“Today one finds it hard even to imagine the existence of a lush paddy field in Puttarikandam. But I still recall the farmlands and the coconut groves that gave a rural charm to Thiruvananthapuram,” says 93-year-old Jagadamma, who hails from Sreevaraham.
She was employed in the Melkanganam Office associated with the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple from where she retired as Deputy Thahasildar, in 1979. “I was first posted at Sanketham Office in Thuckalay (1943) where I worked for a month before I was transferred to Thiruvananthapuram,” recalls Jagadamma.
In charge of revenue
Melkankanam and Sanketham might sound unfamiliar to residents in the city today but for senior citizens, these names might arouse memories of Padmanabha Swamy temple, grand festivals, and also an agrarian past.
The Melkanganam and Sanketham departments were entrusted with the upkeep of revenue from the ‘Sri Pandara vaka’ lands owned by the temple. “Our office was attached to the old puja nelpura, the granary (where the Panjajanyam Kalyana Mandapam is located today), where the harvest from the temple lands was stored,” says Jagadamma.
Jagadamma
The Melkanganam department was headed by a Tahasildar, assisted by a ‘Samprati’ (Deputy Thahasildar), a few clerks and peons, whereas the nelpura had a ‘Chandrakkaran’ who kept the accounts.
The Melkanganam office in the Fort area had six sub-offices in various villages. The Tahasildar and the deputy made periodic visits to these places for inspection. The temple land was given out for cultivation and rent was collected from the tenants in the form of paddy and a nominal fee, which the concerned Village Officers collected and dispatched to the Melkanganam granary. The paddy stored in the nelpura was measured and issued for the day-to-day activities at Padmanabha Swamy temple.
Matriarchs from select Nair families came with their helpers to receive the grain from the nelpura. They took the grain to the nearby uralpura , where it was husked and the processed grain handed over to the temple authorities. Later, special arrangements were made to buy paddy from the nelpura for Murajapam ceremony conducted once in every six years.
Conduct of festivals
Apart from the official duties, the employees at the Melkanganam office were also responsible for the conduct of the festivals at the Padmanabha Swamy temple. Nelluveli Neelakanta Pillai in his work Kodiyettu aragumelam (1914) explains how, after the festival, the performers race to the Melkanganam Kacherri (office) to collect their padi (wages).
“Nowadays, that agrarian lifestyle seems like a distant memory,” reflects Jagadamma. “Years back we maintained farmlands and workers who looked after the cultivation. Every Onam, they would bring an earthen pot full of beaten rice and plantain, and we, in turn, would give them a sumptuous feast, some money and new clothes on the fourth day of Onam.” She still recalls the vast expanse of farmlands that extended from Thampanoor to Attakulangara; the pathirikari farmland in Vanchiyoor and the coconut groves and paddy fields in the Muttathara region. The workers who toiled in these lands had their huts on the fringes of the fields.
Uri, a measure with the Travancore insignia and year 1887 engraved on it
When the old granary and associated establishments were closed down in 1970s, the old utensils and measuring units once used in the nelpura were auctioned. “I bought an entire set of the old measuring units – a para , nazhi , uri , and uzhakku – with the conch shell insignia stamped on it. At least these measuring units will remind me of the good old days,” she adds with a smile.
(The author is a conservation architect and history buff)
