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The busy coastal city of KOZHIKODE (Calicut), 225km north of Kochi, occupies an extremely important place in Keralan legend and history. It is also significant in the story of European interference in the subcontinent, as Vasco da Gama first set foot in India at Kozhikode in 1498. However, as a tourist destination, it's a dud, with precious few remnants of its historic past. The few foreigners that pause here invariably do so only to break the long journey between Mysore and Kochi. Kozhikode's roots are shrouded in myth. According to Keralan tradition, the powerful king Cheraman Perumal is said to have converted from Hinduism to Islam and left for Mecca "to save his soul", never to return. Before he set sail he divided Kerala between his relatives, all of whom were to submit to his nephew, who was given the kingdom of Kozhikode and the title zamorin, equivalent to emperor. The city prospered and, perhaps because of the story of the convert king, became the preferred port of Muslim traders from the Middle East in search of spices, particularly pepper. |
During the Raj, it was an important centre for the export of printed Indian cotton, whence the term "calico", an English corruption of the name Calicut - itself an anglicized version of the city's original Malayalam name, which has now been reinstated. Today, due to strong ties with the Gulf where numerous sons of the city work, Kozhikode is flourishing with the injection of new wealth
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