In less than a fortnight after the inauguration of the Power House in Thiruvananthapuram, 541 street lights and two consumers were connected up; the supply of current was limited to the first six hours of the night. Soon, all-night supply was arranged. Within a year, 24-hour supply commenced and 976 street lights, 375 private consumers and 113 Government institutions were supplied with electric power using 26 miles of overhead low tension mains and 4.5 miles of high tension underground feeders. There were three power generating sets installed in the Power House.
The total outlay on the scheme, including land compensation, was Rs. 4.41 lakhs.
The first casualty of electric shock was reported in the first month of electric supply in the city, in March 1929. A college student, who attempted to cut the wires of his table fan, got electrocuted.
On July 23, 1940, in Thazakkara Punchappadam in Mavelikara, a man on a row boat in flood waters got electrocuted when his oar hit an overhead live wire.
The State Electrical Department was then under the control of the Public Works Department and was led by K.P.P. Menon. He went about advocating electrical safety and his master quote was, “Electricity is not more dangerous than a match box, a can of petrol, or the fire that burns in your kitchen.”
Even after many decades, Kerala State Electricity Board used to have advertisements related to electric safety, but it has ceased in the 21st century. The arrival of electric power changed the social economic and political settings of the state. Auteur International film, maker G. Aravindan captured the social transformation in his landmark famous movie Oridath.
Electricity made its presence felt in many politically significant events too. The assault on Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer on July 25, 1947, is said to have been enabled by a deliberate power outage from Power House.
Another incident where electricity played a major role was in taking out the ‘vast offers of wealth’ in the Padmanabha Swamy Temple.
Emily Gilchrist Hatch in 1937 mentions: About twenty-five years ago, when the state needed additional money, it was thought expedient to open these chests and use the wealth they contained. A group of people met for this purpose … much to their surprise and horror, found the vaults infested with cobras, and quite naturally they fled for their lives. The treasure was left undisturbed until a year or two ago when the vaults were again opened. This time elaborate arrangements were made with electric lights and a system of fans to force fresh air into the vaults, and some of the treasure was safely removed .
A separate department for electricity was started in 1932 and was headed by K.P.P. Menon, the architect of the Power House. By this time, the possibilities of hydro-electric generation had attracted attention. The first venture was Pallivasal Hydroelectric Project, the construction of which was started in 1933. The first stage of the project was commissioned in 1940. Later in the year 66 kV sub-stations came up at Thiruvananthapuram. The Power House became powerless after the Pallivasal hydel power flew into the capital in 1940.
The Kerala State Electricity Board came into being in 1957. The diesel generator sets were auctioned; it is claimed that one of them was shifted to the Medical College.
An old diesel generator set can be seen abandoned in the KSEB building inside the Medical College campus, but no one is able to ascertain if it came from the Power House (it is a 12-cylinder engine made by Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works – SLM).
Lamp posts of streetlights were originally made of teak wood, and were very appropriately called, vilakkumaram . Even today you can locate a few of them, most of which must have lasted more than 40 years, given that posts of teak wood ceased to be installed after 1970s. The wooden posts had ‘stay wires’ to keep them upright yet many could be seen leaning this way or that.
British born city architect Laurie Baker found it amusing and attributed it to Kerala Engineers mimicking coconut trees, which never remain straight. Nearly one lakh street lights in the city have now been dwarfed by towering mast lights, which have become a common sight. The wiring and accessories of yesteryear lamp posts have almost completely vanished. The teak wood casings used to carry wires first gave way to clipped wiring placed artistically on teak wood reapers.
Similarly ‘S-shaped’ lamp necks and porcelain shades and even the incandescent bulbs have vanished.
Electrical wiring, these days, is concealed.
Tube lights and CFL lamps over took Edison’s lamp and today we are watching the complete wipe out of all these by LED lights.
House lighting has become a very high-tech affair with colour and intensity changing mood lights with electronic controls. The city’s lights have come a long way. Emily Gilchrist in 1937 watched the city after sunset from “Cattle Farm hill-top” (Kudappanakunnu) and wrote: As the daylight fade away the lights of Trivandrum city shine out, though only a few can be seen.It is most surprising to see no other lights around. There are thousands of people living all about and each little hut or home will have at least one tiny light, but the foliage is so dense that hardly a light can be seen on any side . That is not Thiruvananthapuram today, for sure.
(The last of a series of articles on lighting techniques in erstwhile Travancore)
