Kumarakom History

History of Kumarakom

Kumarakom is on man-made land reclaimed from the vast Vembanad Lake. The name Kumarakom was derived from the deity of its oldest temple Kumaran. Kumaran’s Akam or place became Kumarakom. The place was fertile and most suitable for cultivation of rice and coconut trees.This village was part of Vadakkancore kingdom. But in 1750 Marthanda Varma the King of Travacore conquered and annexed it to Travancore. The first Christian Church was built here in the year 1769 in the land granted by the King of Travancore. The modern history of this exotic backwater village started with the arrival of the English farmer Alfred George Baker in 1847. He reclaimed 500 acres of Vembanad Lake and made garden land and paddy fields. He built the Baker House known as the History House . Mr.Baker was the beloved Kari Saipu means possibly an elision from Baker Sahib of the locals. Until 1962 , Four generations of Bakers lived in the house. It is reported that they spoke Malayalam, the local language, and even wore the “mundu”, which is the traditional formal wear of the people of Kerala . The Baker Memorial School in Kottayam, was started around 1825, by members of the same family. The Baker House itself was in ruins, until it was taken over by the Taj Group and restored into a luxury heritage hotel. Later developed into a Bird Sanctuary, Kumarakom is a popular leisure retreat.

Taj Garden Retreat, Kumarakom


By- Terry Feuerborn (Flickr)

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