Kuttanad - the rice bowl of Kerala
It is the major rice granary of Kerala, where vast stretches of
verdant paddy fields are interlaced with enchanting backwaters create
some of the unforgettable sights.
Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala is all about an agrarian
community, striking a chord of harmony with its physical setting. Noted
for its farming below sea level (about 4 to 10 feet) the land of
Kuttanad possesses a socio-cultural fabric of its own. Four major rivers
in Kerala viz. Pampa, Meenachil, Achankovil and Manimala flow into the
region
Kuttanadu is a region in the Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam Districts, in the state of Kerala India,
well known for its picturesque vast paddy fields and its geographical
peculiarities. It's the region with the lowest altitude in India, and
one of the few places in the world where farming is carried out below
sea level. It’s also one of the historically important places in the
ancient history of South India.
History
There is no recorded history on the origin of this land. But the oral
history among local people, transferred from generation to generation is
a blend of myths and legends. There is a reference to Kuttanad in the
epic Mahabharata of ancient India. In those days, Kuttanad was part of a
dense forest, later destroyed by a forest fire which is also mentioned
in the epic. Thus the place was named 'Chutta'(burnt) 'nad'(place). In
the course of time Chuttanad became Kuttanad. One can still see 'kari'
or coal if we dig deep into the soil of Kuttanad, pointing to the fact
that the place was once a forest, destroyed by wild fire. In Kuttanad
most of the place names end in kari. Some familiar place names are ramankary, Puthukkary,Oorukkary, Mithrakary, Mampuzhakary, Kainakary, Chathurthiakary and Chennamkary.It is also said that kuttanadu was once under the sea. The proof is the land is flourished with seashells.
During the reign of Chera dynasty
that ruled over ancient Kerala, Kuttanadu attained an important place
in the history. One of the powerful kings in the dynasty, Cheran Chenguttavan is said to have ruled his vast kingdom from Kuttanadu. It was also a famous centre of Buddhism.
Another version for the name is, a Buddhist centre by the name
Buddhanad existed in this place, which later gave its name to the place
and thereby Kuttanadu
Backwater Paddy Cultivation (Kayal Cultivation)
The major occupation in Kuttanadu is farming. Rice is the important
agricultural product, giving Kuttanadu the moniker of "The Rice Bowl of
Kerala". Three crops are grown every year now instead of the traditional
practice of two crops per year. Large farming areas near Vembanad Lake
were actually reclaimed from the lake. The history of the paddy
cultivation in Kuttanad can be traced back to centuries. The evolution
of paddy cultivation in Kuttanad was correlated to the technological
advancement and changes in the regulatory frame-work existed during the
19th and 20th centuries. In the earlier times, the reclamation was done
mainly from the shallow part of the Vembanadu Lake
or from the periphery of river Pamba. These reclamations constituted
small areas of paddy fields called “Padsekharams”.The bailing out of
water from those fields were done manually using water wheels named
“Chakram”. Gradually the manual method used for bailing out of water
gave way to steam engines. there were robbery in kuttanadu at earlier
days. it was prohibited by sree moolam thirunal. Three distinct stages
can be identified in the reclamation of kayal lands from the Vembanad
Lake. In the first stage it was carried out by private entrepreneurs
without any financial support from the part of the government. The
‘Pattom Proclamation’ made by the Travencore Kingdom in the year 1865,
gave a great fillip to the reclamation activities between 1865 to
1890.During this period de-watering of the polders were done manually
using waterwheels Chakram) restricting large-scale reclamations. Only
about 250 hectares of land were reclaimed during this period. Venadu
kayal and Madathil Kayal that were reclaimed during this period are
considered as the first ‘Kayal Nilams’ which were reclaimed from the
Vembanadu Lake.
These pioneering reclamation activity of kayal cultivation was made by two brothers Mathai Luka Pallithanam and Ouseph Luka Pallithanam belonging to Kainady village in Kuttanadu.
The period between 1865 and 1890 is usually considered as the first phase of kayal cultivation.
The introduction of kerosene engines for dewatering resulted in the
reclamation of wider areas of the lake for cultivation. It made the
farmers to think of venturing into the deeper parts of the lake. During
the period between 1898 to 1903, reclamation activity was led by Pallithanam Luka Mathai (alias Pallithanathu Mathaichen) who reclaimed the Cherukara Kayal and Pallithanam Moovayiram Kayal.
