Destiny’s Child

Title: Destiny’s Child – The Undefeatable Reign of Cochin’s Parukutty Neithyaramma

Author: Raghu Palat, Pushpa Palat

Publisher: Penguin Viking, 2022 (First)

ISBN: 9780670096305

Pages: 269

 

This is the story of a diminutive yet regal woman, hardly 4 feet 9 inches tall and slightly plump who was a stern and ruthless individual whom her attendants found generally not approachable. She had vested state powers in her own hands and the British gave her the entitlement of a 17-gun salute – the first Indian lady to be thus honoured. She was Parukutty Neithyaramma, the consort of Maharaja Rama Varma XVI of Cochin State. She belonged to the Nair caste which was traditionally lower than the Kshatriya rajas but managed to enter into a sambandham (a loose conjugal relationship once practiced in Kerala which was entered into between a Nair woman and an upper caste man and in which the male partner had no responsibility for the offspring of the union). Against all odds of discrimination by princesses of the royal family, she steadfastly adhered to her husband. He was sixth in line in seniority to the throne, but due to deaths in the line and abdication of the reigning raja, Kunji Kidavu – Parukutty’s husband – was fortunate to ascend the throne and rule for eighteen years till his death. Parukutty wielded immense power both directly and indirectly by strictly controlling access to the ruler and regulating appointments to key positions including that of the Diwan – the chief minister of the kingdom. Many allegations were levelled against her on corruption and nepotism. She cleverly met her opponents employing deft strategies such as lining up on the side of nationalism which was growing in stature at that time. After her husband’s death, she quietly entered a calm, private life. Raghu Palat is a banker, consultant, writer and teacher. He is also the great-grandson of the protagonist of this story, Parukutty Neithyaramma and has included personal reminiscences to add a touch of liveliness to the narrative. The co-author Pushpa Palat is his wife.

 

Many a Nair woman’s ticket to riches hinged on the sweet chance of finding the right paramour to enter into a sambandham. Parukutty’s Brahmin father was well connected with the Cochin royal family and requested the prince who was sixth in line to the Crown and was 17 years her senior having his hair prematurely greyed for an alliance with his daughter. Interesting facts about the union show how outrageously one-sided the selection was. Her father took her to the palace in Thrissur to introduce her to the prince who was staying there. They met him sitting at the far end of a verandah. After a few words, the prince asked her to walk to the other end and come back, just to observe her gait. This may set present-day feminists’ blood on the boil but the lady took this in her stride – literally. Even after this interview, there was no intimation of acquiescence from the groom. So the father went to Thripunithura where the royal family was permanently residing and obtained his consent for sambandham. But he would not come to her house nor will any ceremonies be held. Finally, her father took her to Thripunithura and presented her before the prince. She then stayed with him flouting centuries-old traditions that forbade Nair spouses from cohabiting with their Kshatriya partners in the palace. This caused the nobility to turn against her. But Parukutty was a strong woman who won’t bow down even to her husband on issues which she deemed to be for the benefit of the family. Unlike the other princes, her husband used to spend his allowances frugally and used his savings to lend to farmers at interest with their title deeds as collateral security. If they couldn’t pay back the debt, their lands would belong to the prince. With tactful management of his finances ably supported by Parukutty, the royal couple was able to amass a huge wealth even before he became the ruling king of Cochin.

 

The authors recount the family strife Parukutty was forced to endure from the prince’s family members on account of the supposed low birth of the consort. In fact, that was not the real bone of contention. Many other princes, including the reigning Rama Varma XV, had had entered into sambandhams with Nair women. But this prince let her stay with him in the palace allotted to him thereby bringing in a semblance of equality to the woman who was his partner. The palace women employed taunts and barbs at every available opportunity that she stopped visiting the Purnathrayeesa temple altogether, which was frequented by the royals. As a woman of character and diehard will, she made it a practice to visit the Chottanikkara temple every day in a bullock cart. A lifelong devotion thus sprang between the wronged woman and the goddess who was known for curing mental sickness. The prince however knew the real worth of his wife and allowed her to be present and participate in his meetings. This was a partnership many couldn’t quite understand and most envied.

