The 'Crown Prince' was sentenced to Death
When Colonel John Munro arrived in October,1810 at Thiruvananthapuram, as Resident of Travancore,the first intrigue he had to deal with, was the murder of the reigning King Avittam Thirunal Balarama Varma and the issue of succession.The murder of the King happened on 7 November,1810,within days of arrival of Munro,and for the first time, it took three months to decide on the new ruler;the practice till then,was to crown the successor immediately.
There was a 'crown prince' then:Visakham Thirunal Kerala Varma of Mavelikara Arattukadavil Koyikal family,which originally was a branch of the Chenga Palace of Kolathiri of Malabar.They had left Malabar,during the siege of Tipu Sultan.Kerala Varma, was the son of princess Atham Thirunal.
The younger sisters of Atham Thirunal,Bharani Thirunal and Uthram Thirunal were adopted to the Attingal mother branch of the Travancore royal family in 1789 as Senior Queen and Junior Queen respectively;since Atham Thirunal was married at that time,she was not adopted,but she stayed with the sisters at Sripadam Palace,Thiruvananthapuram.The independent territory of Attingal had merged with Travancore in 1748,at the insistence of Marthanda Varma,by a Silver Plate Treaty,with the last Queen Pururuttathi Thirunal (death in 1788)which had a condition that,in the absence of an offspring in Travancore,an unmarried girl should be adopted from Kolathunad to Attingal;the succession on the death of a King would descend to the elder son of the Queen of Attingal.These are the four clauses in the agreement:
1.Only unmarried princesses could be adoptees.2.that only the princesses of Kolathunad were eligible for adoption.3.that the adoptees would be members of the Attingal family.4.that the eldest male member born of the princesses so adopted would in due time rule as King.
It is evident from this treaty why Atham Thirunal and her son were not adopted;she was married and already had a son ,Kerala Varma.He didn't have legal claim to the throne.
When Dharmaraja Rama Varma was on the gaddi,the issue of the absence of a crown prince was raised,when the then crown prince Ravi Varma died,and only Balarama Varma remained.So,when Balarama Varma succeeded in 1782,on the death of Dharmaraja Rama Varma,there was no heir;the King was only 16.The move on the part of the King and his coterie to get his friend,Visakham Thirunal Kerala Varma to be adopted to Attingal,was thwarted by the Queen,Bharani Thirunal.She had two daughters:Ayilyam Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bai and Uthratathi Thirunal Gouri Parvathi Bai.Bharani Thirunal refused the adoption of Kerala Varma,since she expected a son any time,who could be the King.Lakshmi Bai used to call Kerala Varma,Annan,meaning,elder brother.
During Dharmaraja,the virtual ruler was,the Dewan or Prime Minister,Raja Kesavadas.When Balarama Varma succeeded,Kesavadas was poisoned to death and Jayantan Sankaran Nambudiri became the Dewan.He pressurized the Queen to adopt Kerala Varma, she agreed,and it was done in 1796.After that,she conceived,and had a son.But,when Bharani Thirunal died in 1808,Kerala Varma did the funeral rites.Gouri Lakshmi began staying at Nedumangad and Karthikapally.
Dewan Velu Thampi had committed suicide a year ago, in February ,1809,after a failed attempt to assassinate the Resident, Colonel Colin Macaulay.Ummini Thampi had assumed the position of Dewan,after Thampi's rebellion was crushed.His Prime Minister,Mallan Pillai had entered the shelter of Thampi at Mannadi,just before the suicide,to capture,Thampi.Only Thampi's younger brother,Raman Thampi was with him.Two brothers of Velu Thampi,Raman Thampi and Kumaran Thampi were jailed;Raman Thampi died in jail.Another brother,Kunjupiratti Thampi,escaped to Madras;he was captured there and jailed(few historians have said,Velu Thampi had a brother called Padmanabhan Thampi-it is wrong).
