Breaking centuries-old traditions, Parukutty Neethayamma inspired the Cochin Nair Regulation of 1920, which banned polygamy, legalized sangam, and streamlined inheritance rights.
Breaking centuries-old traditions, Parukutty Neethayamma inspired the Cochin Nair Regulation of 1920, which banned polygamy, legalized sangam, and streamlined inheritance rights.
A sepia-toned picture of Parukutty Nithyaramma with her great-grandson Raghu Pallat, queen consort of King Rama Varma XV1 of Cochin, is a lovely picture. The regal matriarch standing beside a child and dressed in woolen clothes is sitting pretty in a pram.
In the introduction of the recently launched book ‘ Child of Destiny – The Invincible Ruler of Parukutty of Cochin’, written by Raghu Palt and his wife Pushpa, it throws light on the royal who, despite their seminal contributions to the people and state of Cochin, have gone down in the back pages of history.
Raghu, a banker, and Pushpa, a former journalist, have been writing alongside their careers for decades. He began his writing partnership with the first book, empire-shaking case (2019) on Raghu’s great-grandfather Sir Chettoor Sankaran Nair, who was then the only Indian member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council.
Raghu says, “We are focusing on writing about the rulers and individuals of Kerala and we started with our family members, as it was easy and we have already collected a lot of information about them Was.”
breaking the age-old tradition
Parukutty entered into sangamam – an informal form of marriage that allowed consensual relations but no co-residence between a Nair and a Thampuran – to a prince at the age of 14, at the age of 17, with “white hair”. with” and the sixth in line of accession. Since her relative had not visited her, Parukutty’s father took the bold decision of taking her to the palace of her relative, Kunji Kiddavu in Thrippunithura. At that time Cochin was ruled by Sir Kerala Varma V, (1888–1895) and the state was spread over 1,362 square kilometers which included Chittoor, Cochin, Cranganore, Kanyannur, Mukundapuram, Thrissur and Talapili.
Amazed by his arrival, Kunji Kiddavu instructs him to stay in the outhouse. She is believed to have been horrified by her plight and told the prince, “I had not come fully to live in this wretched house.” Amazed and impressed at the same time by the courage of the gritty girl, who was ‘not even five feet tall’, the prince allowed her to stay in the palace.
Coming here, Parukutty became the first Nair woman to break the age-old tradition. Inequality of kinship meant that the woman and her children could not inherit the property of the partner, who had no responsibility for their maintenance. To correct this, after Kunji Kiddavu and Parukutty ascended the throne, the Cochin Nair Regulation of 1920 was passed, which banned polygamy, legalized the affair, and streamlined inheritance and property rights.
“Imagine the prince and the consequences of this one step taken by him,” says Pushpa. He stopped going to the family temple because of the lewd remarks made on him. Parukutty reportedly once told his great-grandson, “You have no idea about the bad things that have been said about him. But I always considered it under my notice.”
After extensive research, which included interactions with family members, ferretting of records and reading of several documents including letters, the authors state that Parukutty was a woman who was ahead of her time.
Parukutty Neethayaramma with her great-grandson Raghu Palti
On a visit to Chennai, where she was impressed by the Queen of Pudukottai spoken English, she urged the prince to teach her the language. The prince, who by now had sensed his wife’s intelligence and acumen, also appointed teachers to teach her English as well as agriculture and mathematics.
rising to the occasion
When by a sudden twist of fate, the prince was crowned as king in 1914. That year 39-year-old Parukutty, though caught unawares, rose to the occasion. He treated the Hill Palace, the king’s main house, Thrippunithura Palace in Cochin, staff and court attendants with dignity, which surprised even the king.
Realizing that the British were looking for any reason to include Cochin in British Malabar, they stressed the urgent need to boost the finances of the state. By this time, the king had begun to rely heavily on her opinion. Parukutty urged them to focus on the plight of the people and not to use the exchequer for capital projects. Soon many public works were started such as the establishment of schools and hospitals. He also encouraged the establishment of an agricultural college, which was close to his heart and was instrumental in increasing the salaries of government employees. For her social work, King George V awarded her the Golden Kaiser-e-Hind Medal and she came to be known as Lady Rama Varma.
As the couple jointly carried out their royal duties, Parukutty grew in stature. He hosted the Nair system, Thalikettu Kalyanam, a matrilineal form of marriage, for the young girls of its two branches Tharavad, (home of the ancestral family) A grand four-day affair. This upset the Thampuratties but Parukutty was strategically planning her daughter’s wedding with Sir Chettiar Sankaran Nair’s son, Ramanni Menon Palpat. With the alliance the prestige of the state of Cochin increased.
A notable event was also seen in his strategic planning to achieve results in smaller tasks such as securing the support of Lord and Lady Willingdon to build a port at Cochin. “The couple met at Willingdons in Ooty. She was dressed as a king, with a turban adorned with ornaments and all the items of royalty. She herself wore a beautiful white saree,” says Pushpa. “While they entertained the couple in Cochin, a grand banquet was organized in the Durbar Hall. Parukutty knew exactly what Willingdon would like,” she says.
Raghu and Pushpa turn
Parukutty surrounded the king and himself with loyalists, forcing the British Diwan to retire and pitching for an Indian. He also canceled some appointments and placed his relatives in important positions. When the king fell seriously ill in 1931, no news was allowed to leave the palace. Finally, when the end came in 1932, he decided to move out of the palace to Thrissur. The city owes him a lot as he then did many infrastructure works, acquired land and built public projects.
In the last years of his life, Parukutty opted to stay at his home in Thrissur and Homedale in the hills of Conoor, where charming photographs were taken with Raghu. He died in 1963 at his home in Coonoor.
“Even as a great-grandmother, Parukutty was strict,” recalls Raghu, “she was not gracious but loving,” he further explains how he only gave a rupee. most, a customary gift from elders to children on Vishu, a cultural festival of Kerala that marks its new year. “Not a penny more or less.”
Did familiarity get in the way of writing about a family member? No, Raghu says clearly. “Her life and how she lived speaks for itself. She forged her own destiny. It’s a story that had to be told.”