Raja Ravi Varma - The painter’s ancestry and Calicut, a
brief study
Some years ago, Calicut Heritage Forum wrote about theinvolvement of Raja Ravi Varma in the Calicut soap factory. CHF stated - Calicut has another legitimate claim on the
works of Raja Ravi Varma - but thereby hangs a tale! In 1904, the Viceroy, Lord
Curzon conferred on the great artist the title Kaiser-i-Hind on behalf of His
Majesty the King Emperor. The citation mentioned the title, 'Raja' for the
first time against the name of Ravi Varma. The Maharaja of Travancore, Sri
Moolam Thirunal objected to this 'usurpation'. Ravi Varma, however, defended
the title by claiming that his ancestors belonged to the royal family of
Beypore, near Calicut.
Anyhow, he continued to use the title 'Raja', since then and
both the grand daughters of Raja Ravi Varma were later adopted by the
Travancore palace with one of them becoming the mother of the next Maharaja,
Chitira Thirunal Balarama Varma!
Ravi Varma, also a businessman knew that the title of Raja
would help him when hobnobbing the gentry in North India and Europe, as well as
his eventual patron the Gaekwads of Baroda and he found a way to get that with
some amount of legitimacy. Let’s first try to figure out how he defended the
claim. He told the detractors that his ancestors of the Beypore house of
Malabar had the title of Raja, and if that were not sufficient, he could adopt
part of his uncle’s (who was also his traveling partner and secretary) name
which was Raja Raja Varma.
Ravi Varma actually has yet another interesting relation to
the environs around Calicut, that of stopping by in 1870 to execute his first
paid commission at Chalappuram, a place I grew up in - the portrait of Sub
Judge KP Krishna Menon’s family (a not so flattering piece according to art
critics - pictured here), the father in law
of Congressman Sir C Sankaran Nair. But that was not the discussion, let us get
back to the ancestry of Ravi Varma and for that you to have get a working
knowledge of the ancient area called Parappanad and the Parappanad kovilakoms.
The Keralolpatti mentions the seventeen nadu’s and lists
them as Tulunad, Kolattunad, Polanad, Kurumbranad, Puravalinad, Eranad,
Parappanad, Valluvanad, Ravananad, Vettattunad, Tirumanasserinad,
Perumpatappunad, Neduganad, Venganad. In the writings of the Portuguese and Dutch the kovilakoms are called
Pappukoil and Repoecoil, in other words, Parppucoil ruling over Beypore and
Pappucoil ruling over Parapanangady. Parapannangadi was termed at times as
Purparangari in English accounts.
Nerumkaitakkotta, near Kadalundi, is incidentally, the
ancestral abode of the Parappanad Raja and their family deity (called
Paradevata) was the deity of this temple. Another interesting fact is that the
Mahadeva Kovil temple of Beypore, south of Calicut, in both design and
construction is said to be a copy of a double-roofed Nepalese temple. The
various references below point to the connections between the Kolathu Swarupam
and the Venad families at Kilimanoor and Anathapuram and their main points of
connection from the Parappanad Kovilakom.
In 1425 or
thereabout, the areas below, divided broadly into Northern Parappanad (Beypore
kingdom) and Southern Parappanad (Parappur Swarupam). Northern Parappanad
(Beypore kingdom or Karippa Kovilakam) included Panniyankara, Beypore and
Cheruvannur of Kozhikkode Taluk. Southern Parappanad included parts of Tirur
Taluk and the town Parappanangadi. Parappanad Kingdom went on to
become dependents of the Zamorins of Calicut. During the Portuguese conflicts the
Parappanad raja’s nairs fought for the Zamorin. In fact when the Portuguese
fort at Chaliyam was captured by the Zamorin, it was turned over to the
Parappanad Raja. But during Tipu’s charge, the reigning Raja was forcibly
converted by Tipu and circumcised. In the middle of 18th century, the royal
families of these kingdoms found refuge Travancore during to the invasion of the
Mysore Sultans. The Haripad family in the
Travancore region, to which the famous scholar and poet Kerala Varma Valia Koil
Tampuran belonged, was originally set up by the members of the Parappanad family
who migrated there. The palace remnants
were as I understand, located in the Naduva desom of Parappanangadi village.