Kerala Varma was the sworn enemy of the new Dewan,Ummini Thampi;Kerala Varma was very friendly with King Balarama Varma and was calling the shots.Velu Thampi used to take his orders;they had met thrice in Kollam,and had plotted against Macaulay.The final meeting was in November,1808,a month before the assassination attempt against Macaulay.He was on his way to Kumaranallur Temple,to take part in the Karthika festival.Thus,Kerala Varma was considered a man of intrigues, by the East India Company.They never liked him.
King Balarama Varma and Ummini Thampi,suspected each other;Ummini Thampi was denied access to the Commander of King's own guards,Subedar Kumara Pillai.That the King was virtually a hostage,has been recorded by the Resident of Thanjavur,William Blackburn,who administered Travancore,briefly,during Velu Thampi's rebellion.Ummini Thampi even refused to conduct the ritual of Murajapam,which was taking place at an interval of six years.The King dismissed Ummini Thampi for this in October,1809-it could not be implemented by the King.Ummini Thampi,a drunkard,was very loyal to Resident,Macaulay.
Finally,Ummini Thampi conducted the ritual nominally,without inviting the King.
Ummini Thampi banished the King's favorite consort from Thiruvananthapuram,to her native place,Arumana.She was a spy of Velu Thampi,who had informed him of the plot to kill Subbayyan,the Kingdom's representative at the Residency.He,a favorite of Macaulay,was killed by mercenaries of the King and Kerala Varma,while on a journey to meet Velu Thampi,in Kollam.
Macaulay wrote to the Madras Council,saying Kerala Varma had been brandishing a pistol,he acquired, to kill Ummini Thampi. The letter Macaulay wrote on December 06,1809,recommended the banishment of Kerala Varma, either to Mavelikara,or Alapuzha.The diary entry of Macaulay during the time,reveals that the usually belligerent Kerala Varma met Macaulay and broke down during the conversation.He was afraid that he would be poisoned.The Commander of the Subsidiary Force,Colonel H S Scott recorded that the King has devised a plot to kill Ummini Thampi.It was true.The King asked Ummini Thampi to call a conference at Thiruvananthapuram, to discuss administrative matters.A decision was made to kill Thampi,at Kazhakuttam,while on his way to Thiruvananthapuram,from his head quarters at Kollam.He was informed of the plot by Kerala Varma Thirumulpad of Cherthala,husband of Thampi's mother's sister,Parvathy Thankachi of Puthumana amma veedu.Irayimman Thampi,the poet was her son,and she was the daughter of Makayiram Thirunal Ravi Varma,younger brother of Dharmaraja.Thampi conducted the meet at Kollam itself.
A situation arose in which one would be murdered-the King or Thampi.
Munro arrived precisely at this point.
Though Munro was appointed as Resident on 10 March,1810,he could assume duty only in October,because of a mutiny in Madras Army,in which he was involved.In the army,a Major next becomes Colonel;but when Munro was just 27,from Major,he was promoted to the post of Quarter Master General,overlooking seniors.Colonel St Leger,who had commanded the army detachment from Trichinopoly against Velu Thampi, was one of the officers who protested.
As Quarter Master General,Munro sent a report,on June 30,1807,against the prevailing system of tent contract.This was a system in which a British Commander commanding a native corps,received a permanent monthly allowance,alike in peace and war,on condition of providing the men under him,with suitable camp equipage whenever required.This involved purchase of camping equipment s,which involved embezzlement by officers.Munro recommended abolition of this system and to compensate the Commanders with enhanced batta.This report,submitted to the Commander in Chief of Madras Army,Sir John Cradock,got leaked.Cradock had agreed to abolish the system.When the report became public,there was unrest in the army.Lt General Hay Macdowall,who succeeded Cradock,resented the report and placed Munro under arrest,to be court martialled by the succeeding Commander-he was leaving Madras.Munro appealed to the Madras Council,and was released by Governor General,George Barlow.Macdowall questioned the order and termed Munro writing directly to the Governor,as contempt of authority,and condemned him.This prompted a counter order from the Council,and there was mutiny.It was crushed on 23 August.Macdowall was lost at sea near Cape of Good Hope,in March,1809. Munro became quite unpopular among the officers.
