History

The Founding of Koyamangalam

Ravunni Nair was the 'karnavar' of the Koyamangalam tharavad and it was he who built the present house in 1840 approximately. He was in the services of the Zamorin of Calicut as 'koyima', that is, administrator of temple trusts under the Zamorin.

Ravunni Nair built the present house on top of an original simple structure. He was assisted by his three cousins, Kandunni Nair, Erasa Nair and Kuttappan Nair. He brought Ithru Amma from the original tharavad and began this branch of Koyamangalam.

Ithru Amma's Legacy

Ithru Amma had three daughters and a son: Parvathy Amma, Lakshmi Amma, Nanikutty Amma and Madhavan Nair. Parvathy alias Ammu Amma was married to Kayarat Rarukutty Nair of Panamanna, who was an Adhikari. The second daughter, Lakshmi Amma, married Kizhakepaat Palat Madhava Menon who was a barrister at Madras High Court. (He was the son of Kizhakkepat Krishna Menon, sub-judge in the Madras Presidency.) Since they had no surviving female children, that line died out. The third daughter, Nani Kutty Amma, moved to a property in the Ambalapara region through a partition deed in 1937 and established another branch of the Koyamangalam family.

Distinguished Connections and Patronage

Sir Alexander Tottenham, who was District Collector and Assistant Magistrate in Malabar during the early nineteenth century and later served as a member of the Central Board of Revenue, was a close friend and well-wisher of Rarukutty Nair. There is a condolence letter from him sent to the Koyamangalam family on the demise of Rarukutty Nair in 1936 when he was Dewan of Pudukottai. This letter has been preserved by the Koyamangalam family.

Ithru Amma's son Madhavan continued to live in this house of Koyamangalam. Parvathy Amma also lived to a ripe old age and had nine children, that is, seven boys and two girls. While the younger daughter, Lakshmi Kutty, was provided with another property in the Chunangad-Malappuram area and moved there, the elder daughter Ammunni Amma inherited this property of Koyamangalam and lived here until the ripe old age of 94. Ammunni Amma married Kayarat Narayanan Nair who held the position of Adhikari.

Seven Brothers of Distinction

The sons, Thachu Nair, Narayanan Nair, Kunhikrishnan Nair, Achuthan Nair, Raman Nair, Ramankutty Nair and Sankunni Nair, along with their two sisters grew up in this Koyamangalam tharavad. Narayanan Nair was Postmaster-General in the British government and was conferred the title of Dewan Bahadur. Kunhikrishnan Nair was Advocate and Public Prosecutor at Madras High Court, Achuthan Nair was Income Tax Officer, Ramankutty Nair was a bank manager and Sankunni Nair was an officer in the British army. Narayanan Nair's son K Sankaran Nair was Chief of R & W in the Indian Government, having been inducted into that role from the Imperial Police.

20th Century Continuity

Ammunni Amma and her husband Kayarat Narayanan Nair started living in this house of Koyamangalam from 1952 onwards, shifting permanently from his Panamanna residence of Narikundukallam. They had three sons and a daughter. The daughter, Parukutty Amma, also lived at Koyamangalam for forty-five years until she died at the age of 94 in 2001. The three sons were Krishnan Kutty Nair (Zoological Survey of India), Ravunni Nair (Co-operative Bank) and Rarukutty Nair Jr. (who managed the Koyamangalam tharavad from 1952 until his death in 1986).

Transition to Modern Era

Parukutty Amma married P A Krishnan Kutty Nair (who was in the judicial service of the Madras Presidency and retired as District Magistrate at Madras) and had three sons: Brigadier Achuthan, Colonel Narayanan, Captain Madhavan and a daughter, Lakshmi Menon. Lakshmi married N P Kunhirama Menon who joined the judicial service of the Madras state on state bifurcation and continued in judicial service in Tamilnadu state until he retired as District Judge of the Nilgiris district in 1986.

The marumakathayam system came to an end in 1972 and Lakshmi Menon bought the tharavad shares from the other members. Her husband N P Kunhirama Menon carried out some repairs to the old house of the tharavad after purchasing the shares of all the other members.

Suryamangalam Heritage: Continuing the Legacy

After the demise of both Lakshmi Menon and N P Kunhirama Menon, their three children Dr K Krishnan (US), Dr Madhavi Menon (Hyderabad) and Parvathy Viswanathan (UK) inherited the tharavad and took care of it with the dedication and cooperation of Som Sunder, husband of Madhavi Menon, until he passed it on to the professional team of Suryamangalam.

Suryamangalam will be continuing the legacy, heritage and tradition of this old Nair nalukettu in Valluvanad.