Arattupuzha
Grama Panchayat

ചരിത്രം

ARATTUPUZHA GRAMA PANCHAYAT

History

Traditionally, the people of this region lived by coir-making, fishing and various allied occupations. It is an interesting historical fact that Kayamkulam Lake was once fertile paddy-growing land capable of producing abundant crops. Historical records indicate that Marthanda Varma, the King of Travancore, defeated the King of Kayamkulam in battle during his military campaigns for the expansion of his kingdom. It is said that, out of disappointment and resentment following this defeat, the King of Kayamkulam ordered the Arayars of Arattupuzha, who served as his naval warriors, to breach the sandbar and allow seawater to enter, thereby destroying the fertile agricultural land. Thus, the area was transformed into the Kayamkulam Lake that exists today.

The social structure of Arattupuzha in the past was different from what it is today. Place names, oral accounts of elders and historical references indicate that, in ancient times, the village was a settlement of Brahmins and other upper-caste communities. Porumadam, Illathukadu, Puthusserimadam, Madathil Kezhakkathil, Panaykkal Manaykkal and Vattapparambu Swaroopam are among the names that provide evidence of this history. It is said that all these settlements were later destroyed by the sea.

Historical records indicate that this coastal region was once fertile land extending several kilometres beyond the present boundaries. It is also a historical fact that a marketplace and a port existed to the west of the Pathissery Bhadrakali Temple at Arattupuzha.

Foreign traders, including Arabs, and later the Portuguese, Dutch and English, came to Ar