Chendamangalam in Kerala is a treasure trove for the history buff

Experience the tranquility of Periyar River at Cranganor History Cafe and Riverside Chateau in Puthenvelikkara near Kochi.

Watching the Periyar flow is soothing. All that remains of the previous night’s rain is the tip-tap of drops of water — on the grass and the awnings. It makes the morning air crisp as the lukewarm sunlight slowly spreads over the River Lodge: Cranganor History Cafe and Riverside Chateau at Puthenvelikkara, a village near Chendamangalam in North Paravur. 

You can see the river from wherever you are you are on the property listed on Airbnb — lounging or having a meal or simply taking in the sights. The rooms face the Periyar too; leave your door open and you can watch the river as you listen to it flow and the birds.  

This area of Puthenvelikkara forms a part of the region that comprises the old, once-thriving port city of Muziris, which extends from North Paravur to Kodungallur. 

For someone who lives in nearby Kochi, this place with its quiet feels a world apart despite being only 30-odd kilometres away. Fort Kochi usually gets all the attention, but there are parts in and around Kochi such as Chendamangalam which are historically significant. Chendamangalam because it was the seat of the Paliath Achans, prime ministers to the Maharajas of the erstwhile kingdom of Kochi. 

And Chendamangalam is fodder for the imagination. While the rest of the country would remember it with reference to the 2018 flood and the handloom sector that took a hit because of it, there is much more to this place with its crisscrossing river channels of the Periyar and tiny islands.   

The past straddles the present here, the past more present in some parts of the town. This area was part of the region that comprised the once-thriving port city of Muziris, which was an important part of world trade routes in the region. Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Phoenicians and Arabs traded in spices, ivory, teak, cotton fabric and other goods here. The Portuguese, Dutch and English came later.  

“It would have been a multicultural ‘town’ with varied influences... The oil, pickle and vine jars and stoneware that were found in the Pattanam excavations point to that. The traders would have lived here at least for six months when they came here to trade,” says history buff and entrepreneur Rasmi Poduval, also the owner of Cranganor, which she set up with her husband, Vineeth Viswambaran. She adds, “All these factors have influenced how we live, our food, culture… perhaps every aspect of our lives.”