Thirunakkara Maidan

"On the 17th of Kumbham in the year 1030 [Malayalam Era], the bonded laborer Sirattamannu Iravi Parameswaran of Govindapuram desam, on behalf of Amrithi, a Pulayan, and Mani, a Pulacki (both Pulaya slaves born to Mani of the Manali Illam Pulayal lineage, among four children), sold them to Enathikkal Thomman Varkey of Ulassa Kara, for an agreed price of 60 chakram, having received the amount in cash from the said Thomman Varkey, and executed this deed accordingly. Signed, Iravi Parameswaran. Witnesses: Edapparambathu Raman Keshavan and Pulikkapparambil Itty Itty, both of Ulassa Kara."

Up until a century and a half ago, slave trading took place at the famous Thirunakkara Maidan, in the very heart of Kottayam town! Landowners would auction off bonded laborers from the surrounding farmlands on designated days. If a landowner had no use for the adult children of a slave settled on his land, he would sell them to another for money. A deed recording such a transfer would be kept as legal proof. The document quoted above is a record of one such transaction.

For centuries, the Thirunakkara lawn served as a resting place for travelers and a stopover for their draft animals. During the administration of Dewan Peshkar Rama Rao (1879–1890), the famous Kottayam Agricultural Fair was held here in successive years.

In later times, this maidan managed to shed its grim past as a slave-trading ground by becoming, instead, a venue for movements against oppression and bondage. It also lent its space to the voices that rose across Kerala in the cause of democracy. It was here that the people of Kottayam heard the invaluable words of numerous national and local leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi. Thirunakkara Maidan stands today as one of Kottayam's heritage landmarks.

A few years ago, this heritage ground was disfigured as part of a misguided "beautification" project undertaken by the Kottayam Municipality. Allegations of corruption were also raised in connection with this construction. The open, sprawling lawn was broken up into terraced levels, rendering it unfit for any real use. The entrance gateway on the eastern side, which once had genuine Saracenic architectural elegance, was demolished and rebuilt in a disfigured form. The boundary wall around the maidan collapsed within months of its completion.

As part of a "mural city" initiative, the western entrance gateway was made to lose its natural whiteness; it now stands disfigured, its murals faded.

Today, it has become nothing more than a nightly gathering spot for the city's "wayward youth."