Prologue
This journey takes you through the paddy fields of Kuttanad — the reclaimed lake-bed farmland in the southern part of Vembanad Lake, straddling the border of Kottayam and Alappuzha districts. These cultivated tracts, where rice and coconut are grown on land reclaimed from the lake, are known as "kayal nilangal" (lake-bed fields).
The boat jetty is now located at Kodimatha, on the bank of the Meenachil river, adjoining the M.C. Road at the southern edge of Kottayam town. This area grew in importance in the late 19th century when Diwan Peshkar T. Rama Rao led the effort to cut the Puthentode canal in a straight line connecting the Kodoor river with the Vembanad backwaters, easing water transport between Kottayam and Alappuzha. Boats operated by the Kerala State Water Transport Department now run their services from the Kodimatha jetty.
Travancore Cements Limited, which operates on the bank of the Kodoor river at Nattakom, is one of the oldest public-sector industrial enterprises in Kerala. Established in 1946 during the reign of the Travancore royal government, it was one of the earliest ventures in Kerala's industrialization. The company began cement production using white clay and calcium carbonate sourced from the Vembanad backwaters, along with limestone brought from Tamil Nadu, as its main raw materials, and has long been a reliable supplier of cement to Kerala's construction sector. It mainly manufactures products such as Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC). Although the company has faced financial difficulties at various points due to ageing machinery, rising production costs, and stiff competition from private companies, the Kerala government continues its efforts to revive production through modernization projects.
Kottayam Port is an inland cargo terminal established at Nattakom to promote the movement of goods by inland waterways in Kottayam district. The project was intended to transport containers and other cargo by barges from the Port of Kochi, thereby reducing the burden and cost of road transport. However, the port did not achieve the level of cargo traffic that had been anticipated and therefore fell short of its planned objectives. Nevertheless, it remains a noteworthy initiative in the development of inland waterway transport in Kerala.
The true point where the Meenachil — the lifeline of Kottayam district — meets its end is at Pazhukkanila, in Pallam. Local lore has it: "Dive in at Pala, and you'll surface at Pazhukkanila." According to this saying, if a dried coconut were released into the river at Erattupetta or Pala and instructed to travel only along the river's centre, it would, if it obeyed, arrive exactly at Pazhukkanila. But if it disobeyed and instead drifted along the banks, it would end up taking one of the westward-flowing branches — via Nattassery, Thiruvaratta, Kummanam, or Parappadam — and eventually reach the Vembanad backwaters at Kumarakom instead.
The Meenachil actually joins the Vembanad backwaters at Pazhukkanila after flowing about two kilometres south alongside its final tributary, the Kodoor river. Normally, tributaries merge into and are absorbed by the parent river — but here the reverse happens: remarkably, it is the parent river, the Meenachil, that merges into and disappears within its own tributary, the Kodoor. The Puthentode canal, cut in 1885 to enable water transport between Kottayam and Alappuzha, mercilessly sliced straight across the Meenachil as it flowed south, dividing Veloor from Kiliroor. What remains of the river beyond that cut loses its flow, thins out into a mere stream, and limps westward through Malarikkal to a pitiful meeting point near the "ten-cent" crossing west of Muttam. It is into the vigorous, three-boat-width-wide, fast-flowing breast of her own daughter that the mother river — reduced to a feeble trickle — comes to merge and vanish!
Situated on the eastern side of the Muttam Boat Jetty at Natakkam, on a bend of the Kodoor River, is the sacred grove and shrine known as Muthan Muthinada Devasthanam. The exposed rock outcrops along the riverbank bear witness to the geological continuity of the massive rocky formations that, until about eight decades ago, rose like a natural fortress at Muttam. These are the only visible granite rock formations emerging above the surface in Kuttanad, a landscape otherwise created by centuries of alluvial deposits.
From ancient times, this has been a tribal place of worship associated with the indigenous agrarian communities. Surrounded by the river on one side and canals on the others, the sacred grove has the appearance of a small river island. The shrine is best viewed from the river while travelling along the waterway.
East of Malarikkal, west of the Muttam–Pallam area, north of Pazhukkanila Kayal — bordered by the Meenachil River (north) and Kodoor River (east). Said to have once been a crown-tenancy ("pandarappattam") holding of the Poonjar royal family. On an islet in its southern middle section stands the famous Valiyaveetil Bhagavathy Temple, worshipped in the "Ottamulachi" (single-breasted goddess) tradition, very close to Irambam in Pazhukkanila.
During the era when inland waterways served as the principal means of transportation, passenger boats and cargo vessels arriving from the southern and south-western regions through the Vembanad Lake had to enter the Kodoor River before reaching Kottayam.
