A tale of TWO ROADS

With the Tirumala Dewasom temple at their heart, TD East Sannidhi Road in West Kochi and TD West Sannidhi Road on the city’s eastern side form the hub of the Konkani community in the city. The two roads, one on the mainland and the other linked by bridges over the Vembanad, have a history that connects them. It is very much the history of the arrival, movement and spread of the Konkanis when they alighted on these shores, fleeing persecution by the Portuguese in Goa, nearly 700 years ago. They arrived in boats with their families, workers and Gods.

“On arrival in Kerala we built our first temple in Alappuzha, the second one at Chellanam and the third, which is the biggest, is the TD Temple, Mattancherry (450 years). The TD temple in Ernakulam is 293 years old. Our community concentrates on business and that’s why the Cochin Rajah gave us ample land to settle. After land reforms, the temple lost a lot of land,” says Rangadas Prabhu, President Ernakulam Tirumala Devasom.

Blending with society

Prabhu talks of the integration of the community in Kerala. Citing a custom of honouring the Kaimal family, the King’s tax collectors, by the temple, he says the Konkanis were respected by the Rajah and the relationship was one of trust and admiration. The main businesses of the community were cattle rearing by the pinnak muthalis, iron merchandising by the irumbukaran muthalalis, the Mangalore tile business by the odukaran muthalalis, and Prabhu’s own family salt business (uppurkaran muthalalis).

Artist Dinesh Shenoy resided on TD Road in Ernakulam for 25 years, before he moved to West Kochi and now lives near TD East Road. He puts in perspective the origin, growth and evolution of the two areas succinctly. “There is a world of difference between life on the two roads. The Ernakulam TD Road is not a patch on what it was before where I used to live and play. The number of homes belonging to the community has reduced greatly and commercialisation has led to a complete change in character. The Konkani culture is still there, but not as before.” In contrast, he points out that TD East has retained its character. “As if time has stood still here,” he says.

A sense of timelessness hangs over the area with the temple pond at the centre and the resonance of the temple bells. “They are the biggest in Asia,” says Dinesh.

Chief Priest of the temple, Krishna Bhat began two organisations—Cochin Kalakshethra and Panduranga Kala Kendra—14 years ago to keep alive the art and literary tradition of the community. A director of plays, he ensures that Konkani music, dance and literature are pursued and perpetuated by the 2,600 Konkani families that live in the area.

The Saraswath Association Building, constructed in 1938, stands on the road and harbours the Saraswath Library, founded in 1977.

Poornima Naik, who has set up a small stall here, three years ago, runs a catering business with her husband supplying authentic Konkani food at events, festivals and feasts. She talks about making Konkani dishes like Hittu or jackfruit idili, Patra vada made with colacassia leaves, Rontos or rice puris for food festivals. Her most popular Konkani speciality are pappadoms made from potato, beetroot and carrot.

While TD East holds its old-world charm close to its heart, the Ernakulam TD Road, is not what it used to be. Now narrowed down to a street by haphazard rows of trucks parked on either side of it, it is known more for its hardware shops than its Konkani settlement. “Most of the Konkani families that made this road their home were businessmen. They started their shops here. But it still used to be a residential area, now it is just a busy commercial street,” says Srinivasa Pai, whose Lakshmi Venkatesh Book Centre, has been on the road for the last 38 years.

Begun as a stationery store, catering to the students of Our College, a private educational institution that has now shut down, it sells snacks, tea, plastic knick-knacks, even Ayurvedic medicines (one of Pai’s sons is an Ayurvedic doctor).

Around 1,400 Konkani families live in and around the Ernakulam TD Road, though some of them have moved out of the area, selling their place to North Indian settlers, which explain the presence of eateries selling Jain food.

Here too, the temple serves as the cultural centre for the community that settled around it. Though it remains the centre of activity on the Road, TD West has other highlights, too. The Pookkaramukku, or ‘Flower Junction’, for instance, was one that lent it a distinctive character.

It was named thus for the profusion of flower shops it had. Today, the name is an anomaly, with just three shops. 75-year-old Madhava Flower Mart is one of the remaining flower shops in the area. Sasi A M, the owner, who took over the shop from his father, says the decline in business started a decade ago, forcing many to move out. He does not belong to the community, but has been here ever since his father began business. “I sell only according to orders. There’s no business other than that, except during festivals and the wedding season.”

Road blocks

Sasi grumbles about the constant traffic chaos on the Road. “People can’t even walk because of the constant chaos. This place has become synonymous with the word ‘block’.”

Among the differences between the two roads, says Dinesh Shenoy, is that 99 % of residents in West Kochi are Konkanis whereas Ernakulam has a mixed population now. Another obvious difference, he points out, is the length of the roads. While the West Kochi road is small, just around the temple, the one in Ernakulam extends from Banerjee road to Maharaja’s College. “It cuts through landmarks of the city.”

“Things have changed, but as a community, on both sides, we have tried to keep to our tradition,” he says, adding that many families still go to Goa to visit their family deities. And Lord Tirupati visits our temples.”