Ravi Varma the painter, actually claimed lineage to the
Tattari Kovilakom of Parappanad. Now I had mentioned the Zamorin’s vassals at
Parappanad while talking about the Sha-mi-ti mystery some months ago. So before
the Zamorin acquired suzerainty of the Beypore and Parappanagadi region, who
were the regional feudal lords or Thampurans? Originally there was just the
Parappanad Raja, and later there came into existence two main branches of this
family, one settled at Beypore near Calicut and another at Parappanadu near
Tirur (the present Parappanangadi). As the Gazetteers explain, the Beypore
amsam itself had four Kovilakams called - Manayatt kovilakam, Nediyal
kovilakom, Puthiya kovilakom and the Panangat kovilakom belonging to the family
of the Beypore branch of the Parappanad family. So we have North and South
Parappanad factions to start with, branching off the Parappur lordship. The
North faction was further split into Beypore, Cheruvannor and Panniyankara
Kovilakoms. Considering that Ravi Varma and his brother mentioned Beypore and
the specific Manayyat location, let us for a moment assume he hailed from the
forerunners of the present Manayyat kovilakom.
The Manayam rajas were from the erstwhile Thattari or
Tattari kovilakom which was deserted when Tipu Sultan and his not so merry crew
were making hay while the sun set and shone. We also note from historic
renderings that the Parappanad branch known also as Aliyakot line was attacked
by Hyder Ali during his invasion of Malabar in the latter half of the 18th
century and Kunjikkutty Tampuratti, a female member of the branch, fled from
Malabar to Travancore. Keralavarma Valiya Koyil Tampuran, or Kerala-Kalidasa as
he is popularly known because of his translating the Sakuntala into Malayalam,
belonged to the Parappanad royal family, and was born in Lakshmipuram palace at
Carinanasseri. The famous Pazhassi Raja a member of the western branch of the
Kottayam royal clan is also connected to the Parappanad Kovilakom and his
lineage can be traced back to the Parappanad dynasty.
Raja Raja Varma in his diary states - Near this ‘Beypore’ Kovilakam
or house is a temple of Vettakaruman or the Hunter God which it is said and
acknowledged by its present owners, the Manayam Rajahs, once belonged to us of
the Tattari Kovilakam house, by which our family was known.Based on all the above, I would assume that the original
Parappanad rajas named their home the Tattari Kovilakom. It is from this home,
which incidentally is further linked to the Kolathunad Rajas (Kolathiris) that
various rulers (such as Marthanda Varma) and consorts as well as adoptees to
the Travancore kingdom originated. Of course as we see, the ruling kind usually
reserved the right on the name raja and took affront to another cousin using
the title while a raja was in power and complained, but then again, Ravi Varma in
reality had some self-projection in mind, as we note.Now let us study the relations between the Parappanad
Kovilakoms and the Travancore royal family to see where and how Ravi Varma fits
in.
TSM Vol 2 Nagam Aiya provides the following inputs - The Koil Tampurans, also known as Koil
Pandalas form a small community made up of the descendants of the immigrant
Kshatriya families from certain parts of Malabar lying north of Travancore and
Cochin. There are now ten such families of Koil Tampurans in Travancore, viz.,
those of Kilimanur, Changanachery, Anantapuram, Pallam, Chemprol, Gramam,
Paliyakkara, Karama and Vadakkematom. Of these, the Kilimanur Koil Tampurans
were the earliest settlers in Travancore. It is not known definitely when they
immigrated into the country. As already stated in the History chapter, four children,
two princes and two Princesses, were adopted into the Royal Family in the reign
of Umayamma Rani. These were the children of a Koil Tampuran of Tattari
Kovilagam and belonged to the Futiapally (puthupalli) Kovilagam house, a branch
of the Kolattunad Royal family. The elder of the two princesses having died
soon after, the younger was married to a nephew of the same Koil Tampuran, her
father, and as a result of this union Martanda Varma the Great was born in 881
M. e. (1705 A. D.,). Again in the reign of Unni Kerala Varma the elder of the
two adopted princes, another lady was adopted and was given in marriage to one
Ravi Varma Koil Tampuran, another member of the Tattari Kovilagam family. The
issue of this marriage was Rama Varma the Kilavan Rajah who was born in 890m.
