A children’s park also one for senior citizens, a space for culture, a venue for the performance arts, one of the city’s green lungs…such are the many ways Changampuzha Park at Edappally engages with life and the city. A memorial so alive, thriving, pulsating and vibrant – it is a good way to be remembered. Changampuzha Park, which started out in 1977 as the Changampuzha Memorial Cultural Centre in memory of the late poet Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, in 18 years of its existence in this avatar is a is a buzzing hub of activity.
The foundation for the park was laid in 1977 by the then Chief Minister C. Achutha Menon on land acquired by the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) as a memorial for the poet who belonged to Edappally. Long ago, the place where the park stands today used to be a pond called Polakulam, says K. Balachandran, former Mayor and chairperson of GCDA, and the man behind what Changampuzha Park is today. It was one among the many ponds in the area. It is said that Changampuzha used to sit on the edge of another, Marankulam, and sing. “The area around the pond (Polakulam) once housed a register kutchery , a saw mill and a few shops,” says Balachandran. These had to go when 1.8 acres of land was acquired.
Old timers say there wasn’t much of a park till 1996. “In fact, a part of the area would be filled up with mud, as a makeshift stage of sorts, to celebrate the birth anniversary of Changampuzha,” says Balachandran. The space enclosed with a compound wall provided cover for anti-social elements so much so that mothers forbade their children from venturing anywhere near the area, says Prema Manmadhan, veteran journalist and Edappally resident. K. Balachandran, according to her, deserves the credit for its current status has a hub of activity.
Post-1996, the Changampuzha Memorial Cultural Centre embarked on its journey to Changampuzha Park under the aegis of the Changampuzha Samskarika Kendram. It was in 2002-03 that the park came to be.
A small airplane, courtesy the Naval Base, was brought in and placed, still a curiosity which finds children looking at it in wonder. Swings, slides, benches, a fountain, a pond, a stage, a walkway….slowly, step by step with help from the Samskarika Kendram, the park grew into what is today. “There was help from funds of various MLAs such as K. Babu, Simon Britto, A.K. Antony and George Eden and of course, the GCDA,” Balachandran adds.
The Changampuzha Samskarika Kendram was formed as a charitable society in 1997. It associates with several cultural organisations to host programmes. The Samskarika Kendram serves as an umbrella organisation for cultural fora such as the Senior Citizen’s Forum, Edappally Kathakali Aswadaka Sadas, Edappally Sangeetha Sadas, Edappally Nrithaswadaka Sadas, Aksharashloka Sadas, Kavyamoola and Mazhavilu (children’s theatre workshop).
In 2000-01 the Samskarika Kendram organised a Vishwa Kala Sangamam, a month-long art event that included performance arts apart from painting and sculpture. “Sculptors and artists, 39 of them, participated in the show. The sculptures by veterans such as V.K. Rajan, Alex Mathew, Rajashekharan Nair, Sudarshan Shetty and N.V. Krishnan made the park their home,” says T. Kaladharan, one of the forces behind the art extravaganza.
The island of green and calm remains unchanged in the face of change taking place outside its gates. The last couple of years have seen the Kochi Metro Rail digging, piling and rising at the park’s doorstep, outside its main gate that faces the road to Aluva. On the other side of the park, lies the old potholed road to Aluva.
Concrete pillars tower over the foliage, the view may have altered outside but inside life comfortingly hums on.