To guide these boats safely to Kottayam during the night, a beacon was required. Accordingly, this lighthouse was erected on the eastern bank at Pallath, where the river meets the lake. In AD 1875, Sir T. Madhava Rao, the Diwan of Travancore, installed two such lighthouses—one at Kottayam and the other at Alappuzha—aligned on an east-west axis across the lake, in memory of his predecessor, Colonel John Munro.
Standing about thirty-five feet tall, the structure is an iron beacon tower. In its early years, the lamp was fuelled by kerosene, and the light, magnified through a large lens mounted at the front, could be seen from several kilometres away across the lake.
The installation of these beacons greatly facilitated the movement of cargo boats between Kottayam and Alappuzha even after dark. The Pallath Lighthouse also enabled passenger boats to navigate safely towards Kottayam without losing their course. With the introduction of motor boat services, it became an indispensable navigational aid for travellers arriving after sunset from Kollam, Kayamkulam, Alappuzha, Chengannur, Mannar, Vaikom, Kochi, Thakazhy, Edathua, Champakulam, Nedumudy, Kavalam, and several other destinations. Following the decline of inland water transport, the lighthouse remained unused for many years. It has now been taken over by the Inland Waterways Authority and conserved, with a solar-powered light installed to continue its legacy.
F-Block (628 acres), lying south of Pazhukkanila Kayal, is also known as Judge Aarayiram Kayal ("Judge's Six Thousand"). It lies west of Chingavanam. The roughly 215-acre paddy tract adjoining the Kurichi area is known as G-Block. To its southwest lies the Akkanadi paddy tract, north of Kainady and west of Neelampperoor.
E-Block — the largest of the reclaimed lake-bed fields. Covering 2,400 acres, it is commonly called "Irupathinalayiram" (Twenty-Four Thousand). It was reclaimed in 1913 by Pallithanam Luka Mathai and Kottarathil Krishna Iyer, together with C.J. Kurian of Kunnumpurath (Akkare), a prominent Nasrani community leader and planter from Kottayam. These paddy fields have historically produced excellent yields.
H-Block (1,511 acres) was reclaimed in 1917 by Pallithanam Luka Mathai with the Vachaparambil and Pazhayaparambil families. I-Block (370 acres), a small tract between H-Block and Pazhukkanila Kayal, was reclaimed in 1917 by Kunnathussery Pious Ousep.
D-Block North (616 acres) was reclaimed in 1913 by Vettathu Thommi Ousep together with the Vachaparambil family. It is also known as Attumukham Kayal. A wide expanse of open lake stretches out to the east of D-Block North.
North of Kavalam and west of Kainady, the Cherukara, Pallithanam, and Rajapuram kayals appear as a single block, reclaimed and made cultivable between 1898 and 1903. Cherukara Kayal (west of Kainady) was reclaimed after the death of Pallithanam Mathai Luka by his son Luka Mathai and brother Mathai Ousep — about 473 acres. Around the same time, Luka Mathai also reclaimed Pallithanam Kayal (250 acres), just west of Cherukara.
Rajapuram Kayal (626 acres), just west of Pallithanam, near where the eastern branch of the Manimala River joins Vembanad Lake, was reclaimed between 1898 and 1903 by Iravi Keshava Panicker of Kavalam Chala and associates, with permission from Raja Rama Rao, Dewan Peshkar of the Kollam Division. It was named Raja Ramapuram Kayal in his honour — shortened over time to Rajapuram Kayal. The spot where the Dewan Peshkar landed by boat from Alappuzha for the first sowing is known as Divanmoola ("the Dewan's landing").
In 1913 itself, under the leadership of Vallikkattu Mathai Ousep, the stretch of lake lying between Mathikayal and Rajapuram Kayal was embanked and made fit for cultivation. This roughly 558-acre tract was named D-Block South.
West of Kavalam lies Mangalam Kayal (979 acres), reclaimed between 1898–1903 under Madathil Govinda Pillai. Since the Manikyamangalam paddy tract forms part of it, it's also called Manikyamangalam Kayal.
Mathikayal (511 acres) was reclaimed 1898–1903 under Ramakrishna Panicker of Kavalam Chala, divided into Thekke Mathi (South) and Vadakke Mathi (North). The Venattukari paddy tract (200 acres) adjoins it to the south.
Immediately north of Venattukad, divided into two parts, "Pokkam" (higher) and "Thazhcha" (lower), totalling 600 acres. Also formed 1862–1872 through Mathai Luka's efforts.