E. (1723 A. D.) and ruled for 40 years. It was while this prince and his mother
the elder Rani were being conveyed to Attingal from Trivandrum, under the
escort of the Koil Tampuran that a strong party of the rebels who lay in ambush
near Kazhakoottam rushed to attack the Royal party. The brave Koil Tampuran who
got scent of the plot contrived to send the Rani and the prince in safety to
Attingal, himself staying behind to give fight to the enemy. When the
insurgents whose main object was the assassination of the Rani and the Prince
found that their foul plot had been frustrated they fought furiously but were
entirely routed by the Koil Tampuran and his followers. The success, however,
was a dearly bought one, for the hero (the Koil Tampuran) received a deep
sword-cut across his abdomen and succumbed to it. This was in the month of
December 1727 A. D. (903 M. E.)In recognition of this act of heroism and
self-sacrifice the estate of Kilimanur was granted as a free-hold to the
descendants of the Koil Tampuran. The grant is enjoyed to this day. It was from
this time that Kilimanur became the permanent residence of the Koil Tampurans
of that name. All the sovereigns of Travancore from Unni Kerala Varma to
Parvathi Bayi (Regent) who ruled for a period of more than one hundred years
were the offspring of the Kilimanur Koil Tampurans—a fact of which they are so
proud to this day.
Thurston provides additional insight of the relation with the Kolathunad and how successive families
migrated to Travancore- The first
family of Kolasvarupam Rajas immigrated into Travancore in the fifth century
M.E. As the Travancore royal house then stood in need of adoption, arrangements
were made through a Koil Tampuran of the Tattari Kovilakam to bring two
princesses for adoption from Kolattunad, and the first family of Rajas, known
as the Putupalli Kovilakam, settled at Kartikapalli. The family is now extinct,
as the last member died in 1033 M.E. The next family that migrated was
Cheriyakovilakam between 920 and 930, also invited for purposes of adoption.
These latter lived at Aranmula. The third series of migrations were during the
invasion of Malabar by Tipu Sultan in 964 M.E., when all the Rajas living at
the time went over to Travancore, though, after the disturbance was over, many
returned home. The Rajas of the Kolasvarupam began to settle permanently in the
country, as they could claim relationship with the reigning sovereigns, and
were treated by them with brotherly affection. There were only two branches at
the beginning, namely, Pallikovilakam and Udayamangalam.
TSM Vol1 Nagam Aiya also provides this information - The Kilimanur Koil Tampurans are the natives
of Parappanad in Malabar. Their northern home is known as
"Tattari-kovilakam". The great Martanda Varma Maharajah, the founder
of Travancore, and his illustrious nephew Rama Varma, were the issue of the
alliance with Kilimanur—a circumstance of which the members of that family
always speak with just pride, as the writer himself heard from the lips of one
of its senior members, a venerable old gentleman of eighty summers.
To summarize, the lineage of Raja Ravi Varma can be traced
to the Tattari Kovilagom of Parappanad. But all male members of such families
cannot usually assume the title of Raja, nevertheless Ravi Varma did, like many others
do these days. Not much of an issue, though at that time, it was a big matter, considered an affront to the reigning Raja.
