A new book throws fresh light on Parukutty Neithyaramma, the queen consort of Cochin State

By breaking century old traditions, Parukutty Neithyaramma inspired The Cochin Nair Regulation of 1920, which banned polygamy, legalised Sambandham, and streamlined inheritance rights

A sepia-toned photograph of Parukutty Neithyaramma, the queen consort of Raja Rama Varma XV1 of Cochin with her great grandson, Raghu Palat, is an endearing throwback. The regal matriarch stands beside a baby capped and clothed in woolens sitting pretty in a pram.

In the preface of the recently launched book ‘ Destiny’s Child-The Undefeatable Reign of Cochin’s Parukutty Neithyaramma’, written by Raghu Palat and his wife Pushpa, it throws light on the royal who despite her seminal contributions to the people and state of Cochin has been relegated to the back pages of history.

Raghu, a banker and Pushpa, a former journalist have been writing alongside their careers for decades. They began their writing partnership with the first book, The Case That Shook The Empire (2019) on Raghu’s great grandfather Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair, the only Indian member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council at that time.

 “We are focusing on writing about Kerala rulers and personages and have begun with members of our family, as it was easier and we already had collected a lot of information on them,” says Raghu.

Parukutty entered into Sambandham – an informal form of marriage that allowed consensual relationships but no co-habitation between Nairs and Thampurans – at the age of 14 to a prince, 17 years her elder, “with white hair” and sixth in the line of accession. As her sambandhi had not visited her, Parukutty’s father took the bold decision to take her to her sambandhi Kunji Kiddavu’s Palace in Thrippunithura. Cochin was ruled at that time by Sir Kerala Varma V, (1888- 1895) and the kingdom was spread over 1,362 square kilometres comprising Chittur, Cochin, Cranganore, Kanayannur, Mukundapuram, Trichur and Talapilly.

Taken aback by their arrival , Kunji Kiddavu, directed her to be housed in the outhouse. Horrified by its state of disrepair she’s believed to have told the prince, “I did not come all the way to live in this wretched outhouse.” Bemused and impressed at the same time by the courage of the gritty girl, who was ‘not even five feet tall,’, the prince permitted her to stay in the palace.

By moving in, Parukutty became the first Nair woman to break a centuries-old tradition. The inequity of Sambandham meant that the woman and her children could not inherit the property of the partner, who also 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, legalised Sambandham, and streamlined inheritance and property rights.