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A throwback to Kozhikode's past
A photo exhibition organised by the Kozhikode Corporation at Town Hall here to highlight its five years of achievements and development activities also offers a glimpse into the history of the city.
Exhibits on the emergence of Zamorin, Kozhikode's development as a city, visit of Vasco da Gama, Kozhikode harbour, and accounts of various travellers and scholarly debates, such as Revathi Pattathanam, takes you back in time.
There are some interesting excerpts from a travelogue by a 15th Century Chinese traveller on Kozhikode: "When a Chinese merchant ship reaches this harbour [Kozhikode harbour], the king's `Karyakkaran' [chief superintendent] and a `chetty' together prepares the list of cargoes. A day will be fixed for determining the prices of cargoes ... calculations are made without calculating devices. They calculate faster than machines with the help of fingers, but have never gone wrong.''
The uniqueness of Kozhikode and how it was made a home by many great personalities can be understood from excerpts from the autobiography of the late E. Moidu Moulavi, freedom fighter. `Koyas' of Kozhikode are famous, but many will not know the meaning of `koya' as a variant from `Khawja' (honourable person). More interesting information on Kozhikode's past, including that on the lighthouse established in 1847 and Malabar Christian College (which started as a primary school for English education established by Basel Evangelical Mission led by Herman Gundert in 1848), are exhibited. The dates of when the Railway came to city (1858), establishment of Kuthiravattom Mental Hospital in 1872, Kozhikode becoming a municipal town (1866), electrification of the city in 1934, sanctioning of the first drinking water scheme in 1938 and city getting piped water (1959) can be known from the brief descriptions of such memorable events. One can know that the revenue of Kozhikode municipality in 1959-60 was Rs. 35.59 lakhs, while the expenditure was Rs. 29.31 lakhs. In 2005-06, the revenue was Rs. 110.54 crores and expenditure Rs. 107.59 crores. The number of streetlights in the corporation is 14,855. Details of some future projects are also exhibited. The exhibition is on till Monday.
J.S. Bablu
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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