 

The authors have taken some liberty to creatively portray some events that add colour and life to the narrative. The exquisite description of the coronation of Rama Varma XVI at the Dutch Palace in Mattanchery is one such incident. His journey from the Hill Palace in a car, the boat ride from Ernakulam and the rituals are rendered in so lifelike a manner as to be like watching in a movie. The British did not recognize sambandham as a lawful marriage and treated it more as a morganatic engagement. Consequently, the lady was never invited to official meetings nor met senior British officials. Rama Varma XVI made a clean break from the past on this point too. Within a short time of taking over the reins of the state, he performed a solemn ceremony at the palace in which he was crowned and bestowed the title of ‘Neithyar’ on his wife. With this, she was elevated to the rank of royal consort. The authors do not explain the meaning or etymology of the word Neithyar. True to the weight of her title, he sometimes openly solicited his consort’s advice in open court. Parukutty readily offered her opinion in a stern voice accompanied by a disclaimer that it was her own opinion and it was for His Highness to take the final decision. Within a short time, the courtiers found that the ruler’s opinion was always in sync with that of his dear consort.

 

From what is presented in the book, it is fairly obvious to everyone that Parukutty’s administration of the kingdom was riddled with large scale corruption. She made screening interviews on the appointment of diwans and senior officials who were expected to obey her bidding. As retaliation for the trouble she suffered at the hands of high-born princesses, she took control over the Amma Raja Estate, which was a fund constituted for the welfare of thampurattis (princesses) and their children. It is likely that public funds were siphoned off under various guises. This book does not mention any such case, but an incident narrated by Robert Bristow in his book Cochin Saga may have a direct bearing on this. Bristow found that the country boats carrying material for the construction of the harbour at Kochi were found to be stopped in Cochin State’s territory and an unauthorized toll of around 13 per cent of the value of the material was levied by a few people. Bristow personally intervened to stop this extortion and raised the issue with the Diwan who expressed happiness that the issue was resolved but expressed his own helplessness saying that “there are some things that even a Diwan is wise to put up with”. Possibly, the rani’s agents might have been behind this illegal collection of money. You can find this incident mentioned in Chapter 10 – Currents and Undercurrents in Bristow’s book. Nepotism was another curse of the rani’s administration. She made her son Aravindaksha Menon the chief engineer of the state even though he was very young and had little experience in the field. She also made a nephew the civil surgeon of Thrissur. She even tried to appoint her son-in-law Ramunni Menon Palat the Diwan in 1930, but the British firmly declined the suggestion.

 

The book describes the frequent interventions of the abdicated ruler Rama Varma XV in the administration of his successor which provides an interesting side story. Even though he is hailed as Rajarshi (royal sage) for relinquishing the throne, it is hinted in this book that he did not expect the British to accept his offer of abdication. His resentment led to continuous interference in the policies of Rama Varma XVI. While on the throne, he had purchased shares of the Moopley Valley Rubber Company in the name of the raja of Cochin. After demitting office, he wanted its dividends to be paid to his personal account which the reigning raja declined. The abdicated raja then filed a suit in a Travancore court where the company was headquartered and lost. This caused much bad press for the royal family. This book also depicts the end of Parukutty’s influence as the prince suffered a stroke and was partially paralyzed. Doubts were raised against his sanity by his own family members who clamoured for an investigation by a British mental expert. A capable practitioner was engaged from Mumbai, but the raja quietly passed away a few days before the examination was to take place thereby avoiding a huge embarrassment for the state. The authors also bring out the protagonist’s plans for retirement as she had anticipated the event much earlier. She had planned to settle in her home town of Thrissur and made a lot of improvements to the town. She is the architect of modern Thrissur. She built the ring road at the heart of the city and was instrumental in the development of Ramavarmapuram nearby which she planned to develop like a university town in the model of Oxford. She had planned to transfer the Maharaja’s College functioning at Ernakulam to Ramavarmapuram and also transferred the museum and zoo at Ernakulam to Thrissur.

 

The book is pleasant to read which opens up a mirror to Kerala society as it existed a century ago. It is also the saga of a woman who enforced her will in a male-dominated world hard bound by customs which never made her life easier. That she was unscrupulous in her mission to gain financial self-sufficiency for herself and future generations is fairly obvious even though the authors have given only indirect hints here and there of the rampant corruption prevalent in her administration. Since the co-author is her own great-grandson, this is excusable. It also gives a clear picture of the political drama and string-pulling that was normal practice in a princely state under British control. Readers also get a few glimpses of the old Ernakulam town and how it had staged some of the political events narrated in this book.

 

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 4 Star