Kerala’s 3,000-year-old history gets four new homes

In North Paravur, around 30 km from Kochi, is a small white building on an inconspicuous street. The whitewashed arch and the room at the entrance set it apart from the colourful neighbouring residences. We are at the Paravur Synagogue, on the former Jew Street, which will soon be officially opened to the public in its new avatar: the Kerala Jews Historical Museum.

It is one of the four historical sites to be turned into a museum under the Muziris Heritage Project (MHP), a part of the Spice Route project. Inside the Synagogue, wooden benches line the white-washed walls, where illustrated panels explain the history of Jews in India. Until the 1950s, Jews were an integral part of Kerala’s society. It is believed that Jews from Africa, Europe and the Levant came here via the Spice Route, a maritime trade route, around the 1st century AD and settled down on the Malabar coast. Nearly two millennia of their existence in Kerala is now history, as there are hardly any Jewish families left.

The ornate Chendamangalam Synagogue (the Kerala Jews Lifestyle Museum), the elaborate Paliam Nalukettu (the Kerala Lifestyle Museum), and the Paliam Kovilakom (the Kerala History Museum) are among the three other pilot projects and will be officially inaugurated soon.

“These sites represent the history of that place and the people associated with it. We have connected the museum’s theme with the significance of the building,” says Anupama TV, Director of MHP and the Additional Director of Kerala Tourism. The aim is to showcase 3,000 years of Kerala’s history, she says. Conservation of buildings and heritage is one of the aims of the Project. Benny Kuriakose, a Conservation Consultant for the Muziris Heritage Project, recalls that the buildings were in dilapidated condition and had to be restored.

“Jews from various parts of the world visit this synagogue,” says Sajana, the museum manager. She hopes now that the building is restored, it will attract more visitors.

While the Chendamangalam and Paravur Synagogue show us the times and lives of the Jews, the Paliam Nalukettu and the Paliam Kovilakom provide a glimpse into the lives of matrilineal upper-caste Hindu families. Paliath Achans were the hereditary Prime Ministers and Commanders-in-chief of the Kochi Rajas from the 17th to early 19th century, and the Paliam complex showcases their history.The vast two-storey wood and stone structure is empty. The echo of footsteps and hurried discussions of the Nalukettu’s significance come as a sharp contrast when I learn that the building once housed more than 100 women and children, while men lived outside in different quarters.

Sajay, the manager, excitedly explains the European influence on the typical Kerala architecture of Nalukettu. He talks about the genius of nameless thatchans (carpenter-architects), elderly women of the house (who were given the corner-most room to keep them out of the way, he says), the kitchen, the cellar, the airy East wing (what would be our living room, but exponentially bigger) and so on. He explains that the purpose of the museums is to tell the story of 3,000 years of Kerala’s history, culture and heritage from different points of view, and this is the Paliam family’s history. “The Nalukettu was perhaps the Taj Residency of that time,” he adds.

Anupama tells us that the project, supported and funded by the Centre and the State of Kerala will have 27 museums in all. According to Kuriakose, the inclusion of local communities and sustainability, makes the project a unique endeavour. All the personnel at the four sites, who welcome you with a smile on their lips, eager to take you around and explain the importance of the place, are locals.

“More than 70 local volunteers formed the link between the community and the project. They became the ambassadors of the project,” he says.

The initiative will help increase footfalls to these areas soon and will not only encourage tourism but also support the local economy.

Anupama remarks that to make the project sustainable, there is a nominal entry fee at each museum, but different packages are being worked out. As all the museums are near the backwaters, they will be connected through hop-on hop-off water routes.

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