Sreemoolamangalam Kayal (560 acres), between Pulinkunnu, Venattukad, and Mangalam Kayal, was reclaimed 1898–1903 by the Vachaparambil family of Pulinkunnu, named for Sree Moolam Thirunal, Maharaja of Travancore. A broad stretch still open lake lies south of it, called Vattakayal — curiously, such unfarmed water is called "tharisu" (fallow). It borders Kayappuram, which has considerable tourism potential.
The rice field reclaimed between 1862–1872 under Pallithanam Mathai Luka of Kainady, through the labour of hundreds of farm workers. West of Pulinkunnu along the western branch of the Manimala River, covering about 537 acres.
The Perumbarayan Memorial is a commemorative shrine that preserves the memory of Perumbarayan, who is believed to have fallen victim to a cruel agrarian custom that once existed in the Kuttanad region centuries ago. According to local tradition, when Ilaykkattu Kaimāl, a powerful landlord (janmi) of Pulinkunnu, was constructing an earthen bund adjoining his paddy fields, he had Perumbarayan, an agricultural labourer, buried alive within the embankment and packed with mud to strengthen its foundation. This act was allegedly driven by the superstition that a human sacrifice was necessary to ensure the stability of the bund. The legend further recounts that, after his death, Perumbarayan's spirit relentlessly haunted the landlord and his family. In response, the landlord is said to have employed ritual specialists to invoke and pacify the spirit, which was then believed to have been consecrated into a stone idol and installed on the islet of Parakkudukka. Perumbarayan's descendants continue to maintain this shrine by offering ritual libations of water on the new moon day (Karutha Vavu) as an act of remembrance and appeasement. The present memorial pavilion was constructed under the initiative of journalist Venu Gopal of Deshabhimani, where the idol was ceremonially reinstalled.
Cherukali Kayal, adjoining Kainakari, covers 271 acres; Arupanku Kayal covers 523 acres.
About 659 acres, east of Punnamada Kayal and north of Kainakari, made cultivable in 1913 by Chirayil Chacko Anthony with Pavuthra Panicker.
646 acres, reclaimed in 1913 by the Thevarkkattu family.
Under Murikkummoottil Thomman Joseph, three fields were reclaimed from open lake at Nadukayal. The one west of R-Block, S-Block (654 acres), is Marthandam Kayal — named for Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma, junior prince of Travancore.
Once the leading rice producer among these kayal lands (1,590 acres). Reclaimed in 1922 by Pallithanam Luka Mathai with the Pazhayaparambil and Ettuparambil families. After irrigation broke down and the coconut palms died from waterlogging, it lay fallow for years — today only dying, headless palms remain. It once produced Kerala's finest toddy.
573 acres, just north of Marthandam Kayal, named after Sethu Parvathi Bayi of Travancore.
Q-Block (730 acres), north of R-Block and east of Ranikayal, named for Sree Chithira Thirunal, Maharaja of Travancore. Without church or parish permission, one Murikkan built a fairly large church at its southwest corner, with separate tombs for himself and his wife — though he never got to be buried there. The now-closed church survives only as a historical monument.
Bethlehem Church, locally known as Chithira Church, was established on the southwestern edge of Chithira Kayal during the early twentieth century, when Thomman Joseph of Murikkummoottil—popularly known as Murikkan—reclaimed vast stretches of the backwaters to create agricultural polders. The church was built to serve the spiritual needs of the labourers and farming families who settled in these newly reclaimed lands. Once an important centre for worship and community life, it gradually fell into disuse as the local population declined and regular religious services ceased. Today, with no daily worship being conducted, the abandoned church stands as a silent reminder of Kuttanad's remarkable history of land reclamation and agricultural expansion.
Adjoining the southern tip of Kumarakom, reclaimed in 1888 on the instructions of Pulikkottil Mar Dionysius II, Malankara Metropolitan, for the Old Seminary at Kottayam. About 406 acres.
South of Thiruvarppu and Kumarakom, north of H-Block. K-Block (661 acres) is Maaran Kayal; L-Block (145 acres) is much smaller, jutting into Pallikayal like a wedge — hence "Aappu Kayal" (wedge kayal). The Kottayam–Alappuzha waterway runs along their northern edge. Reclaimed in 1917 under C.J. Kurian of Akkare.
North of Maaran Kayal, bordering Thiruvarppu panchayat's western fields. M-Block: 276 acres, N-Block: 261 acres. Made cultivable in 1917 by C.J. Kurian of Akkare.
Reclaimed 1917 under C.J. Kurian of Akkare, known as "Ombathinayiram" (Nine Thousand). To its east lie the Malarikkal and Thiruvaykkari tracts, cultivated centuries earlier near where the Meenachil River empties out. The Neelithodu canal runs north–south just east of it, passing remains of a 300-year-old Thekkumkur fort at its midpoint. The area west of the canal was open lake at the time — this is what became J-Block.