References
Travancore State Manual – Nagam Aiya
Edgar Thurston. Castes and tribes of Southern India (Volume
4)
The Diaries of Raja Raja Varma
Raja Raja Varma
Diaries – The Varma’s visit to Calicut (Acknowledged with thanks -Phalke
factory)
Monday 12TH Jan 1903- We are the guests of the
Raja of Puthya-Kovilakom one of the branches of the Beypure House. We are all
relatives though we had separated from each other long long ago. The title of
Koil Thampuran is peculiar to Travancore, here we are all Rajas. Beside Puthiya
Kovilakom there are three other houses closely related to it, Manayam and
Nadial and Panangad. The last house is unoccupied, its members having emigrated
and settled in Travancore, Malabar being taken by Tipu.
Tuesday - We breakfasted at
Manayam this morning where there are two male members left now. Near this
Kovilakam or house is a temple of Vettakaruman or the Hunter God which it is
said and acknowledged by its present owners, the Manayam Rajahs, once belonged
to us of the Tattari Kovilakam house, by which our family was known before we
settled at Kilimanur in Travancore. We drove to Calicut this evening and are
the guests of Ms KC. Shrivirasayan Raja at Chalapuram.
Wednesday- This morning at 11 we
paid a visit to Ms Pinhey the Collector and his wife. Mrs Pinhey is an amateur
painter and she showed us many of her paintings and sketches. Some of them were
very good indeed. At 4 p.m. Mr T.G. Vargese the Deputy Collector called on us
and we requested him to help us in getting on the old accounts in the Huzur
office and trace some of our lost property in the Ernand Taluq. He has promised
us every help. At 6 p.m. we visited the Cosmopolitan club at the invitation of
its members. The secretary of the Calicut Native Society were present to
welcome us. We visited next the Putiya Kovilakom and the Railway Station and
returned to our lodging.
Thursday - We left Calicut this morning and drove to Nadial
where we were to breakfast with our relatives. In the afternoon we started on
foot to Nerumkaith Kotta where there is an ancient temple of Sastha, our
tutelary deity. The distance is about five or six miles and the way extremely
bad. We had to cross two ferries and pass over a rugged hill. We reached the
place at sunset. The temple stands on the side of a barren hill and has the
appearance from below of a castle with stone walls.
Friday - On the top of the Hill stands another temple
dedicated to Bhagavati or Goddess Kali with a solitary mango tree now in bloom
to the north west of it. From this point there is a commanding view of the
country around and the sea to which the river that winds round the hill empties
its waters. When we finally settled at Kilimanur nearly a century and half ago
our ancestors took care to build their temples both to Sastha and Kali. It is
said that at one period when we all lived in one family we had our palace on
the top of this hill near Kali's temple.
Saturday - Early this morning walked two miles to the south
west of the temple to the site where our Kovilakam (Tattari) stood before our
migration to Travancore. There is no doubt that we owned extensive estates here
once, but 'most of them have now passed into other hands. The object of our
present visit is to trace and recover the lost property if possible since the
settlement is now going on. The greater portion of our property is in the
Vallikunnu Amshom.
Sunday - Yesterday was a festive day in the temple of Sastha
and at night in the small hours when fireworks [were] being let off a rocket
fell on a house close to where we were staying. The house was in flames and we
were roused by the screams of the inmates for help. People came for help and
put out the fire.We gave the sufferers Rs 10. Left the place.
Monday - We received the arrears of rent from some of our
tenants. After breakfast we left Puthiya Kovilakam for Feroke to catch the
train. We went in boats. Brother stepped into the sub-registrar's office to
register a power of attorney to authorize Purnam Pillay whom we leave behind
and another to manage the property in this place.
14 comments:
Dear& esteemed Maddy,I have heard of the curative power of music.You writings have.I am free from back pain ,my constant companion since 2002,as I read your priceless treasure.May Godbless you with long life and good health- for the benefit of SocityKeep enriching history andliterature.Your efforts and research are marvellous.In ardent and abiding admiration.Kanakasabapathy.
The first image of Hindu Gods and Goddesses were all from the Ravi
Varma paintings.It was later I realised it was all the works of Raja Ravi Varme.Some of his paintings are superb.
Thanks Mr Kanakasabapathy..
