In the early morning, I received a call from Habeebullah Master, a retired senior school teacher from Perumathura, introduced to me by Imdadiya Principal. He shared intriguing tales of Perumathura's past glory, mentioning holy men performing miracles and claiming the existence of remnants of an old palace near Puthukkurichi. According to him, Cheraman Perumal had stayed here during his journey to visit the Padmanabhaswami Temple.
After breakfast, I joined Haris Ahsani to explore the coir production sites. Our first stop was a a coconut plantation at Kottaramthuruth, where we saw a lot of women involved in multiple tasks. Majority of them were MGNREGA workers, clearing the grass and weeds in the field and tilling soil around the coconut trees and there was a coir-making shed with large husks of coconut being piled up and coir making instruments lying outside. We observed the coir-making process, witnessing the laborious effort involved. The women explained the complex steps, emphasizing the challenges and declining interest due to low wages. Next, we visited the Puthukkurichi Coir Cooperative Society production shed, engaging with the women there and discussing the coir-making industry's nuances with it’s caretaker. To check if any fisherman was catching fish in the backwater on his boat, we went to the banks of Kadinamkulam backwater near Kottaramthuruth, encountering a sea fisherman temporarily unemployed during the off-season who showed us a fish rearing net along the banks.
Curiosity led us to investigate the infamous haunted abandoned buildings along the coast, built as affordable wedding halls but left incomplete after the deeath of the philanthropist who built it. We debunked the myth surrounding a small Muslim prayer hall (Thakkavu) within the complex, dispelling rumours of djinns as women from the community actually utilized the space. Surprisingly, they approached Ahsani, seeking assistance for water and electricity issues.
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