Socio-cultural Processes and Livelihood Patterns at Tirurangadi - CDS

Social and cultural changes were taking place among the other groups also. The
traditional nayar taravads were gradually transforming under the impact of the Colonial
property system. Litigations were increasing, and properties were being partitioned
among different members or segments of the family. This tendency is represented in the
settlement documents of 1906, when different members of the same nayar taravad are
holding different areas independently. Taravads also underwent segmentation. For
example, the family of Attukalaththil, a major family in Thenhippalam was divided into
three segments. The family of Vennaikkattu was divided into two segments. The large
Muslim families were segmented by convention. For example, the holdings of the Naha
family were under a large number of members. The partition litigations obviously raised
a number of issues including the structure of the matrilineal joint family. It is not
intended to go into the question in detail, but Oyyarath Chandu Menon, one of the
principal players in the debate, and also the first great novelist in Malayalam was a judge
in the Parappanangadi Court, and lived near the Mookambika temple at Neduva,
presumably in the midst of his own clients. It was not probably hard to find the
prototypes of Panchu menons and Suri nambuthirippads in the vicinity of Neduva.
The third and significant development was the building of the railroad mentioned earlier.
The first segment of the railroad from Madras to Calicut was constructed from Tanur to
Calicut in the Tururangadi region. The construction of the railroad brought British
engineers and technicians and a number of local people from Vallikkunnu and
parappanangadi were employed as menial laborers, and some of them joined the railway
service. Probably railway labor was the first form wage labor in the proper sense that was
introduced here. Railway also brought other accessory occupations. One was the making
of wooden railings that were used in the railroads. Numerous household saw mills were
working, which made the wooden railings that were used in other parts also.