Glad to hear that you like these articles. Such appreciation keeps me researching and posting regularly. I reciprocate your wishes, with best regards and hope you are always free from any pain!
Thanks Premnath
yes, we used to see so many calendars in our younger days and not realise the persona of the painter who did them or the story behind them. one such story will be posted soon.
Again, another post to treasure!We had no idea that Ravi Varma, the famous painter, spent a couple of days in Calicut, visiting friends in Chalappuram and even dropping into the Cosmopolitan Club!! We had occasion to post some of his paintings made specially for the Kerala Soap Institute, Calicut, but never imagined that he had visited Calicut and recorded his experiences in his diary. Thank you, Maddy.
What a well-researched post! We did not know that the great painter Raja Ravi Varma had visited Calicut and spent a couple of days visiting friends in Chalappuram and even dropping into the Cosmopolitan Club!
Maddy, you astound us with your capacity for digging out facts. Thank you for the post.
Thanks CHF..
Ravi varma was a very interesting person with a lot of complexities..I was studying one of his relationships when i saw the details of the Calicut trip...more on that relationship will follow soon...
Would like to know the origin of the Parappanad royal family.I have heard it mentioned that Logan's Malabar Manual describes them as migrant Rajputs from Rajastan.
Is it true that the Parappanad Royal Family originated from migrant Rajputs from Rajastan? Somebody mentioned that Logan's Malabar Manual contains such a reference.
thanks krishnakumar,
it does sound far fetched, but then again there is a passing mention in history researches, unsubstantiated of course, that nair's migrated down from the North. Perhaps something to do with that.
Very interesting.two weeks back I happened to visit this vettekaran temple. I had visited the kilimanoor Kovilokam temple few years back and found a powerful resembles. While trying to connect the time and events through my family connections, and a general search here, I found this interesting information. Thanks. Will post the photos
Dear Maddy
had read this earlier someohow I missed the Parappanand connection till I started reading Manu pillais ivory throne on Travancore Ranis ,as I hail from neduva parappanangadi and our house thekkepat kovilakam was so called as it is to south of Parappanad kovilakam one in parappanangadi
Dear Muddy,
First of all I am not that clear what your name actually is. Since, the blog contains only that name and since all comments address you as Muddy, I am forced to do the same, though I shall very much appreciate if you could provide your full name.
Now, me, Muralidharan, belongs to Ananthapuram Kottaram, Haripad and is a descendant of those who have fled Parappanadu Covilakam fearing Tippu. Now, I am settled at Kozhikode after being away at Hyderabad for 40 years having worked in the electrical insulation technology at BHEL. Recently, myself and family visited Parappanangadi, precisely to see what remains in our original place. Having visited and having the curiosity in finding out how our ancestors chose Travancore and how they showered our family with lot of respect and powers, I was searching for the history of Parappadu Covilakam and came across this blog of yours which is a treasure house for me. My curiosity do not end at this point but would appreciate any links for further search into the history of the family, like names of previous Rajas, their contributions at Parappanangadi and surroundings, possible family Tree etc so that I can try to connect myself with them in a family tree. Kerala Kalidasan, Kerala Panini, Raja Ravi Varma etc are known to us through our elders, but, beyond that is what I am trying to link up. Rama Varma, the husband of Regent Rani was the maternal uncle of my grandmother and I have seen him during my childhood days during his annual visit to Ananthapuram Kottaram. So, if you can provide me with any further links it will be of immense help to me.
Thanks Murali
Well, you have in the course of writing your comment changed my pen name of Maddy to Muddy... hope the article was not muddy. Anyway my name is manmadhan. Hope the following links will help you in your search......
I have covered Parapanad kovilakom off and on..in passing
http://maddy06.blogspot.com/2015/08/manorama-thampuratti-princess-poetess.html
http://maddy06.blogspot.com/2016/10/ravi-varma-and-ramaswamy-naicker-rivalry.html
http://historicalleys.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-story-of-dom-joao-de-tanur.html
http://historicalleys.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-munro-years-travancore.html
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