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Monument of Vasco Da Gama
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Pazhassiraja Museum |
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| Facts About Calicut |
| Population:
4,19,531 |
Area:
30.61 sq km |
Temperature |
| Language:
Malayalam |
Altitude:
Sea level |
Summer |
Winter |
| Rainfall
(Annual): 254 cm |
Climate:
Tropical |
Max |
Min |
Max |
Min |
| Tourist
Season: September to May |
Clothing:
Tropical cottons |
35oC |
22.5oC |
32oC |
22oC |
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How to get there:
Air: Calicut Airport, at karipur, 23 km from the city, operates Indian
Airlines flights to Mumbai and Sharjah in the Middle East.
Rail: Calicut Railway Station in linked by rail to
major cities in the country.
Road: Government-run and private bus services
connect Calicut to several tourist and business centres in South India, e.g. Ootty,
Mysore, Bangalore, Mangalore, Coimbatore, Trichy, Pondicherrt etc.
Local Transport: Yellow-top and tourist taxis, buses
and autorickshaws.
Conducted Tours: Callicut-Beypore-Peruvannamuzhi
Dam-Lokanarakvu Temple- Kappad Beach.
Glory of past Grandeur
In northern Kerala lies the area
which the legendary traveller Marco Polo described in 1320 A.D. as the ‘‘great
province of Malabar.’’ Much of this richness today lies buried in the glory of a
past grandeur, a past replete with the trading visits of European voyagers calling on the
ancient port of calicut on their regular journeys of commerce, lured by timber, ivory,
pepper, ginger, cinnamon and other spices.
The great traveller lbn Batuta, who visited Calicut (known as
Kozhikode in Malayalam) at least six times in the mid-13th century, wrote of the
prosperity he saw: ‘‘The greater part of the Mohammedan merchants of this place
are so wealthy that one of them can purchase the whole freightage of such vessels put in
here and fit out others like them.’’
After the 13th century Calicut grew in importance as a port and
the capital of the powerful kingdom of the Samoothiris or the Zamorins, as they were
called by the Portuguese. In fact, some historians say Calicut derives its name from the
fortified palace (‘koyil Kotta’) built by a Samoothiri ruler.
Calicut’s commercial glory was also praised by the Arab Traveller Abdur
Razzak in 1443 A.D.: ‘‘Calicut is a perfectly secured harbour, which, like that
of Ormuz, brings together merchants from every city and from every country.’’
Interestingly, Calicut has also lent its name to ‘calico’, the fine variety of
handwoven cotton clothe said to have originated in
this place.
Calicut was also Vasco da Gama’s first stop in India. He
set foot on the sands of Kappad beach, north of today’s
city, on 27 May 1498 A.D., a landing commemorated by a small stone monument at the beach.
This event marked the beginning of a new epoch in world history and specifically in the
history of Kerala. against the backdrop of bitter rivalries between local rulers began a
period of unbroken strife among foreign powers for the domination of trade in Malabar.
Today, Calicut is an important trading centre for timber and
tiles and the shopping ground for that famous delicacy among sweets, ‘Calicut
halwa.’
Just 15 minutes drive from the city centre is a place called Dolphins’s
Point, where one can see in the early hours of the morning dolphis playing in the sea.
The beach, 2 km from Calicut town centre, is a long stretch of tree-lined sand
popular with the local people because of the Lions Club Park, the light house and the two
piers–and, of course, the opportunity to soak in the evening breeze.
Located at East Hill, the Pazhassirajah
Museum, run by the State Archaelogical Department, displays ancient mural paintings,
antique bronzes and old coins as well as models of temples, megalithic monuments like
dolmonoid cysts and umrella stones. (Timings: 10 A.M. tp 5 P.M. Closed on Mondays.)
Situated next to the Pazhassirajah Museum, the Art Gallery
contains paintings of Raja Ravi Varma and Raja Raja Varma. The Krishna Menon Museum has
a section in honour of the great Indian leader V. K. Krishna Menon, whose personal
belongings and souvenirs gifted by world leaders are exhibited here. (Timings:10 A.M. to 5
P.M. Closed on Mondays and Wednesday forenoons).
Mananchira is the heart of the city which sites important institutions like
the Town Hall and the Public Library. One of Calicut’s oldest buildings, the
Commonwealth Trust office is situated here. the large pond and the park are well-known
landmarks.
Six km away is kallai, Once the bustling nerve-point of Calicut’s timber
trade, said to have been the largest such trading centre in Asia. Today, though some
business does take place, hard times have fallen on the timber trade and Kallai is just a
shadow of its past.
Beypore, 11 km from Calicut, is a small coastal town known for centuries as
a ship building centre and still famous for its country crafts called ‘Uru’
built by the traditional shipubuilders known as khalasis. Beypore is still a favourite
destination among Arabs shopping for large boats.
A commercial centre also famous for the ancient Kerala form of martial arts,
kalaripayattu, Badagara, 48 km from Calicut, is also the birthplace of Tacholi
Othenan, whose heroic deeds have been immortalised in the ballads of North Malabar.
Tellicherry and Sultan Battery, 98 km away, are important trading
centres of Calicut. The road from Calicut to Sultan Battery, though full of steep climbs
and hairpin curves, offers a breathtakingly scenic drive. From Sultan Battery it is only
six hours to Bangalore. |
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