Master Builders Who Left Their Mark on Tradition

In old, history-steeped Kottayam, the traditional-style houses and places of worship still standing on both banks of the Meenachil river in ancient Thazhathangadi continue to astonish visitors with their architectural distinctiveness and beauty.

Travelers arriving from various places, having heard of old Kottayam town's heritage renown, often ask locals and homeowners about the age of these houses and shrines, their architectural features, and how they have been preserved. But the truth is that few ever inquire about the architects and master builders who creatively contributed to raising these remarkable structures. There is real value, then, in a historical inquiry into the architects of old Kottayam who poured the undying spirit of their craftsmanship into these buildings, and into the standing they held in society.

For such an inquiry, the only aids available are the construction dates and names of master craftsmen recorded near the attic beams of a few homes in Thazhathangadi, along with oral traditions. As an introduction, it is worth first reflecting on the community these architects belonged to and the place they held in Kerala's social history.

Before the Sangam period, crafts such as house-building, weapon-making, jewelry-making, and pottery had not yet developed and matured in the Malayalam-speaking lands. In that era, before the caste system had taken shape, all these trades were practiced in a rudimentary manner within society. But as continuous practice and experience over time gave certain individuals in each trade greater dexterity and practical knowledge, and as these experts came to train their own descendants in what they had learned, each trade gradually became hereditary in nature. Descendants within the same family, and members of the associated lineage, came to follow the same occupation their ancestors had practiced.

It was during the Sangam period that these trades were scientifically reorganized and began to develop in this structured way. While stonework gained prominence in the Tamil lands, it was woodwork that saw the most experimentation in the Malayalam-speaking region — a divergence shaped by the differing availability of raw materials. The woodworkers, stoneworkers, and metalworkers engaged in this creative work came to live close together within the same village, given the interdependence of their trades in construction activities, and to interact closely with one another. Such groups developed shared customs and rituals, and shared legends about the origin of their lineage. With the spread of Vedic literature, these legends came to be woven into the wider body of Puranic myth. Those engaged in the work of "creation" on earth worshipped Brahma, the deity of cosmic creation. They regarded Vishwakarma — the five-faced incarnation of Brahma — as the progenitor of their lineage, and conceived of Manu, Maya, Tvashta, Shilpi, and Vishwajna as his five sons and disciples.

Following the Sangam period, the Kammalar (Vishwakarmajar), who continued to weave their creative contribution into the art of construction, held a respected place in society owing to their expertise and technical knowledge in their respective fields. There is considerable evidence to suggest that foreign contact — which had begun in South India even before the Sangam era — opened new dimensions in the field of architecture.

Known as the Brahmajnas (knowers of sacred craft-knowledge) among the Dravidian tribes, they were pushed to the margins of society with the influx of Aryan groups. As the caste system came to be imposed in accordance with the interests of those who established authority over land, this community found itself placed outside the four varnas, among the "Panchamar."

The proponents of the Vedic religion, as is well known, carefully studied, systematized, and documented the sciences and other bodies of knowledge that existed in every land they entered. What the Vedic religionists actually codified and preserved — and what later generations mistakenly came to believe was their own original knowledge — was, in truth, the scientific knowledge that various tribal communities of South India had acquired traditionally, over centuries, well before Vedic dominance, through observation, experimentation, and practical experience.

The Kammala community possessed creative talent and practical knowledge passed down through generations. Moreover, since creative construction work demanded not only intelligence, artistic skill, and scientific knowledge but also practical craftsmanship and physical labor, their authorship over the field of architecture could not easily be wrested from them.

It was during the era of the second Chera empire that skilled stone-carvers arrived here from Tamil Nadu. It is notable that while they had built the temples and palaces of the Tamil country with elaborate and towering enclosure walls, here they adopted a construction style that was simple in overall form yet intricate in fine detail. This may have resulted from differences in climate and environment, and variations in the availability of building materials.

The growth seen in woodcraft and timber work from the tenth century onward is also particularly noteworthy. Before that, even palaces were built by binding bamboo, plastering the floor, and thatching the roof with palm leaves! The newly emerging architectural style began to be used mainly for the residences of the elite and for places of worship.

Progress in the art of construction continued through the period of Chola dominance as well. History records that Gajabahu, the Sinhalese king of Ceylon, invaded South India and defeated the Cholas. At that time, there existed a community called the Chevakar, who had acquired knowledge in agriculture, medicine, weaponry, and physical training. Kesari Balakrishna Pillai, in his book Charithrathinte Adivaerukal ("The Roots of History"), states that Gajabahu carried off to Ceylon the most accomplished among this community in their respective fields, along with skilled members of the five divisions of the Vishwakarma lineage.

