Name the city that has a " heart made of Water". It must be Calicut also called Kozhikode in the vernacular and now the official name of the city. The "Heart of Water" refers to the Mananchira found at the center of the city. Chira in malayalam refers to a temple pond. It is possible that there was a prominent temple close to this Chira in the ages bygone and also could have been the seat of the palaces of the Zamorin. One of the Zamorins' immolated himself in the fire he set to the palace fearing dis-honour in the hands of Hyder Ali who was progressively ravaging this part of the world and subjugating the populace and sometimes conducting public circumcisions. The maurading army of the Mysore sultans could have demolished the temple en-route on their entry to Calicut is a possibility.
There are no traces of many of the ancient edicts anywhere in the vicinity today barring this pond which merrily basks in glory in modern Calicut left untouched by the generations and a mute witness to many a happennings and a huge maze of vehicles that circumscribe it today from large vehicles to cars to two wheelers and auto-rickshaws not to be left behind. There is a park adjacent to this pond where few revellers could be seen in the evenings and on a closer look among the trees and plants is a statue of the stalwart of Calicut of modern times "Krishna Menon" gazing in a direction but cornered for all practical purposes and needs to be made conspicious. Very early morning reflections by the water in the pond of the street lights that adorn this place is a treat to watch.
Calicut was called calecot by the Arabs who descended here for trading for many centuries and have praise for this place mentioning that there was no theft of goods and merchandise that was left at this place and the ships were very safe. Tax was collected at the port and they describe it as a friendly city. Many of these travellers found the coast of the Arabian sea a lucrative proposition for trading starting from manjarur-the modern Mangalore and progressing southwards buying and selling goods on their way during which they encounter Elimali-the modern day ezhimala; Cannanore for which the arabs had their own name and to Calecot to Cochin and possible to the coast of Ceylon and back. Elimali or Ezhimala for them was a natural port because their ships were protected from winds by mountain ranges that jet into the sea. Historical books say so and I am yet to verify this fact.
The people of Calicut to me were not an unfriendly lot like in many cities I have visited ;and guide you with integrity when in a fix. You see scores of people dressed in white mundu and shirt across the length and breadth of Calicut. Buses these days have become jam-packed unlike during earlier times and Malayalam is the language largely spoken but a good section of the populace comprehend English and hindi. At some points in Calicut you see traffic jams these days. Calicut grew in leap and bounds after the international airport came up at Karipur some thirty kilometers from the city. The weather is largely sultry during a large part of the year and it rains heavily during monsoon.
Vasco Da Gama landed at a place called Kappad some 18 kilometers to the north of Calicut in 1498 with fellow sailors and a fleet thus officially Europeans gaining access and entry to this place. There were many conflicts between the Zamorins of Calicit and the Portuguese. Not much of Portuguese remanants can be seen at this place today but they are an unerasable factor in the history of Calicut. Subscequent events and the lack of tolerance on the part of the Portuguese across various issues possibly made it impossible for them to gain a long term foot hold at Calicut and with the advent of other europeans gradually drifted to other pastures. I have myself not visited the kappad beach and this beach needs to be marketed as a tourist spot as it has an important footprint in history. The portuguese government of today can also partake in some small way to make this spot a heritage site and coduct some event here on an yearly basis to commemorate the landing of Vasco Da Gama. It is possible that a good section of people at Calicut have not visited this site and not an encouraging phenomenon. Historical antipathy of the people of Calicut towards the Portuguese could be the reason but it is time that such animosities be buried at once by the modern world for a better future.
Calicut has a beach which is around four kilometes from manachira pond and a pleasant place to watch the evening sunset from among many people who make a regular visit here every evening. The beach is clean and well oriented for the public. There are some restaurants in the vicinity and a well maintained road called the beach road that runs alongside the beach. There is sufficient parking space here and the beach road by itself is not a prime road line and is largely devoid of heavy traffic. It is important to note that another semi-port exists even today near calicut called Beypore port and is a place even to this day mini ships are designed and built using wood from coconut palms that are chopped down for this purpose.It is beleived that this tradition could be many centuries old and exists even to this day. But these places need to be devoloped and the access to them augmented. Beypore beach must be some eight kilometers to the south of Calicut beach.
Cannanore; Trichur and Wayanad are places close to Calicut and each of these places enjoy merit for their own reasons. Calicut has a government bus stand which is small by modern standards on mavoor road around half a kilometer and walking distance from Mananchira.(The private bus stand is also close by). You find buses to almost every place from this small bus stand including chennai and pondicherry. There is a football stadium at Calicut towards the end of M M Ali road where international level foot ball matches were held in 1986 and also Ranji trophy cricket matches were held. Important educational institutions at Calicut are the NIT Calicut; IIM Calicut and the Medical College Calicut. New private educational institutions have burgeoned at this place of late.
Lodging at Calicut can be an important issue and travellers must make it a point to search for a good lodging facility. The lodging facility near the bus stand are below par but there are good hotels at the other spreads of the city.Auto drivers can be banked upon for a focussed search which would lead one to a decent place. Food is clean and hygenic at most places and the general costs are much lower than at many cities. Rachna Shah I A S a celebrated women I A S officer from Delhi was the Collector here for some time and remember speaking to her over the telephone on some issue and found her very receptive ,polite and responsive.
Rachna Shah
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