On his arrival in Thiruvananthapuram,Munro met the King 2-3 times immediately.Within days,the King died of dysentery.He was poisoned.The Prime Minister,Mallan Pillai,a loyalist of Thampi,wrote to the Governor George Barlow that Munro's own physician was treating the King,meaning,Munro killed the King.Munro,while retaining Thampi as Dewan,had divested him of his powers.Mallan Pillai,thus had an axe to grind.
The very next day,after the murder of the King,Lakshmi Bai rushed from Karthikapally to Thiruvananthapuram and met Munro,in the Residency at Poonthura.It was Macaulay who had shifted the Residency to a commercial building at Poonthura.They brought the Silver Plate agreement of Marthanda Varma to the notice of Munro and argued that Kerala Varma's adoption was not proper;he thus,should not be allowed to succeed Balarama Varma.Instead,she,Lakshmi Bai,as the eldest daughter of the erstwhile queen of Attingal,was the rightful heir.Kerala Varma should not be allowed to do even the obsequies!
There was an impasse.
Munro asked the Ettarayogam,the administrative body of the Padmanabha Swamy Temple,to take a decision.Marthanda Varma had done something called,thrippadi danam in the temple,whereby,the royal family and the King were just the representatives of the God.It was,politically a clever ploy to cheat the Company-if the Company moves against a King,it would be a move against the God!
On the fourth day after the murder,Ettarayogam met inside the Temple,since the presiding officer,Pushpanjali Swamiyar,was not allowed to move out. Tantri Tharananallur Nambudiripad,scholars and Hindu leaders were also invited to the meet.When a decision was made,they rang the temple bell and read out the decision:Kerala Varma was adopted to the Attingal family 12 years ago;males have been adopted to the royal family,even before.Queen Aswathy Thirunal Umayamma had adopted Kottayam Kerala Varma.Marthanda Varma's nephew,Rama Varma was adopted from Kolathunad along with his two sisters.So,Kerala Varma,should be the new King.
Munro agreed to convey the decision to the Madras Council.Till a final decision, Tantri was asked to do the King's religious duties.
Meanwhile,Munro shifted the Residency from Poonthura to Krishnan Kovil Thopu,at Manacaud.Princess Lakshmi,who was just 19,became a frequent visitor there(her sister was just 9).The People nick named the place,Sinkarathopu, or the romantic avenue.Munro,fearing a scandal and the backlash,shifted the Residency,to Nilakkamukku,6 kilometers away from Attingal.Thus,he moved away from Thiruvananthapuram.
Munro had also banished Rajaraja Varma Koyil Thampuran,husband of Lakshmi to his native place,Changanacherry.We do not know whether it had anything to do with a romantic interlude.That poor husband was definitely not a history sheet er.
Apart from being the Resident,Munro had been the Dewan too,in both Travancore and Cochin.I have read the long letters of Munro,regarding this to the Madras Council-in the letters,Munro observes,both the Queen of Travancore and King of Cochin said there is no one who has the right credentials to fill the post of Dewan,and they requested Munro to take up that post too.I began suspecting Munro first,after reading these letters.We always had Dewans from Madras.So there is no substance in saying,there is no one efficient in the respected native countries.Munro,definitely had his own game.
He dragged the succession issue for three months,though the Madras Council had already conveyed a decision,prompted by Munro.
The King had to be present for all the important rituals in the temple.The Bhadradeepa prathishta was done by the Tantri;Kerala Varma was called for Rohini pattathanam, giving a hint on the successor.Ettarayogam went for Munro's jugular,when they insisted on a successor,to raise the flag for the temple festival,of Meenam 18.Munro replied that a decision was made on the the 3rd itself,and Kerala Varma can collect the order from the Residency.Varma went happily,but was flabbergasted,when he read the order.It said, his adoption was invalid,and,Lakshmi,is the successor!
