History

Palakkad has had settlements from the Paleolithic age; a fact

substantiated by the discovery of megalithic relics from this
region. The mass migration of Tamil Brahmins to Kerala, 3007
centuries ago was triggered by several factors pertaining to
the Muslim invasion, restructuring of the territoriai limits and
the continuous drought aver many years in the Kaveri Delta.
The first village to be established was perhaps Sekharipurám,
which could have been named after Raja Sekhara Varma of
Palakkad asa token of gratitude. The acclaimed village of
Kalpathy has also been recorded.ás a forerunner (K.V, Krishna.
lyer).Palakkad Kings hád their own reasons to welcome and
settle these Brahmins in their area with a hidden strategy of
breaking the hegemony and the authority that the Namboodiri
Brahmins held sway. Palakkad is home to nearly 96 Settlement in Kerala
agraharams in the district and nearly 18 within the town with
an evident fusion in language.culture and architecture of the
It was considerably important that all
Tamil Nadu and Kerala
works inside the temple (right from
the pooja ceremonies to the cleaning
up) should be conducted only by
Brahmins. So there was no scarcity
for work for: any Brahmin who
migrated from the neighbouring states
and.associated themselves with
capital. The administration of the
state also offered them a notable
position as they were considered very
trustworthy by the ruling class of the
State. It could be seen that the
majority of the Tamil Brahmins formed
the official setup for the King
 Agraharams
The name originates from the fact that the agraharams
have rows of houses on either side of the road and the
temple to the village god at the centre. Thus resembling
a garland around the temple. According to the traditional
Hindu practice of architecture and town-planning, an
agraharam is held to be two rows of houses running
north-south on either side of a road at one end of which
would be a temple to Shiva and at the other end, a
temple to Vishnu.

Location
The strategic location of the settlement was decided by the religion and occupation. For example, the location of Agraharam
settlement is based on the temple position and all the houses were arranged in a linear pattern different from the clustered
pattern usually seen in Kerala traditional architectural style thus forming a garland around a temple

Socio Culture Aspects

Hinduism being the predominant religion, Kshethrams and Ambalams were built to worship the presiding deities. The Kaavus (for
the serpent worship) and Kovils were dedicated to specific gods. The district also boasts of a glorious cultural tradition with .Koothu,
Kathakali, Carnatic music,literature and poetry have a very special mention in these Agraharams. The Vela and the Pooram festival
consist of parade of elephants, and the sounding of the traditional orchestra with the panchavaadhyam (5 musical instruments). The
Arat festival, Kalpathy Radholsavam are a part and parcel of the religious fervor typical to this area. These festivals mark the
coming together of the people from all the nearby villages, a sign of communal interactionthese societies have become a unique
blend of the TamilNadu & Kerala Cultures in terms of language, festivals, art and communities as supported by several authors-
"There has been a long debate on the linguistic background of the Kerala lyers,most Kerala Iyers came to kerala as early as the
13th century, Thus there constan
interaction with Malayalam and Malayalis eventually highly increased the level of Sanskritisation into théir Brahmin dialect of Tamil
which in itself was sanskritised thus as time flew most of them started to speak a form of Tamil highly concentrated with Malayalam.
Design

-The planning and architecture of these housing patterns have evolved over time taking into consideration various parameters like
the local climatic conditions, availability of local building materials and the skill employed in the construction.
-The row houses sharing a common wall had a long verandah running along the front portion, supported by stone and wooden
pillars.
-The spatial planning of the agraharams follows a linear pattern with rooms arranged one after the other.
-The agraharams also incorporates a courtyard in its design.
-These courtyards were used for religious purposes, the backbone of the life of the Brahmin community.
-The courtyard was omitted at times and a backyard was given as a utility area.
-Every house is nearly identical, and the rich and the not-so-rich co-exist in complete harmony with each other and live in same
dwellings of almost equal size and shape.
-They exude skill and craftsmanship, appreciation of culture, respect to local materials and methods of the building science.
Design
•According to the traditional Hindu practice of architecture and town-planning, an agraharam is held to be two rows of houses
running north-south on either side of a road at one end of which would be a temple to Shiva and at the other end, a temple to
Vishnu.
•In the case of the agraharams the qualities of living together and sharing each other’s space got reflected in their planning of the
settlements and it zoomed down into the architecture of their houses.
•The row of houses is either single or double storied, with the traditional pitched roof form striking a significant profile against the
sky.
•The streets were narrow and formed an integral extension of the ‘living space’.
•Water bodies were always seen it the vicinity of these settlements as the Vedic life recommended both spiritual and physical
purity.
•The linear division of the plots and the houses which covered almost the whole of the plot area did not allow its settlers to have
the luxury of a separate pond for each house. The settlers depended upon the temple pond.
Present Day Issues
Though Kalpathy was tagged as the first heritage village in the State, life has become a misery for those living there. Though the
district administration had clamped restrictions on repairs and alterations of houses in the Kalpathy Agraharam to protect its
heritage value, most of the structures were built many years ago and are in urgent need of repair.

According to regulatory guidelines as per heritage village status , “no development, redevelopment, construction including
additions, alterations, repairs, renovations, replacement of special and architectural features, demolition of any part or whole
thereof in respect of any object or buildings in the area should be allowed except with the prior written recommendation of the
Art and Heritage Commission constituted by the Government under Rule 154 of the Kerala Municipality Building Rule, 1999, in
order to conserve the heritage character of the Kalpathy area and its environment.”