In Ceylon, where Buddhism had flourished widely, the prevailing style of house construction was that found in East Asian countries — beautiful timber structures with pagoda-style roofs, finished with baked clay tiles. It is plausible that the master craftsmen who reached Gajabahu's land were able to absorb this style of construction and blend it with the architectural mathematics they had inherited through tradition.

Although foreign trade flourished more than ever from the beginning of Perumal rule, the scarcity of skilled technical craftsmen meant that grand structures for the ruling class remained rare.

Kesari Balakrishna Pillai further notes that during the reign of Pallibana Perumal, a prominent Syrian merchant named Knai Thomman, who landed at Kodungallur, sailed to Ceylon with twenty ships accompanied by Thuluvan Perumal, the Perumal's brother, and brought back the descendants of the Chevakar and Kammalar communities that Gajabahu had carried off. This account also persists in the traditional beliefs of the Knanaya community. There are also indications that, in gratitude for this event accomplished with Knai Thomman's help, the Perumal granted him and his followers various honors and privileges.

It may well be with the return of the Kammalar from Ceylon that the style of construction seen in Kerala's architecture today began to gain currency. The prevalence, in South India — and especially in Kerala — of the East Asian practice of using stone and timber as needed, with steeply pointed roofs forming the ceiling, lends some historical credence to the legends described above. In the Chera country, the architects skilled in this craft lived centered around Kodungallur. Legend celebrates Perumthachan, hailing from the region of Uliyannoor, as one of the twelve children of Parayi born to different fathers ("Parayi Petta Panthirukulam").

We may now turn to the history of the master architects who left their distinctive mark on temple- and church-building in old Kottayam.

Thazhathangadi, once merely an agricultural stretch along the Meenachil river basin, had by the medieval period come to be known as a major inland trading center. As various communities increasingly arrived and settled there, the resulting progress in the construction of dwellings, watercraft, and tools likely increased the need to bring in those with greater expertise in these fields.

Within the social structure of the feudal era, technical experts in construction who were brought to settle in a village were accorded a place of primary importance by the ruling class. It was essential, for the ruling class to display its nobility, that temples and homes be built in keeping with the finest aesthetic ideals generally accepted at the time. The economic progress brought about by the growth of trade lent further support to this.

Under the patronage of the ruling class, architectural experts studied even the building styles prevalent in other lands in fine detail, and blended them with the architectural science they had inherited by tradition. If such experimentation began and was nurtured during the Perumal era, it reached its peak during the era of independent principalities (swaroopa rule). It was in this way that sanctums of varied shapes, timber-rich namaskara mandapams, nalukettu structures, koothambalams, elephant stables, gopurams, and elephant-back-shaped walls (gajaprishtha walls) came together to form the three-quarter enclosures (mukkalvattam), and residential complexes took shape as nalukettu, ettukettu, and pathinarukettu structures. In boat-building, traditional methods were combined with new knowledge brought through contact with Arabs and the Portuguese. It was also the duty of the ruling class to bring in and settle all who were skilled in these fields at their principal centers.

Oral memory preserved among these families suggests that the architectural experts of Thekkumkur were brought, together with their families, from places such as Kodungallur, Madurai, Thanjavur, Karthikappally, Chengannur, and Idappally. Families skilled in carpentry, stonework, metalwork, and jewelry-making lived in close proximity to one another. Rulers granted land and other property, tax-exempt, to each of those who arrived, mainly for temple construction. The right to hold the hereditary position of Sthapathi at a temple belonged to the descendants of the master craftsmen who had originally determined the temple's site and designed its structure. It may be because they handled architectural treatises (pramanam) that the eldest craftsman in these Sthapathi families came to be known by the title "Pramani."

The skill of these master builders (thachapramanimar) was also called upon to construct suitable dwellings for the other communities settled in the area in connection with trade. With the diligence and encouragement of the kings in this regard, the residences built — with the deliberate intention that they endure for centuries — became ornaments of the marketplace. A distinctively developed architectural tradition took shape.

In Thazhathangadi, the eastern bank of the Meenachil river, where the trading Nazrani community lived, has mostly Nazrani houses, while the western bank, Kummanam, has mostly Muslim houses. These range from houses 300 years old to ones built as recently as 150 years ago. In just the past three decades, however, about twenty houses built in Thazhathangadi's distinctive traditional style have been demolished, replaced by concrete boxes.