Varma was arrested there itself,sent to Vadakke palace as a hostage.He was sent to Thalassery ,and then to a small village near Madras.He was not allowed to take part in the first death anniversary ceremony of Balarama Varma and he was not allowed to see his grand mother,when she wished.
A conspiracy was hatched by some people in the Kollam military camp,in May,1812,to assassinate the Resident.In the conspiracy led by Jamedar Sheikh Hussain,two Havildars,one Naik,26 soldiers and one Fakir took part.The decision was to kill the British officers on May 22,while they were having dinner-it didn't take place because of the absence of one person.They had plotted to set fire to the barracks.Their intention,it was said,was to make Kerala Varma the King and, for a brief period, to retain Ummini Thampi, as Dewan.Thampi would be replaced by Hussain,later.
During the trial,several names who were behind the conspiracy,cropped up,including,Kerala Varma,Ummini Thampi,the crown prince of Karthikapally,the Cochin King and the Queen of Travancore.Sheikh Hussain,19 Muslims and 10 Hindus were executed after the trial.Kerala Varma and Ummini Thampi were sentenced to death by the appeal court,presided by Munro.But the Resident in him wrote to the Council to waive the sentence,to life imprisonment.
Ummini Thampi was deported to Chengalpet and then to Nellore,as hostage.He wished to take his consort Uma,along with him,which the Queen shot down;she had become his arch rival.Ummini Thampi's brother was converted as Samuel Thampi,by Ringeltaube,the first missionary.Ummini Thampi was the grand son of Dharmaraja's younger brother,Makayiram Thirunal Ravi Varma,who died in 1786.Ravi Varma had a consort in Puthumana house.Her only daughter ,Parvathi Pillai married Kerala Varma of Cherthala Palace.Irayimman Thampi (real name Ravi Varman),the poet, is her son.Ummini Thampi(real name,Iravi Marthandan Thampi),was,the son of, Irayimman Thampi's mother's sister.There is every chance that this sister was not from Puthumana,since,Makayiram Ravi Varma had a single daughter from his Puthumana consort.English records say,Ummini is the son of Dharmaraja!
Lakshmi Bai (1791-1815),died at the ripe age of 24.She had become weak after she delivered her second son,Uthram Thirunal,who became King during 1846-1860.Of course,her first son was,the great Swati Thirunal.She had a daughter too:Gouri Rukmini Bai ,born in 1809.Lakshmi Bai was Queen for three years,during,1810-1813.She was Regent from 1813 till her death in 1815,for Swati Thirunal.The marriage of her sister,the Junior Queen,Parvathi Bai ,was celebrated at Attingal,in 1813.Rajaraja Varma belonged to the Neerazhi Kovilakam in Changanacherry,which had originally come from Parappanad,Malabar,during Tipu's siege of Malabar.He was a poet and translator,with equal fluency in English and Sanskrit.Queen Lakshmi built the Lakshmipuram Palace at Changanacherry,for him and members of his family.His daughter,Rukmini Bai married Thiruvalla Paliakara Punartham Thirunal Rama Varma.
Munro left Travancore in 1819,to Scotland.Returned in 1924 to Madras and became Major General.He left service after a fever,went back to Scotland in 1831,bought his brother Captain Hew's estate and re opened the distillery of malt whisky , there.
Munro leaving Travancore,has some mystery to it;during 1817-1820,the whole of Kerala was surveyed for natural resources and land patterns by Lieutenants Ward and Conner.A Conservator was appointed for the first time,to monitor the falling of timber and cardamom inside the forest.The first independent Conservator of Forests in Travancore,was,Munro's son,Urban Verres Munro.There would have been definitely a conflict of interest,if Munro had continued,as Resident.U V Munro's son,John Daniel Munro, was Superintendent of Forests,later.
