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Travel from UAE to Kozhikode, India’s first Unesco City of Literature

From the historic Mishkal Mosque to the literary charm of SM Street, Kozhikode is a vibrant tapestry of cultural heritage, maritime legacy, and culinary traditions

I am looking at an impressive wooden four-storey building built with timber and laterite stone, which has no domes or minarets, but is supported by impressive wooden pillars and has Italian floor tiles, topped by traditional sloping-tile roofs. It is painted in brilliant aquamarine, blue and white. It reminds me of a Kerala temple, but this showstopper is the 650-year-old Mishkal mosque, an example of Indo- Islamic architecture which conveys the harmony and secular culture of this place. It was partly rebuilt after being damaged by the Portuguese in 1510.

I am in Kozhikode, Kerala, South India, which has been a prosperous trading town from the 14th century, set along the serene Malabar coast, attending the annual literary festival. The town was under the rule of powerful Hindu kings called the Zamorins, and had trade relations with the Arab world and even China in the 12th and the 13th centuries.

Our local guide explains that the mosque was constructed by a prosperous trader from Yemen, Nakhuda ( meaning captain of the ship) Mishkal who owned many ships. Tiered roofs like those found in temples in Kerala and extensive use of timber in its construction makes it one of India’s most unique mosques.

Kozhikode acted as the gateway to the medieval South Indian coast for the Persians, the Arabs, and the Chinese. There was a lot of cultural and religious exchange with Arab traders. Kozhikode or Calicut got prosperous thanks to the ‘spice route’, when Kerala’s black pepper or black gold was a coveted ingredient in European kitchens. It is said that the word calico for the plain woven, unbleached cotton textile, originated from this city's old name. Arab traders once took the cloth from here to the Red Sea ports, and then Alexandria.

History whispers from every corner of the town. It was at the Kappad Beach here that the legendary explorer Vasco da Gama first set foot in India in 1498, marking the beginning of a new era. The town was the capital of the powerful Zamorin dynasty that remained independent until Tipu Sultan’s army invaded in the 1760s.

Kozhikode is a melting pot of cultures and religions today, with mosques, temples and churches standing cheek by jowl. In the heart of the city, the Tali temple is one of the oldest Hindu temples dedicated to deity Shiva with intricate wood carving, brass and murals built in the typical Kerala style with sloping roofs. Close by is a beautiful temple tank.

Muchunthi Palli is another 13th-century mosque on a high plinth that I visit, with beautifully carved wooden ceilings, pillars with engravings and double-tiered roofs that have a stone slab inscribed in Arabic and an older form of Malayalam. Not far from here is the stately Mother of God Cathedral, with Gothic architecture designed by Italian architects, that was built in 1513 AD when the Portuguese entered into a trading agreement with the local Zamorin kings.

I walk down Gujarati street— once a place where spices and rice were briskly traded. It is said that it was the traders of different communities like the Jains, Bohras and the Parsis, who came here, taught the local people to trade with the Arabs and Chinese. This area consists of several narrow lanes beginning from Valiyangadi and leading to the South Beach, lined with old warehouses and shops that have been converted into charming cafes and stores with murals decorating the walls.

Most of the buildings have houses in the upper storey with the ground floor functioning as a shop. There is even a 150-year-old Gujarati school and Balkrishna Lalji Mandir, a Vaishnavite temple for the community.

I go back in time at the Pazhassi Raja Museum and Art Gallery located in a beautiful colonial era building, on a hill which is every culture enthusiast’s dream come true. It was named after legendary ruler Pazhassi Raja, and houses collectibles like ancient coins, bronze statues, pottery, stone sculptures and inscriptions from different periods, as well as antique weaponry and Kerala murals and paintings.

Another way to delve into Kozhikode’s complex history is through its delectable cuisine. I sip on amber-coloured Sulaimani chai, an aromatic black tea with lemon and jaggery that can be traced back to the Arabs. The tea is made without milk and usually has spices like cardamon. Shops sell large packets of crispy banana chips fried in freshly pressed coconut oil to accompany the brew. Subtly flavoured Kozhikode biryani is famous, usually served with a sweet and spicy date pickle. The local rice crepes, ‘pathiri’, served with fish curry, takes its name from fateerah (Arabic for pastry). Even Kozhikode’s legendary milkshake is called Sharjah Shake. Restaurants have as many as 20 variations of Falooda — the frozen dessert of Persian origins with vermicelli, jelly, rose syrup, sabja seeds, milk and ice cream.

Kozhikode’s most popular sweet treat is a black buttery soft halwa sold in large blocks in fluorescent colours of green, orange and red that combine flour, coconut oil and jaggery. They say that it was so popular that the Arabs loaded boxes of them in uru boats to export back to their countries. In fact, the town has a special street that is devoted to this halwa, called SM street or Sweetmeat street, which is lined with shops selling it in various colours and variations.

Kozhikode is also the first Indian Unesco city of literature. Embedded in its DNA are the writings of prominent writers like KT Muhammed and PM Taj, novelists and short story writers like SK Pottekkatt and PA Mohammed Koya. The first Malayalam novel Kundalatha, authored by Appu Nedungadi, was published in Kozhikode in 1887. A bust of Malayalam writer SK Pottekkatt stands at the entrance of SM Street in Kozhikode; he wrote the book Oru Theruvinte Katha, The Story of a Street, painting vignettes of characters from the SM street. On the left side of Pottekkatt’s statue are wall sculptures with excerpts from his writings, with portraits of his characters, and in front of them, a few concrete stumps that serve as seats.

I understand that the city has long been a centre for learning and cultural exchange, attracting scholars, writers, and poets with more than 500 libraries. Kozhikode was also a centre for printing manuscripts in the 18th century with famous printing presses. Numerous literary festivals, book clubs, and writing workshops are held throughout the year, including the famous Kozhikode Literary festival in January.

A trip back in time is to Beypore on the banks of the Chaliyar lake, where traditional wooden dhows are built; these ships were once used for trade along Arabian waters. It is said that the wooden barges that sailed at the time of Cleopatra across what is today the Suez Canal used to be built in Beypore. My guide explains that the art of uru making in Beypore, is as old as the beginnings of India’s maritime trade with Mesopotamia.

Our guide explains that an Uru is usually built by a team of 50 men over a period of at least four years. No blueprints are made and the plan and design is just in the minds of these skilled artisans and the master carpenter. They used to rely heavily on teak wood which was sourced from the Nilambur forest in Kerala but because of deforestation and laws, now Malaysian teak is used. While urus were previously built for trade and shipping, the boats being built now are almost entirely constructed as luxury yachts for the wealthy and the royal families in the Middle East.

Where the Kadalundi River meets the Arabian Sea, we take a boat ride in the Kadalundi-Vallikunnu Community Reserve that employs the local community in conserving migratory birds and other wetland creatures. Fishermen and boatmen earn their livelihood through fishing and taking visitors on boat tours through mudflats, mangroves, estuaries, and riparian forests. We watch sand plovers and egrets flit over the mangroves as we soak in the tranquillity. It seems an appropriate finale to my time in this multi-faceted town.

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