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Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the third largest city (pop. 801,190:1991) in the southern state of Kerala, India. It is the capital of Kozhikode District, and was formerly the capital of an independent kingdom, and later of the erstwhile Malabar District. This city is famous as the place where Zheng He of China first visited, and later Vasco da Gama in 1498. The name of the fibre calico is derived from the name of this city. It is also the pepper capital of the world.

History

Calicut is the anglicised form of ‘Kalikut’, Arabic for the Malayalam name Kozhikode. It is also called the Cock Fort. According to the historian K.V. Krishnan Iyer, the term means koyil (palace) kodu (fortified).

The ports of the Malabar Coast have been participated in the Indian Ocean trade in spices, silk, and other goods for over two millennia. Kozhikode emerged as the centre of an independent kingdom in the 14th century, whose ruler was known as the Zamorin.

Admiral Zheng He's navigation chart from Hormuz to Calicut, 1430

During the Yong Le era of the Ming Dynasty of China, Admiral Zheng He and his treasure fleet visited Kozhikode. Their visits were documented by on-board Arab language translators Ma Huan, Fei Xin and Gong Zheng. Each one of them published a book documented their visits to various countries, including Calicut. Ma Huan’s book "Ying yai Sheng lan" (translated into English as The Overall Survey of the Ocean Shores) contains the following observations of Kozhikode:

Calicut was a large kingdom on the West Ocean, bordering Coimbatore kingdom to the east, Kochi to the south, and Honavar to the north.
The king of Calicut (Vana Vikraman) was a Brahmin, a Buddhist; his chiefs were Muslims.
The throne pass to the king's sister's son.
In the fifth year of Yong Le 1407, the emperor of Ming dynasty ordered Admiral Zheng He to deliver an imperial honor to King of Calicut, with grant of silver seal, and promoted the chiefs with titles and awards of hats and girdles of different grades.
Admiral Zheng He erected a pavilion with ceremonial stone tablet in Calicut to celebrate this event.
The king minted fanam coins of 60% gold and also silver coins as currency.
The people of Calicut were honest and trustworthy.
The people of Calicut made silk out of silkworn, and dyed silk into different colors.
Main produce in Calicut were turnips, onions, ginger, eggplants in four seasons; also red and white rice, but no wheat.
The king of Calicut ordered craftsmen to draw fifty ounces of gold into hair-like fine threads, and weaved them into ribbon to make a gold girdle embedded with pearls and precious stones of all sort of colors, and sent envoy Naina (Narayana) to present the gold girdle to the Ming emperor as tribute.
According to Ming dynasty Imperial Guard Recruitment Record, Nanking area town guard chief Shaban was a native of Calicut. He was recruited to join Zheng He’s expedition, and was promoted on his return. Another officer Shasozu from Nanking military division was also a native from Calicut, who joined Zheng He’s expedition and too was promoted.

Admiral Zheng He later re-visited Calicut several times. On April of 1433 during his 6th and last expedition, he died in Calicut. This ceremonial stone tablet erected by Zheng He stood at least another two hundred years in Calicut; Jesuit Godinho de Eredia wrote that he saw this tablet in 1613.

Vasco da Gama landed at Kappad (18 kilometers north of Kozhikode) in May 1498, as the leader of a trade mission from Portugal and was received by the Zamorin himself. During the 16th century the Portuguese set up trading posts to the north in Kannur and to the south in Kochi, but the Zamorin resisted the establishment of a permanent Portuguese presence in the city, although in 1509 the kingdom was forced to accept a Portuguese trading post in Chaliyar. The Zamorins later allied with Portuguese's rivals the Dutch, and by the mid-17th century the Dutch had captured the Malabar Coast spice trade from the Portuguese. In the 1766 Hyder Ali of Mysore captured Kozhikode and much of northern Malabar Coast, and came into conflict with the British based in Madras, which resulted in four Anglo-Mysore Wars. Kozhikode and the surrounding districts were among the territories ceded to the British by Tipu Sultan of Mysore at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Mysore War in 1792. The newly-acquired possessions on the Malabar Coast were organized into Malabar District of Madras Presidency, and Calicut became the district capital.

After Indian Independence in 1947, Madras Presidency became Madras State. In 1956 the Indian states were reorganized along linguistic lines, and Malabar District was combined with the state of Travancore-Cochin into the new state of Kerala on November 1 1956. Malabar District was divided into the districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, and Palakkad on January 1 1957.

Climate

The district has a generally humid climate with a very hot season extending from March to May. The most important rainy season is during the South West Monsoon, which sets in the first week of June and extends up to September. The North East Monsoon extends from the second half of October through November. The average annual rainfall is 3266 mm. The best weather is found in towards the end of the year, in December and January - the skies are clear, and the air is crisp. The highest temperature recorded was 39.4ºC in March 1975. The lowest was 14ºC recorded on 26 December 1975.