The small village,where Kerala Varma stayed near Chennai, came to be known as,Thamburan Puram,and later,Tambaram.
Reference:
1.Dewan Velu Thampi & the British/Dr B Sobhanan
2.Ummini Thampi/T K Vijayamohan/Journal of Kerala Studies Vol V
3.A Little Known Event in the History of Travancore/B N Mehta/Journal of Indian History,Vol XXIX part I
4.British Diplomacy and Administration in India-1807/S R Bakshi
5.The White Mutiny/Sir Alexander Cardew
6.My posts on this blog,Chempil Arayan's Attack on Macaulay,Murder of Raja Kesavadas, and,The Rise and Fall of Thachil Mathu Tharakan
7.Essays on Travancore/Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer
SEE MY POST,VELU THAMPI,PEPPER AND MACAULAY
When Colonel John Munro arrived in October,1810 at Thiruvananthapuram, as Resident of Travancore,the first intrigue he had to deal with, was the murder of the reigning King Avittam Thirunal Balarama Varma and the issue of succession.The murder of the King happened on 7 November,1810,within days of arrival of Munro,and for the first time, it took three months to decide on the new ruler;the practice till then,was to crown the successor immediately.
There was a 'crown prince' then:Visakham Thirunal Kerala Varma of Mavelikara Arattukadavil Koyikal family,which originally was a branch of the Chenga Palace of Kolathiri of Malabar.They had left Malabar,during the siege of Tipu Sultan.Kerala Varma, was the son of princess Atham Thirunal.
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| Colonel John Munro |
1.Only unmarried princesses could be adoptees.2.that only the princesses of Kolathunad were eligible for adoption.3.that the adoptees would be members of the Attingal family.4.that the eldest male member born of the princesses so adopted would in due time rule as King.
It is evident from this treaty why Atham Thirunal and her son were not adopted;she was married and already had a son ,Kerala Varma.He didn't have legal claim to the throne.
When Dharmaraja Rama Varma was on the gaddi,the issue of the absence of a crown prince was raised,when the then crown prince Ravi Varma died,and only Balarama Varma remained.So,when Balarama Varma succeeded in 1782,on the death of Dharmaraja Rama Varma,there was no heir;the King was only 16.The move on the part of the King and his coterie to get his friend,Visakham Thirunal Kerala Varma to be adopted to Attingal,was thwarted by the Queen,Bharani Thirunal.She had two daughters:Ayilyam Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bai and Uthratathi Thirunal Gouri Parvathi Bai.Bharani Thirunal refused the adoption of Kerala Varma,since she expected a son any time,who could be the King.Lakshmi Bai used to call Kerala Varma,Annan,meaning,elder brother.
During Dharmaraja,the virtual ruler was,the Dewan or Prime Minister,Raja Kesavadas.When Balarama Varma succeeded,Kesavadas was poisoned to death and Jayantan Sankaran Nambudiri became the Dewan.He pressurized the Queen to adopt Kerala Varma, she agreed,and it was done in 1796.After that,she conceived,and had a son.But,when Bharani Thirunal died in 1808,Kerala Varma did the funeral rites.Gouri Lakshmi began staying at Nedumangad and Karthikapally.
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| Balarama Varma |
Kerala Varma was the sworn enemy of the new Dewan,Ummini Thampi;Kerala Varma was very friendly with King Balarama Varma and was calling the shots.Velu Thampi used to take his orders;they had met thrice in Kollam,and had plotted against Macaulay.The final meeting was in November,1808,a month before the assassination attempt against Macaulay.He was on his way to Kumaranallur Temple,to take part in the Karthika festival.Thus,Kerala Varma was considered a man of intrigues, by the East India Company.They never liked him.
