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  • 09 Jul 2020

The Komans of Calicut

I first heard about the Koman family from the writings of Mr Jayaprakash Mallay. I ...

  • 01 May 2020

Dr. Pulney Andy in Calicu...

Calicut has had a long list of distinguished visitors. We all know about the visit ...

  • 17 May 2018

A Different Sort of Missi...

When Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut in 1498, he had made clear his agenda - 'P...

  • 02 May 2018

How Abu Hasan from Yemen ...

Calicut was the favourite destination of Yemeni merchants even after the Europeans ...

  • 02 Apr 2018

Nila School of Mathematic...

One has heard of the Kerala School of Mathematics and its lone stellar performer, Madha...

  • 12 Aug 2017

The Legendary Verkot Hous...

We had occasion to mention about this house in Chalappuram in connection with ...

  • 17 Jul 2017

In Memoriam - Premnath

We deeply regret to inform about the sad demise of one of the pillars of Calicut Herita...

  • 02 Dec 2015

An interesting talk on Th...

Professor M R Raghava Varier gave an interesting talk on Tharisappally Copper Plates an...

  • 20 Oct 2015

Maritime history of Calic...

It was a proud moment for Calicut Heritage Forum when our member Dr. Oliver Noone -...

  • 21 Jul 2015

The Mugaseths of Calicut

The year 1938-39. Calicut was in the grip of fever. My sister who was all of 5 year...

  • 25 Feb 2015

Subaltern Reminiscences o...

Sri Rairu Nair, aged 92, has been a witness to history at the local and national level....

  • 12 Sep 2014

Exciting new find of Chin...

The city of Kollam ( Quilon,'Ku-lin' in Chinese history) witnessed histo...

  • 15 Jul 2014

The Calicut Bank Limited

Calicut can take legitimate pride as the city that gave birth to the first private ...

  • 30 Jun 2014

The Elephant Race in Guru...

Guruvayur temple was being managed by the Zamorin of Calicut ( in association with ...

  • 06 Jun 2014

A Breakthrough History of...

Nedunganad is a patch of land which once extended from Kalladikkode hills in the ea...

  • 26 May 2014

Founding the empire in Ma...

After the defeat of Tipu Sultan, East India Company became the undisputed rulers of...

  • 23 Mar 2014

Hyder and Tipu - Part 2

We had, in the previous post, written about the invasion of Hyder and Tipu and the ...

  • 06 Feb 2014

Haider Ali and Tipu Sulta...

It is customary for all states to participate in the Republic Day celebrations in N...

  • 18 Dec 2013

Saving the Comtrust from ...

We had raised the issue of the deliberate destruction of one of the most beautiful heri...

  • 20 Oct 2013

V.C. - Calicut`s own Keat...

This blog usually tries to put at least one picture of its subject. But today we ar...

  • 20 Aug 2013

The Mysterious `Soap Meno...

We have two posts on Calicut Soap Factory: the first one about how the Vi...

  • 23 Jul 2013

A Source book on early me...

We are proud to announce the publishing of Calicut Heritage Forum's President, ...

  • 28 Mar 2013

The Zamorin is dead; Long...

We announce with deep regret the passing away of Mr.P.K.S. Raja, the Zamorin of Cal...

  • 05 Feb 2013

Muchunti Mosque – Could i...

Muchunti Mosque in Kuttichira is one of the most ancient mosques in Calicut. It is ...

  • 26 Oct 2012

Was Zheng He a Colonialis...

Early this year, I was invited to participate in a lively discussion at the Nalanda Sri...

  • 26 Jul 2012

Did a tsunami hit Calicut...

After the disastrous tsunami of 2004, researchers have been digging into the past t...

  • 08 Jun 2012

Calicut`s Contribution to...

Medieval Calicut was known as a prosperous entrepot, often described as the Emporiu...

  • 27 Apr 2012

Travails of Trading in Ma...

Vasco da Gama was supposed to have made his agenda clear to the first person he had...

  • 04 Mar 2012

Men Who Ruled Malabar

Malabar came under British rule in 1792, although it was only in 1800 that a proper...

  • 24 Jan 2012

A New Look at Calicut`s C...

Historians of Calicut deal with the Chinese period in its history as a brief interl...

  • 10 Dec 2011

Portrait of a Young Zamor...

The image that comes to mind of the Zamorin is usually that of an old patriarch pre...

  • 16 Sep 2011

One Hundred Years of a lo...

Logan’s Malabar Manual (1887) has inspired many of his successors to study th...

  • 03 Aug 2011

Remembering Dr.K.B. Menon

We had occasion to recall the great contribution of Dr.K.B.Menon to the f...

  • 17 Jul 2011

A Kochi Girl in the Mugha...

Portuguese had ruled Cochin for nearly 160 years between 1503 and 1663 before the D...

  • 02 Jul 2011

A Jews Street in Calicut?

It was young Thoufeek Zakriya, a history enthusiast, avid blogger (http://jewsofmal...

  • 21 Jan 2010

Remembering Conolly - the...

Maddy has, in a recent post, mentioned the contributions of H.V. Conolly, Mala...

  • 21 Dec 2010

Calicut and the decline o...

When Vasco Da Gama reached the shores of Calicut, the first to greet him was a Musl...

  • 08 Dec 2010

Baudelaire and the Girl f...

Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) was a French Romantic poet who is considered as a pi...

  • 26 Sep 2010

The Unsung Heroes of the ...

We had touched upon the 1942 Keezhariyur Bomb Case in an earlier post (click here)....

  • 10 Sep 2010

Did the British Really Co...

The title is intended to provoke. We hear the refrain that those who came to trade ...

  • 28 Aug 2010

Terrorist Acts in Calicut

Calicut is in the news for all the wrong reasons.  There was a series of bomb ...

  • 16 Aug 2010

Calicut - about a Hundred...

  The colonial writers of the 19th and early 20th century like L...

  • 27 Jul 2010

Mambram Thangal and Mahat...

When Mambram Pookoya Thangal had challenged British authority in the 1840s, his fol...

  • 05 Jul 2010

Calicut`s E&S Company

Senior citizens of Calicut would recall that the tea dust they bought some half a c...

  • 28 Jun 2010

FOR PEPPER AND CHRIST - A...

For Pepper and Christ, a novel written by the eminent poet and former IPS offi...

  • 07 Jun 2010

Calicut, Ooty and Jannat ...

What a glad moment it is, to be sure, when the sick and the seedy, the tired and testy ...

  • 31 May 2010

Calicut Railway - some mo...

Reader Devasahayam wanted to know whether the old Beypore Railway Station exists any lo...

  • 17 Apr 2010

Munnar and Malabar

Munnar and Malabar – How boundaries are determined! The tragic-comic sp...

  • 31 Mar 2010

Why There are no Chinese ...

Ever wondered why Calicut, with its centuries of contact with the Chinese, did not ...

  • 13 Mar 2010

Calicut Soap Factory and ...

We had some time ago written about the glorious days of the Kerala Soap Institute, ...

  • 25 Feb 2010

What happened to Kottappa...

Hyder Ali marched into Malabar from the north in 1766, leading to general panic in ...

  • 05 Feb 2010

Father Finicio of Calicut

Father Giacomo Finicio was an Italian priest of the Order of Society of Jesus who l...

  • 22 Jan 2010

Syphilisation of Calicut

When Vasco Da Gama reached Calicut, his audience with the Zamorin was delayed as th...

  • 15 Jan 2010

The Land of Many Hills

Calicut is famous as an ancient Port City, also known during the Zamorins' heyd...

  • 04 Jan 2010

Gama Ko Gussa Kyon Aaya? ...

Although Gama was feted in Lisbon as the conqueror of the east, he was still seethi...

  • 20 Dec 2009

How Calicut Remained `Chr...

Even after the Crusades had ended, its spirit pervaded much of Christendom in the E...

  • 06 Dec 2009

Zamorin`s Wars Abroad II

he Zamorin's forces - mostly the navy under the Marakkars - were deployed outsi...

  • 23 Nov 2009

Zamorin`s Wars Abroad

Historians of Calicut have dwelt at length on the internecine wars which the Zamori...

  • 17 Oct 2009

Calicut and Foreigners

Calicut witnessed a few days ago the curious spectacle of large number of people fo...

  • 30 Sep 2009

Yawning Gaps in Calicut H...

What was Calicut like before the Zamorins established thier rule in the 12th c...

  • 04 Jul 2009

Did Marco Polo Visit Cali...

This was the question posed by an avid commentator, Premnath T Murkoth, on an earli...

  • 18 May 2009

A Hilarious History of Ca...

Around the time William Logan was writing Malabar Manual (1887), an American ...

  • 27 Apr 2009

Pirates in the History of...

Calicut pops up in the most unlikely stories. Business Standard reports t...

  • 31 Mar 2009

Ananthapuram - the Forgo...

"The Zamorin's empire at its zenith included the whole of the west co...

  • 25 Mar 2009

A Heritage Site Soon to D...

One more landmark in the glorious past of Calicut may soon disappear – unless tho...

  • 25 Feb 2009

British Graves, yet again...

We had posted an entry (Dec 12, 2008) on the abandoned graves of two British soldie...

  • 16 Feb 2009

Kamasutra Translator in Z...

Sir Richard F. Burton (1821-1890) was a colourful Victorian gentleman. He is best k...

  • 24 Jan 2009

The Black Hole of Attinga...

Generations of students all over the English speaking world were fed on the tragic ...

  • 31 Dec 2008

On a Grave Digging Missio...

  We in Kerala seem to have a genius for destroying our heri...

  • 13 Dec 2008

Trikkulam and the Demise...

A team from Calicut Heritage Forum, led by Dr.Oliver Noone visited Trikkulam, near ...

  • 01 Dec 2008

Chronicling Calicut - Som...

François Pyrard was a man with a strange mission. Born in the Breton town of...

  • 19 Nov 2008

A Tale of Two Conversions

The birth of the City of Calicut is associated with a religious conversion. Legend ...

  • 06 Nov 2008

Soaps for the Viceroy - m...

It was early morning on January 4, 1932. Gandhiji had just announced the civil...

  • 01 Nov 2008

Cosmopolitan Calicut

How many communities are there in Calicut, apart from the local Hindu, Muslim and C...

  • 26 Oct 2008

Aother Panniankara Monume...

Close to the Bhagavati Temple -see post below- stands the Princess of Wales di...

  • 25 Oct 2008

History Waiting to be Wri...

The history of Calicut was believed to have started with the establishment of a medieva...