People

The centuries of trade across the Indian Ocean gave Kozhikode a cosmopolitan population. Hindus constitute the majority of the population, and next come the Muslim and the Christian communities respectively. The Muslims of Kozhikode District are known as Mappilas. A great majority of them are Sunnis following the Shafi School of thought. Christianity is believed to have been introduced in Kerala in 52 CE, and the Christian population expanded with the presence of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British starting in the 16th century.

Media

Kozhikode occupies a prominent place in the history of Malayalam Journalism. The origin of the Journalism in this district can be traced back to 1880. The Kerala Pathrika is likely to be the earliest newspaper published from Kozhikode. Keralam, Kerala Sanchari and Bharath Vilasam are among the Other newspapers published from Kozhikode before 1893. The two major Malayalam newspapers, the Malayala Manorama and the Mathrubhoomi bring out Kozhikode editions while one of the major national dailies in English, the New Indian Express also has its offices in the city.

The Kozhikode station of All India Radio was commissioned on 14th May 1950 and it has two transmitters, Kozhikode A of 10 Kilowatt power and Kozhikode B (Vividh Bharathi) of 1 kilowatt power. A television transmitter has been functioning in Kozhikode from July 3 1984, relaying programmes from Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram Doordarshan. Cable and satellite television are also available in many parts of the district.

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Places of interest

The temples and mosques of this district contain sculptures and inscriptions which are of considerable interest to the students of art. Kozhikode town itself has many temples, the most important of which are the Tali Temple, Thiruvannur Temple, Azhokodi Temple, Valayanadu Temple, Varakkal Temple, Bilathikulam Temple, Bhairagi Madam Temple, and the Lokanarkavu temple.

There is an art gallery and Krishna Menon Museum at East Hill in Kozhikode. Lalitha Kala Academy also has an art gallery adjacent to the Kozhikode town hall. There is a planetarium, situated in the heart of the city near Jaffer Khan Colony. Kozhikode Beach and Mananchira Square are other popular gathering spots.

Thusharagiri, a very beautiful Waterfall is about 55 Km from Calicut Railway Station. Thusharagiri is served by a KTDC (Kerala Tourism Development Corporation) hotel.

Culture & Cuisine

File:Othenan.jpg

In the field of Malayalam Language and literature Kozhikode has made most significant contributions. The district is famous for folk songs or ballads known as Vadakkan Pattukal. The most popular songs among them are those which celebrate the exploits of Thacholi Othenan. One of the favourite past times of the Muslims of the district is the singing of the Mappilapattu and Oppana. The songs are composed in a composite language of Arabic and Malayalam. The famous intellectual debate for vedic scholars to win the coveted position of Pattathanam takes place at Thali temple during the month of Thulam.

Kozhikode also has strong associations with two things - ghazals and football. The game has a huge fan following here, and the Football World Cup is followed with even greater enthusiasm than the unofficial national sport of India - cricket. Local clubs even pick favourites among competing nations, and vociferously support their teams.

The city also has a strong mercantile streak to it, with the major vein of commerce being the "Mithai Theruvu", a long street crammed with shops that sell everything from sarees to cosmetics, and house hotels to sweetmeat shops. The name "Mithai Theruvu or "S M Street" comes from the famous sweet 'Kozhidoe Halwa' which was often called as the Sweet Meat by European traders. The multi cultural mix of Kozhikode ensures that Onam, Christmas and Id-ul-Fitr (the festivals of the Hindus, Christians and Muslims) are celebrated with equal pomp.

Kozhikode also offers fare for every palette. Vegetarian fare includes the 'sadya' (the full-fledged feast with rice, sambhar, and seven different curries and pappadum). However, the non-vegetarian food offered in the city is a unique mix of Muslim and Christian preparations. Some popular dishes include the Biriyani, Ghee Rice with meat curry, a whole host of sea-food preparations (prawns, mussels, mackerel, sea-fish) and paper thin Pathiris to provide accompaniment to spicy gravy. Another well known Kozhikode speciality are banana chips, which are made crisp and wafer thin, and the 'Kozhikode Halwa' .

Educational institutions

Calicut Medical College: One of the most prestigious medical institutions in India. The Institution recently made headlines by creating the Calicut Medical Journal, the premier Open Access Medical Journal in India.

National Institute of Technology: One of the most renowned engineering instituions in India. It was formerly known as Regional Engineering College (REC) and was affiliated to University of Calicut. It is now a deemed university.

Indian Institutes of Management: The latest in the IIM series, this institution was ranked in the top 10 B-schools in India.

Zamorins Guruvayurappan College: One of the oldest and most prestigious colleges in the country, founded by Zamorins of Calicut.

St. Joseph's College, Devagiri: A prestigious arts and science college, accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council with a grade A.

Farook College ,Calicut:The only College in Calicut University to be recognised as a Center of Excellence by the UGC and accredited at 5 star level by NAAC

External links

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