The industrial revolution in England during the 19th century created far-reaching changes in erstwhile Travancore.
However, only in the initial decade of the 20th century did Travancore witness the founding of a public transport service. The key figure behind this adventurous venture was A. Narayanan Thampi (1867-1934), the eldest son of Visakam Thirunal Rama Varma (1880-1885) and Panapillai Bharati Lakshmi Pillai Kochamma of Arumana Ammaveedu. The ‘Commercial Transport Corporation Ltd’, established by Thampi in 1910, was perhaps the first of its kind in Travancore.
Pratap Kizhakkaemadhom, a great grandson of Narayanan Thampi, in his new book, Pattum Parivattavum, presents before us a brief life history of his illustrious ancestor. “Thampi was a visionary who understood the importance of public transport system in the improvement of trade and commerce in Travancore. In 1892, he travelled to Madras [Chennai], Bombay [Mumbai], and Calcutta [Kolkata] to understand more about public transport system,” says Pratap.
Thampi’s decision to establish an efficient transport system in Travancore met with several challenges. Thampi’s request to the Travancore government to repair the roads and make it suitable for vehicular transport was acknowledged, but Thampi had to bear half of the expense from his own pocket. “He spent Rs. 6,000, a huge amount in those days to fulfill his dream project,” says Pratap. Once the roads were repaired, Thampi’s eight-seater buses, bearing the name ‘Sri Vilas Motors’ took passengers from the capital city to Kollam and Nagercoil.
The residents of Thiruvananthapuram as well as people from remote parts of the state flocked to get a glimpse of the bus powered by coal gas. Soon, Travancore saw the birth of several motor companies such as Prince Motors, Lakshmi Vilas Motor service (Nagercoil), Addisons Transport Company and Pioneer Motors, to name a few.
A contemporary of Thampi and a famed artist of his days, artist K. Ramakrishnan Achari recorded in his journal on August 10, 1918: “I came to motor office at about 6 O’clock; I got ticket for the Comfort Bus. The car came up to Balaramapuram and then it got some disorder, so we got down from it and walked up to Neyyattinkara…” On another occasion, Achari, who failed to get a seat in the bus, had to walk all the way from Kuzhithurai to ‘Trivandrum’. These interesting notes highlight the difficulties faced by the early bus travellers. The era of the gas engine ended with the introduction of petrol and diesel engines. “When petrol engines came, Narayanan Thampi had already left the scene, and nobody remembered him or his adventurous endeavor,” says Pratap.
It is said that Thampi had to face serious financial setbacks during later years. However, never did Thampi regret his decision to start the motor company. A staunch follower of Chattambi Swamikal, Thampi was astounded when Swamikal predicted that Thampi’s end would come while he was travelling. Coincidently, years later, Thampi, when he was travelling in a train to his daughter’s house, suffered a heart attack. Thus ended the life of a charismatic person in the history of Travancore.
(This write-up is based on an interview with Pratap Kizhakkaemadhom.)