The question of how the common architectural pattern of Thazhathangadi's houses took shape is one well worth investigating. Variations in style can be seen depending on the period of construction. Christian houses and Muslim houses show visibly distinct styles. Though they follow the basic principles of Kerala's traditional architectural science (vastu shastra), these houses — arranged facing the river — do not follow the traditional nalukettu form.

Christian houses show a blend of Syrian and Portuguese styles. The formal characteristics of the old Syrian-style homes found in Kunnamkulam and the Portuguese mansions found in Mattancherry can be clearly traced here, merged into Kerala's building methods.

These merchant houses are distinguished by the storage chambers and verandahs suited to trade. Though not built especially high above the riverbank, they also feature underground chambers. Teak, jackwood, and anjili are the woods most commonly used in their construction. Since both roof and walls are largely of timber, the interiors of these houses maintain a temperate climate. Numerous architecture students and researchers have carried out studies on these homes.

It was in the early fifteenth century that the Thekkumkur king rebuilt the Kottayam Thali Mahadeva Temple into the form seen today. It is believed that Madathinkal Moothashari, the royal architect, was the temple's chief designer. Stoneworkers who arrived from Idappally participated in the construction. The sanctum sanctorum of the temple has notable structural features of its own.

The Thazhathangadi Juma Masjid is an outstanding example of Kerala's architectural tradition. Few, if any, other old-style mosques feature woodcarving of such elaborate intricacy.

It is known that in the construction of the Kottayam Valiyapally and Cheriyapally churches, local Moothasharis worked alongside the Portuguese architect Antony Mestri. If so, it must have given local craftsmen the opportunity to understand and apply Portuguese methods — which may explain why this cultural blending is also visible in the houses of Thazhathangadi.

It is believed that the Vishwakarmajar who built the Kottayam Thali temple and the Thazhathangadi Juma Masjid came from Kodungallur. A popular oral account holds that two Moothasharis from the same family died in a fall during the construction of the Juma Masjid.

Some ancient houses facing the Meenachil river in Thazhathangadi bear inscriptions on their facades recording that they were built by Vadakkedathu Kandankali Achari of Veloor. The ancestors of the Thekkedathu and Vadakkedathu families are known as the Sthapathis associated with the construction of the Veloor Parappadam Temple. Thekkedathu Kunjupilla Achari, three generations back, was also a renowned master builder; some houses in Thazhathangadi stand as examples of his architectural skill.

In an earlier generation, the Thekkedathu family had a master builder devoted to the Goddess. He was, by hereditary right, entitled to the Sthapathi position at Parappadam. But owing to some misunderstanding involving the Thekkumkur king, this position was taken from him and granted instead to another, scheming carpenter. Deeply anguished on learning this, this proud craftsman is said to have gone wailing to the Goddess's shrine at Parappadam and taken his own life, cutting his throat with his chisel upon the sacrificial stone. This ancestor's spirit is said to have been consecrated there as Arukola (the "slain one").

There was also a family of Sthapathis entrusted with temple construction in areas such as Aymanam and Olassa. Some among them were brought to settle in the Kummanam area for construction work there. The family known as Perumpalayil built the Ilankavu Devi Temple and the Thaikkattu Thrikkayil Sree Krishnaswami Temple. The various Muslim homes along the Meenachil river showcase their skill — Koyipurathu, Vedippuraykkal, and Valiyaveettil being prime examples.

Perumpalayil Kochupanicker, two generations back, was a renowned master builder. When the Sabarimala temple was rebuilt following a fire, his eldest son, Narayanacharyi, was among the team of craftsmen deputed to oversee the architectural work.

Alongside these families, the descendants of other families who came to the area for house-building and household-implement-making continue to live in Kummanam under the family names Manalel, Alaykkal, Puthiyara, and Cherukothra. The Cherukothra family, in particular, has produced several individuals skilled in traditional medicine and surgery — Cherukothra Vaidyar, who lived in the last century, was well known in this field. Descendants of those who came from Kuttanad in connection with boat-building also still live in Kummanam today.

The family known as Madathinkal — descendants of the Moothashari brought and settled by the Thekkumkur king to build the Thirunakkara Mahadeva Temple — today live in two branches, in Puthenangadi and on the northern slope of Thirunakkara. Alongside them, another family that arrived from the Ettumanoor area lives in Thiruvathukkal under the name Thottakathu. Descendants of the Madathinkal family — who held the Sthapathi position at Thirunakkara Mahadeva Temple — say that their ancestors were granted, tax-exempt, the land between Chirayilpadam and Thirunakkara, and were accorded various customary rights from the temple year after year. The architects of this family are also remembered for their role in building the Puthuppally St. George's Church and the Puthenangadi Kurishupally.