Nanthancode Church

Guru Swami

Statue

Cliff Dale Apartments

Kindergarten Nursery and LPS School, Nanthancode

Nanthancode - Fading MEMORIES

Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai penned his novel, `Thyagathinte Prathiphalam', during his stay at Nanthancode.

SEVERAL REGIONS of the historic city of Thiruvananthapuram once had picturesque locales. Nanthancode or Nandanam code was one such area with paddy fields and groves of flowering trees and plants. This area may have been an extension of Nandavanam, (meaning an extensive garden) where flowers for the Padmanabha Swamy Temple were grown.

Special varieties of rice such as njavara and chama were cultivated for the Royal granary in the paddy fields of Nanthencode. The fields were known as the amaathra vayal. Njavara kanji (a rice gruel) was an indispensable part of amruthethu, the Royal breakfasts. Chamawas a grain that was partaken during the Ekadesi days when fasting was observed.

Thus, one can presume that the name of the field itself owes its name to amruthethu.

In course of time, Nanthancode developed into a quiet residential area. It had two Lower Primary (LP) Schools. There used to be a recreation club called the Young Men's Recreation (YMR) Club. There is a temple (a Bhadrakali temple, the idol of which is believed to have been worshipped by Sree Narayana Guru).

The two LP schools were shut down because there weren't enough students. New places of worship have sprung up in the locality. The recreation club stopped functioning long ago, though its name lingers still in the name of the junction -- the YMR junction, which connects Nanthancode to Cliff House to Kuravankonam.

Few lanes and roads in the city are named after foreign men and women from Thiruvananthapuram's colonial past. Nanthancode has two of these. The Watts Lane, which branches to the west from the junction, leads to the bungalow of Miss. D. H. Watts who was an English tutor to the two princesses of erstwhile Travancore. Miss. Watts taught English to Sethu Lekshmi Bai (who later became the Regent of Travancore) and Sethu Parvathi Bai (mother of Sree Chithira Tirunal).

The title, `Raja Kriya Kusala', bestowed on Miss Watts is proof enough of her efficiency and her influential status. Her brother, M. E. Watts (1924-28), was the Dewan of erstwhile Travancore during the early years of the Regency.

Miss Watt championed the cause of women's empowerment and was the principal of the Maharaja's College for Women. Today, the sprawling ground of the old bungalow houses the ICSE section of Holy Angel's Convent.

There are two Baines Compounds, one near the Museum and another at Nanthancode. These lands must have been in the possession of Sir. J. A. Baines, Census Commissioner of the erstwhile State of Travancore during the beginning of the 20th century.

The Watts Lane extends up to the Charachira and a large square pond on the left. It is one of the very few extant pools in the city that has not been filled up with sand. The pond was till recently a sight to behold, with its water lilies and taluses. Today, one can spot, along the banks, rows of clotheslines belonging to the washer-folk community living nearby.

During the Fifties, when partial prohibition had been in force in some parts of Kerala, the Charachira pond and Watts Lane had become places where illicit arrack was sold. Watts Lane came to be known as the `Watt-is lane'- Malayalam slang for illicit liquor- and Charachiragot the name Charayachira.

In a notification that appeared in the Travancore Government Gazette dated September 11, 1894, defining the dues to Town Development Committee, this place is mentioned by the name of Charayachira. The same name was used to denote the place in another official document, which dates back to May 1917.

V. V. K. Valath states in his book on the etymology of place names in Thiruvananthapuram district that both names could be traced back to an older name, Charalchira. This, according to Valath's arguments, is related to the use of the pond to collect chattal or charal mazha, the pre-monsoon drizzle, which State receives. Hence, the pond came to be known as Charalchira.

At one time, the water from the pond was used to irrigate Charalcrops. The south-west monsoon crops were known in Malayalam slang as Oru poovu, while the north-east monsoon crops were calledIru poovu. The intermediate crop cultivation was known as Charal poovu.

When the writer, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, enrolled as a student at the Thiruvananthapuram Law College, he stayed at Nanthancode. It was during his stay here that Thakazhi wrote the novel `Thyagathinte Prathiphalam' (`The Reward of Sacrifice'). This was the story of a poor Nair women who lived in the Watts Lane.