Ottapalam, a quaint town in Kerala’s Valluvanad region, is renowned for ancestral Nair estates (tharavads) that dot its hilly landscape. The Koryamangalam tharavad, estimated to have been constructed around 1840, is one of Ottapalam’s most prestigious nalukettus. This stately structure, like many grand estates of its era, served not only as a residence but as an influential cultural hub in Valluvanad.
Koryamangalam was established by Ravunni Nair (1825-1912), a prominent jenmi (feudal lord) and renowned revenue collector who served under the British Madras Presidency. Nair’s niece, Ithru Amma, and her daughter, Parvathy Amma, subsequently inherited the estate according to marumakkathayam—the matrilineal system of inheritance practiced by Kerala’s Nair community. The house was then maintained by Parvathy Amma and her husband Kayrattu Raru Nair, a landlord whose extensive land ownership across Ottapalam, Pookottukavu, and Panamanna is documented in the Madras High Court Records (dated August 4, 1920). Raru Nair also served as an esteemed uralan (temple trustee) to the Thirunarayanapuram Vishnu Temple in Pathripala, bringing further prestige to Suryamangalam by upholding the estate’s patronage and role in temple management. His social prominence is underscored by a letter from Diwan Alexander Tottenham, Collector and Magistrate of Malabar, offering condolences after his passing in 1936.
Raru Nair and Parvathy had nine children. Their son, Rao Bahadur Narayanan Nair, earned the Rao Bahadur title and became the Postmaster General of the Malabar Presidency. His son, K. Sankaran Nair, served as the Chief of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and later as Indian High Commissioner to Singapore. Narayanan Nair’s brothers included K. Kunzhikrishnan Nair (Advocate), K. Achuthan Nair (Commissioner of Income Tax, Government of India), Raman Kutty Nair (Senior Bank Officer), and K. Shankunni Nair (Officer for the British Indian Army). Other children, including Thachu Nair, Raman Nair, Ammunni Amma, and Lakshmikutty Amma—who wed barrister Kizhakkepat Palat K.P.M.—brought further recognition to Suryamangalam. Notably, K.P.M.’s father was the subject of the first commissioned portrait by the prodigious artist Raja Ravi Varma in 1870, adding artistic prestige to the tharavad.
Ammunni and Palat K. K. Menon’s daughter, Parukutty Amma, inherited Koryamangalam; which she then passed to her daughter, Lakshmi Menon. Lakshmi Menon married Kunjirama Menon, a renowned advocate and District Judge of the Nilgiris, in the house. Their son, Dr. Krishnan Menon, moved to the United States, while their daughter, Madhavi Menon, cared for the Koryamangalam property from Hyderabad for years. In 2023, Madhavi entrusted the estate to heritage professionals dedicated to preserving the tharavad. Under their stewardship, the estate—now reborn as Suryamangalam Heritage—thrives with a new purpose while staying true to the traditionality, grandeur, and legacy that its presence brought to Valluvanad.
Research conducted and written by Devaki Vadakepat Menon, scholar of anthropology and rural heritage, University of Oxford.