M. Kuttiannan (55) is popularly known in the village of Iduhatty as ‘Kuthiraikaran’ or the horseman, for, his family has traditionally owned and rented out horses to bring produces from inaccessible farms to a collection point in the village, from where the produces could be taken to local markets.
Kuttiannan and his band of horses perform a crucial role for the farmers in the villages surrounding remote Iduhatty, as they serve as a relatively inexpensive means for them to transport their goods to the market, and also as a means to bring fertilizer and other essentials to remote farms dotted on the steep hills that surround Iduhatty.
Locals said that Kuttiannan’s family, as long back as they can remember, had been involved in the trade.
“My grandfather used to own more than 50 horses, and we used the horses to take produces from the farms, located on slopes that have no roads, to the local markets,” he said.
Kuttiannan, who travels to around seven villages near Iduhatty, said that on average, he walks anywhere between 15 and 20 km a day. “I charge per kilometer, from anywhere between Rs. 50 and Rs. 100, depending on the season and the terrain,” he said.
His horses can carry a load of 100 kg, and Kuttiannan says that they require quite a lot of maintenance. “Not only are the animals expensive to maintain, but they also require protection against animal attacks, as leopards are known to roam these parts and prey on the foal,” he said.
Though Kuttiannan is proud of is ancestry, he says that the income from the trade has dipped sharply over the last few decades. He now owns just five horses, including a foal, after he sold two horses last week due to lack of demand for his services.
He also says that he is the last in the long line of his family, who will be involved in the trade. “I have two daughters, and both of them are now married. Even if I had sons, I would not like them to enter this line of work, as there is very little money to be had from this job,” he said.
