Land of the howling jackals

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thiruvananthapuram city has a number of such places that have amusing names. One such place is Oolampara, which is famous for the mental health hospital here.  “A place usually gets its name from its nature – water, flora and fauna,” says historian and author Vellanad Ramachandran. “In accordance with the animal nature, came names such Oolampara, Puliyoor and Paniwala. Each of these names evolved from the place’s relation to animals.”

‘Oolan’ is a regional term for a ‘fool’. The word also means jackal. It is said that the place was called Oolankunnu (jackal hill), because of its jackal population. “The people who lived near the Oolankunnu used to wake up to the howls of the jackals. Eventually, they named the place Oolampara,” says Ramachandran

One might wonder what the connection between oolan and para (rock) is. Para is a relatively modern Malayalam term. Oolankunnu became Oolanparayi, most probably because   porayi means the same as kunnu — a hill — in Sangakala Tamil.  This porayi later transitioned to para. Thus came about the name Oolampara.