King Balarama Varma and Ummini Thampi,suspected each other;Ummini Thampi was denied access to the Commander of King's own guards,Subedar Kumara Pillai.That the King was virtually a hostage,has been recorded by the Resident of Thanjavur,William Blackburn,who administered Travancore,briefly,during Velu Thampi's rebellion.Ummini Thampi even refused to conduct the ritual of Murajapam,which was taking place at an interval of six years.The King dismissed Ummini Thampi for this in October,1809-it could not be implemented by the King.Ummini Thampi,a drunkard,was very loyal to Resident,Macaulay.
Finally,Ummini Thampi conducted the ritual nominally,without inviting the King.
Ummini Thampi banished the King's favorite consort from Thiruvananthapuram,to her native place,Arumana.She was a spy of Velu Thampi,who had informed him of the plot to kill Subbayyan,the Kingdom's representative at the Residency.He,a favorite of Macaulay,was killed by mercenaries of the King and Kerala Varma,while on a journey to meet Velu Thampi,in Kollam.
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| Balarama Varma(right)and Velu Thampi(left) |
A situation arose in which one would be murdered-the King or Thampi.
Munro arrived precisely at this point.
Though Munro was appointed as Resident on 10 March,1810,he could assume duty only in October,because of a mutiny in Madras Army,in which he was involved.In the army,a Major next becomes Colonel;but when Munro was just 27,from Major,he was promoted to the post of Quarter Master General,overlooking seniors.Colonel St Leger,who had commanded the army detachment from Trichinopoly against Velu Thampi, was one of the officers who protested.
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| George Barlow |
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| John Cradock |
The very next day,after the murder of the King,Lakshmi Bai rushed from Karthikapally to Thiruvananthapuram and met Munro,in the Residency at Poonthura.It was Macaulay who had shifted the Residency to a commercial building at Poonthura.They brought the Silver Plate agreement of Marthanda Varma to the notice of Munro and argued that Kerala Varma's adoption was not proper;he thus,should not be allowed to succeed Balarama Varma.Instead,she,Lakshmi Bai,as the eldest daughter of the erstwhile queen of Attingal,was the rightful heir.Kerala Varma should not be allowed to do even the obsequies!
There was an impasse.
Munro asked the Ettarayogam,the administrative body of the Padmanabha Swamy Temple,to take a decision.Marthanda Varma had done something called,thrippadi danam in the temple,whereby,the royal family and the King were just the representatives of the God.It was,politically a clever ploy to cheat the Company-if the Company moves against a King,it would be a move against the God!
On the fourth day after the murder,Ettarayogam met inside the Temple,since the presiding officer,Pushpanjali Swamiyar,was not allowed to move out. Tantri Tharananallur Nambudiripad,scholars and Hindu leaders were also invited to the meet.When a decision was made,they rang the temple bell and read out the decision:Kerala Varma was adopted to the Attingal family 12 years ago;males have been adopted to the royal family,even before.Queen Aswathy Thirunal Umayamma had adopted Kottayam Kerala Varma.Marthanda Varma's nephew,Rama Varma was adopted from Kolathunad along with his two sisters.So,Kerala Varma,should be the new King.
Munro agreed to convey the decision to the Madras Council.Till a final decision, Tantri was asked to do the King's religious duties.
Meanwhile,Munro shifted the Residency from Poonthura to Krishnan Kovil Thopu,at Manacaud.Princess Lakshmi,who was just 19,became a frequent visitor there(her sister was just 9).The People nick named the place,Sinkarathopu, or the romantic avenue.Munro,fearing a scandal and the backlash,shifted the Residency,to Nilakkamukku,6 kilometers away from Attingal.Thus,he moved away from Thiruvananthapuram.
Munro had also banished Rajaraja Varma Koyil Thampuran,husband of Lakshmi to his native place,Changanacherry.We do not know whether it had anything to do with a romantic interlude.That poor husband was definitely not a history sheet er.
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| Queen Lakshmi Bai |
He dragged the succession issue for three months,though the Madras Council had already conveyed a decision,prompted by Munro.
