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Quilon
or Kollam , an old sea port town on the Arabian coast , stands on the
Ashtamudi lake. Kollam , the erstwhile Desinganadu, had a sustained
commercial reputation from the days of
the Phoenicians and the Romans. Fed by the Chinese trade, it was
regarded by Ibn Batuta, as one of the five ports , which he had seen
in the course of his travels during a period of twenty four years, in
the 14th century.
The rulers of kollam (Desinganadu) and
China , exchange embassies and there was flourishing Chinese
settlement at Kollam. Merchant Sulaiman of Siraf in Persia ( 9th
Century) found Kollam to be the only port in India , touched by the
huge Chinese junks , on his way from Carton of Persian Gulf. Marco
Polo, the great Venician traveller, who was in Chinese service under
Kublahan in 1275, visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast, in
his capacity as a Chinese mandarin.
The Portuguese were
the first Europeans to establish a trading center at Kollam in
1502. Then came the Dutch followed by the British in 1795. A
British garrison was stationed at Kollam in pursuance of a treaty
between Travancore and the British.
Velu Thampi Dalawa of Travancore, did much for the improvement of
the Kollam town. He build new bazaars and invited merchants from
Madras and Thirunelveli to settle here. Kollam later became the
capital of the enlightened and liberal rulers of Desinganad. |
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It was also the nerve center
for the rebellion organized by Velu Thampi against the British.
Once a city of palaces, Kollam has been known to the outside world, by
the time honoured proverb, "Once you have seen Kollam you would no
more need your illam (Home)" |
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"An income is what you can't live without or
within."
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