Kerala - Kochi   

History through the lens

Gopalakrishnan, a New Delhi-based amateur photographer, is organising a three-day photo exhibition on the historical town of Kodungallur at the Kerala Lalithakala Academy auditorium in Thrissur from Sunday.

On display are 28 photographs of historical sites and other places in Kodungallur.

Kodungallur was one of the prominent towns of the Subcontinent in ancient times.

Mr. Gopalakrishnan, a native of Kottayam, had clicked these photographs during the past one year.

He had conducted exhibitions on different themes in places such as the Lalit Kala Academy and Habitat Centre, New Delhi; Venkatappa Art Gallery, Bangalore; Gaiety Theatre, Shimla; Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata; and Young Men's Christian Association, Thiruvananthapuram.

This exhibition will stimulate interest in the history of Kodungallur, which is at the centre of intense debates as recent excavations partly challenge the belief that it was the capital of the powerful ancient Perumal dynasty.

Kodungallur's importance as a major ancient trade centre, a region of multiple religious faiths, and an area that gave birth to remarkable literary personalities, including Kunjukuttan Thampuran, drew me to this initiative, Mr. Gopalakrishnan says.

He, however, laments that many monuments and artefacts in the town are not protected.

For example, only some vague remnants of the Portuguese fort remain at Kottappuram there, though the fort had been declared a protected monument in 1905 by the then rulers of Travancore.

Mr. Gopalakrishnan says he clicked the photograph of an ancient granite vessel on the residential compound of a person in the town.

It was lying abandoned there. Such items throwing light on the history of this region can be found in many places, he pointed out.

This concern for protecting historical sources was reflected by the historian K.N. Panikkar in his inaugural address of the exhibition.

T. Ramavarman

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