Fast Forward Calicut: Mavoor Road: It is a wonder how the city’s best road received its name from another small town outside the city limit. This is said to have resulted from the prominence of Mavoor Gwalior Rayonce factory in Mavoor although factory later fell for strikes. However few KM stretch of Mavoor road is today one of the most important areas in Calicut city.
- There were four Nair families under Vellaattiri who used to send their heroes to fight and die in the mamankam festival. These were 1. Chandratt Panicker 2. Putumanna Panicker 3. Kokat Panicker 4. Verkot Panicker. Along with them went a number of soldiers drawn from arm-bearing castes including Muslims who opted themselves to die. Most of these Chaver soldiers had lost their relatives or elders in previous wars with the Samoothiri, and were fuelled by ‘kudippaka’ against the Samoothiri. They came from various parts of Malabar, assembled at Thirumanthamkunnu under Vellaattiri, and were led by commanders from one of the four houses. Further details were provided by Logan and Hamilton about the Mamankam of 1683 and 1695 respectively.
- Vellaattiri after losing Thirunavaya and the right of the Rakshapurusha, began to conduct the pooram festival in the place of Mamankam, at Angadippuram (Walluvappally), his capital. Here in the temple of his tutelary deity Thirumanthamkunnu Bhagavathi, he stood on a raised granite platform from where in the olden days his predecessors started the procession to Thirunavaya for the Mamankam festival. It was from here that the Chavers were sent to the Mamankam festival afterwards when Samoothiri usurped it.
- The war of Thirunavaya was not the end of Samoothiri’s aggression on Walluvanad. He continued his attacks on Vellaattiri. But he encountered stiff resistance even though Walluvanad had a much smaller army. The fights went on in a protracted and sporadic fashion for a long time, with both sides gaining in some and losing in the other.
- [Kunnathattil Madambil Nair (Mannarghat Nair) was the desavazhi who looked after the affairs of the eastern boundary and hilly areas of Vellattiri. Chondathil Mannadiar (Puthumana Panicker) and Kavada Nair were other chiefs under him. Other dignitaries consisted of 14 swaroopies, two Nairs, two Namboothiris, two persons of the royal house, four Panickers, Elampulakkad Achan, Kulathur warrier, Uppamkalathil Pisharody, Pathiramana Vellodi, Parakkatt Kakkoott, Mannarmala Nair and Cherukara Pisharody. This council of great men was a great challenge to Samoothiri even in the most difficult periods of the Walluvanad Rajas.
- Samoothiri followed a policy of appeasing the feudatories of Vellaattiri and conferring upon them the areas they originally held under Vellaattiri. He was able to win over Dharmoth Panicker, Pulappatta Nair and Kavalappara Nair to his side one by one. Thus Samoothiri gradually became the master of Malappuram, Nilambur, Vallappanattukara and Manjeri, which were under these feudal lords. Eralpad (Samoothiri prince) now began to rule these areas as supreme commander over them, with Karimpuzha as his base.