But second phase (1890 to 1903) of reclamation activities came to a
halt because of the ban on kayal reclamation imposed by the Madras
Government in 1903.Cherukali Kayal, Rama Rajapuram Kayal, Aarupanku
Kayal, Pantharndu Panku kayal and Mathi Kayal were the other major
reclamations during this period.
In 1912, Madras Government approved a proposal from the Travencore
Government for further reclamations in three stages. Under this
reclamation scheme kayal land was notified for reclamation in blocks
each named by an English alphabet. Out of the total area of 19,500 acres
of kayal land 12,000 acres were reclaimed between 1913 and 1920. After
the removal of the ban in 1913, Pallithanam Luca Matthai
along with some other prominent families in Kuttanadu, reclaimed
E-Block Kayal measuring a total area 2,400 acres. This is the biggest
kayal nilam in Kuttanadu. C.J. Kurian, Ex MLC and Mr. John Illikalam
were his main partners in this venture. The reclamations between 1914
and 1920 are known as new reclamations, which were carried out in three
periods. In the first period Blocks A to G measuring an 6300 Acres were
reclaimed. C Block, D Block(Attumukham Aarayiram (Attumuttu Kayal),
Thekke Aarayiram and Vadakke Aarayiram) and E Block(Erupathinalayiram
Kayal) F Block(Judge's Aarayiram Kayal) and G Block(Kochu Kayal) are the
major Kayal nilams reclaimed during this period.
During the second period of new reclamation, blocks H to N measuring 3600 acres were reclaimed under the leadership of Pallithanam Luca Matthai,
Cunnumpurathu Kurien, Vachaparampil Mathen, Pazhayaparmpil Chacko and
Kannathusseril Peious. During the third period of new reclamation R
Block Kayal measuring 1,400 acres were reclaimed by the joint effort of
eight families led by Pallithanam Luca Matthai, Vachaparampil Mathen and Pazhayaparmpil Chacko.
From 1920 to 1940 reclamation activity came to a halt because of the steep drop in the price of rice.
Pallithanam Luca Matthai who had served as member of Moolam Thirunal of Travancore's Praja Sabha
(Popular Assembly) was considered as the pioneer of cooperative
agricultural movement in Kuttanadu. His life marked the beginning of the
epoch of first generation Kayal Raja's
of Kuttanad.(Kayal Raja is the term generally used to refer to the
prominent kayal cultivators in the Kuttanadu region).In 1931, in order
to strengthen the farming community in Kuttanadu he founded Kuttandu Karshaka Sangham(Kuttanadu Agricultural Association).
From the beginning of his farming career in his teens (he was only
eighteen years when he reclaimed the cherukara kayal), he brought
together like minded people and successfully led the reclamation
activity from 1898 to 1940.
Due to the steep decline in the price of rice during 1920 to 1940 the
reclamation activities become lethargic, but they gained momentum again
in the early 1940s. During this period, in order to increase the
agricultural output, Government initiated Grow More Food campaiagn and
started providing incentives to encourage new reclamations. The advent
of electric motors made the reclamations relatively easier, cheaper and
less risky as compared to the earlier periods. The last tract of the
reclamations namely Q, S and T block were made during this period by
Thomman Joseph Murickummoottil (Muricken Outhachan). He did cultivation
in a very large extent of reclaimed area and achieved such a success
that he was crowned as "Krishi Rajan" (farmer king) by the then prime
minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. The prominent families in Kuttanadu
who were involved in the backwater paddy cultivation are Pallithanam,
Vallickadu, Vachaparampil, Pazhayaparmpil, Punnadamvakkal, Chalayil,
Kandakudy, Illikalam, Akkara, Ettuparayil, Mangalapallil, Paruthickal,
Meledom, Murukkummootil, Puthenpurayil, Pattasseril etc.
As the farming in the area increased farmers felt themselves
constrained by the two cycles a year for rice cultivation. The reason
for which is the limited availability of potable water in Kuttanadu.
During the monsoon seasons, the water from the mountains flow through
the rivers to the sea, bringing potable water to Kuttanadu. But during
summer, due to the low level of the region, seawater enters Kuttanadu
and makes the salt content of the water high making it unpotable.
