Pulingome 5km from cherupuzha...

The name Pulingome is believed to be originated from a huge tamarind tree (Puli) located at the riverside on the way to near by village Palavayal.

Pulingome was under the rule of “Mushika Dynasty” of Ezhimala during the Sangha Age. Later, this became part of “Kolathunadu” under “Chirakkal Dynasty”. Pulingome had a well established society and a rich culture all through its history. The ancient, Sree Sankaranarayan temple here is believed to be set up by “Parasuram”. The Pulingome Makham where two holy men of Islam, were buried some 1300 year ago and the remaining of a temple in the Karnataka forest near the border are examples of Pulingome’s  cultural heritage. Later with the invasion of Tippu these regions were brought under Mysore kingdom and after Tippu’s death the region was under British rule.

During Tippu’s invasion or due to the outbreak of some serious epidemic lot of villagers left this place and settled in Madikere in neighbouring Karnataka state. Pulingome had strong social and business links with Madekere at that time. A very small group of inhabitants remained here. There were also people belonging to tribal communities like Mavilar, Pulayar and Vettuvar. As they were not much familiar with agriculture they lived by hunting animals and collecting edible roots and fruits from forest. The women of the community used to wear dress made of leaves of “Irupul Tree” and used to change their dress twice a day. The tribal men used to wear the skin of “Arayani Tree”. Their residential area was known as “Kammali”.

The rich families, who were responsible for collecting tax under the royal rule, later became owners of the land under their custody. They were called “Janmies”. Most of the land in the eastern hills of western Ghats were under their custody. The tribal inhabitants were treated as their slaves. The lease amount (Pattam) for a slave couple was used to be 50 rupees a year and this money went to the owner of the slaves. The slaves were known by the family name of their owner (Janmi). An open auction of slaves was conducted in the premises of Kammadam Temple as a part of the annual festival. Communities like Mavilar, Vettuvar, Kudivettuvar and Peringala were the major slave communities. The owner of the slave used to get the auction money. The daily wage for slave men was two Idangazhi (A measuring unit) of rice and one idangazhi of rice for women. On special occasions like Theyyam, Marriage, Delivery etc. the Janmi used to give ten Idanagazhi of rice and one nazhi (Another measuring unit) coconut oil.

Ancient farming methods

The entire agriculture land was under the custody of landlords (Janmies). By the end of summer the land which would be mostly covered by bushes will be prepared for cultivation. The bushes will be cut and burnt. This cultivation method was called “Punam Krishi”. Rice, Cucumber, black gram etc. will be planted in the area prepared. By the first rain these seeds will be sprouted along with other unwanted plants. Next phase of work will be removing of these unwanted plants from the field. This work usually was done by experienced women workers. This activity will be repeated once again after a few months. After the harvest, the Janmi will plant “Murikku” posts all over the field. Pepper will be planted in the area and will be made to climb on the Murikku posts planted and the area will be transformed into a pepper plantation. As murikku trees are having thorns, the pepper will be safe from wild animals.

The Janmi used to give his land for cultivation on lease to farmers. He used to collect 2/10 of the income from the land as “Paattam”. Janmies used give their land to farmers on lease for 12-16 years. The farmers were not supposed to cultivate any permanent crops and were not supposed to construct wells in the land. The farmers were also not supposed to cut the trees in the land. Incase they cut any tree they were asked to give “Kuttikkanam” to the landlord. If pepper is planted in the land, the entire income from that on sixth and 12^th years used to go to the landlord.

The Janmi used to give 10 cents of land to the farmer to set up a house. The farmers were allowed to cultivate Banana trees and vegetables. They also used to keep cows and other domestic animals.

By the inception of 20^th century, a society comprising of Janmies, small farmers and tribals was in existence. The after effects of the Independence movement and the farmers’ agitation of North Malabar started reaching this area. Such movements evoked responses from this area also. Mr. C P Krishnan Nair of Edavaramba was leading the farmers’ agitations.

The famine after world war II and the misrule of Sir C P Ramaswamy Iyer incited a large scale migration of people from Travancore (South Kerala) to this area. Majority of them were Christians who had a different social and agricultural background. They were hard working people and they brought new agricultural practices to this area. They introduced cash crops like Rubber to the local people. The tapioca was  brought here by these people. Prominent among these early migrants were Mundamattam Joseph, Parasseril  Augasty, Mankottil Joseph and Vellaringattu George.

Initially there was bus service till Peringome which is 11 kms from Pulingome. There was only a bullock cart road from Peringome to Pulingome. This was mainly used to transport timber from the forest. This road was converted into a full fledged road in 1949 and a wooden bridge was built on Cherupuzha river.

The farmers had very limited facilities to sell their crops. The nearest business centre was Payyanur. The only businessman, Pulingome had at that time was Mr. Kaderkutty Haji. The present football stadium at Pulingome was donated by him to St John's High School, Palayvayal and was named after him later.

The rivers in this area were not having bridges. People used “Pandi” for crossing rivers. Pandi is a kind of raft made of bamboo trees. Upto 15 people can cross the river at time on a Pandi and the people will be standing during the voyage. Hundreds of students going to the school at Palavayal used to cross the river every day by Pandi. Pulingome was a major “Pandi Ferry” at that time.

Healthcare Facilities

There were only traditional Physicians in the area during the early ages. Later a Government Rural Dispensary was set up at Pulingome. Another major hospital in the area was St Sebastian’s Hospital set up by Medical Sisters of St Joseph’s in 1966, at Cherupuzha.

Roads and Bridges

People had to use “Pandi” to cross the Pulingome river for so many years. Needless to say this was risky and adventurous. In 1972 a new hanging bridge was built over Pulingome River connecting Pulingome to Palavayal. This was possible because of the collective effort of people of Palavayal and Pulingome. Later, this bridge was replaced by a concrete bridge.

The roads in Malabar area were initially built for transporting timber from neighbouring areas. Till 1949 people were depending on these roads for transporatation. In the light of the farmers’ agitations and the Munayankunnu Firing Episode, a new road was built in 1949 from Vellore to Pulingome. This was to facilitate the activities of Malabar Special Police (M.S.P) to contain the Communist movements in the area.

All the other roads in this area were built by the people themselves. The roads, Pulingome – Kottathalachi, Edavaramba – Koombankunnu, Kariyakkara – Koombankunnu, Vazhakkundam – Churappadavu, Chunda – Vilakkuvettam and Umayanchal – Kottathalachi are examples of the collective effort of people of Pulingome.

Construction of the proposed Ezhimla-Pulingome -Thalakkaveri-Vagamandalam-Bangalore road is underway. A new bridge has already been constructed over Pulingome river connecting Kerala and Karnataka. Talks are on between Karnataka, Kerala and central Goverments on this project. If this road became a reality, the distance to Bangalore and Mysore would be reduced by more than 60 kilometers.