and digest it, you will realize that it was not so, for in history, all across the world, there have been alliances and marriage proposals for the sake of political or