The King had to be present for all the important rituals in the temple.The Bhadradeepa prathishta was done by the Tantri;Kerala Varma was called for Rohini pattathanam, giving a hint on the successor.Ettarayogam went for Munro's jugular,when they insisted on a successor,to raise the flag for the temple festival,of Meenam 18.Munro replied that a decision was made on the the 3rd itself,and Kerala Varma can collect the order from the Residency.Varma went happily,but was flabbergasted,when he read the order.It said, his adoption was invalid,and,Lakshmi,is the successor!
Varma was arrested there itself,sent to Vadakke palace as a hostage.He was sent to Thalassery ,and then to a small village near Madras.He was not allowed to take part in the first death anniversary ceremony of Balarama Varma and he was not allowed to see his grand mother,when she wished.
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| Rajaraja Varma |
During the trial,several names who were behind the conspiracy,cropped up,including,Kerala Varma,Ummini Thampi,the crown prince of Karthikapally,the Cochin King and the Queen of Travancore.Sheikh Hussain,19 Muslims and 10 Hindus were executed after the trial.Kerala Varma and Ummini Thampi were sentenced to death by the appeal court,presided by Munro.But the Resident in him wrote to the Council to waive the sentence,to life imprisonment.
Ummini Thampi was deported to Chengalpet and then to Nellore,as hostage.He wished to take his consort Uma,along with him,which the Queen shot down;she had become his arch rival.Ummini Thampi's brother was converted as Samuel Thampi,by Ringeltaube,the first missionary.Ummini Thampi was the grand son of Dharmaraja's younger brother,Makayiram Thirunal Ravi Varma,who died in 1786.Ravi Varma had a consort in Puthumana house.Her only daughter ,Parvathi Pillai married Kerala Varma of Cherthala Palace.Irayimman Thampi (real name Ravi Varman),the poet, is her son.Ummini Thampi(real name,Iravi Marthandan Thampi),was,the son of, Irayimman Thampi's mother's sister.There is every chance that this sister was not from Puthumana,since,Makayiram Ravi Varma had a single daughter from his Puthumana consort.English records say,Ummini is the son of Dharmaraja!
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| Rukmini Bai |
Munro left Travancore in 1819,to Scotland.Returned in 1924 to Madras and became Major General.He left service after a fever,went back to Scotland in 1831,bought his brother Captain Hew's estate and re opened the distillery of malt whisky , there.
Munro leaving Travancore,has some mystery to it;during 1817-1820,the whole of Kerala was surveyed for natural resources and land patterns by Lieutenants Ward and Conner.A Conservator was appointed for the first time,to monitor the falling of timber and cardamom inside the forest.The first independent Conservator of Forests in Travancore,was,Munro's son,Urban Verres Munro.There would have been definitely a conflict of interest,if Munro had continued,as Resident.U V Munro's son,John Daniel Munro, was Superintendent of Forests,later.
The small village,where Kerala Varma stayed near Chennai, came to be known as,Thamburan Puram,and later,Tambaram.
Reference:
1.Dewan Velu Thampi & the British/Dr B Sobhanan
2.Ummini Thampi/T K Vijayamohan/Journal of Kerala Studies Vol V
3.A Little Known Event in the History of Travancore/B N Mehta/Journal of Indian History,Vol XXIX part I
4.British Diplomacy and Administration in India-1807/S R Bakshi
5.The White Mutiny/Sir Alexander Cardew
6.My posts on this blog,Chempil Arayan's Attack on Macaulay,Murder of Raja Kesavadas, and,The Rise and Fall of Thachil Mathu Tharakan
7.Essays on Travancore/Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer
SEE MY POST,VELU THAMPI,PEPPER AND MACAULAY
i had never connected tambaram with tampuran. tks.
ReplyDeleteThanks-we journalists see history,differently,isn't it?
DeleteHi,Thanks a lot and really happy to see such a wonderful comment.
ReplyDeletePackers and Movers tambaram