Story of Karinthandan

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Every person who comes to Wayanad would want to spend some valuable time in the hills of Wayanad. As you ascend the Thamarassery churam & its 9 hairpin bends one would wonder how man could find the way along the Western Ghats to carve such a majestic road system. The ghat road is an example of great British engineering. The Ghats were well mapped & constructed to last a lifetime & true to its vision have been present till today along the beautiful landscape ferrying countless travelers between Kozhikode & Wayanad. Once you travel up the Ghats & arrive at the entry point of Lakkidi, you will find a tree on the side of the road with a chain around it. It is where you can stop & thank the person who innocently was the first martyr of Wayanad.

When the East India Company came to Malabar, the most important commodity exported by the Zamorins were spices which were brought from Wayanad. The transportation of these commodities in the 17th century was by way of manual labor & took a long time to reach the shores as they had to depend on tribal men. The route was not marked & all took different ways to bring the goods down the hills. The British decided to find a common route to Wayanad which will help them transport people & goods better. It was decided that the engineer who finds the best route will be given the opportunity to build the road along with a good reward. The British engineers took this as a golden opportunity & went to visit the base of the mountain to find ways to design the road, some thought of a vertical road, some thought of steps, some wanted to tunnel their way but all their efforts were futile as they did not know the topography along the dense vegetation. One engineer was watching a herd of goats walking up the mountain followed by a tribal man. The man was walking effortlessly along the side of the road, and the engineer decided to follow him the next day. The next day, the engineer met the Tribal man & asked him if he could walk alongside him to the top of the mountain. The tribal man innocently allowed the British Engineer to follow him. To his surprise, the engineer found the Tribal man quite experienced in walking along the mountain with ease & had a route of his own made by the goats. The route was well designed to make a simple road. They both reached the top of the mountain & the engineer was happy to have found a route. He asked the Tribal man his name, Karinthandan was his name and he was the chief of the Paniya tribe. The British engineer had been successful in finding the route to Wayanad but he was worried that people would not credit him for this till the time Karinthandan was alive. To make matters easier he decided to do away with the Tribal man & shot him in the chest. Karinthandan died of the gunshot not knowing why he was killed. The engineer took all the credit & also collected the reward promised by the British. Karinthandan’s body was found by his people many days later but could not raise their voice against the might of the Zamorins & British.

 

It is said that post his death & building of the road to Wayanad, people who travelled to Lakkidi were harassed by someone during the night which resulted in accidents & mishaps. The local tribesman believed that it is the soul of Karinthandan who was taking vengeance for his death & this story spread. It was a usual thing along the road & people decided to find a remedy to this trouble. They called a manthravadi or oracle to help them rid of the Karinthandan ghost. Upon arrival it is said that the soul of Karinthandan was bound by the oracle & chained to the Banyan tree one sees now at Lakkidi. He was asked to stay within the chain & never to disturb travelers. The chain on the tree has been ever since & what intrigues many is that the tree has grown, so has the chain that was bound to the tree. Today one can also see a simple temple next to the tree where people pray for his forgiveness. 


 

The story has many myths & legends as they were never documented but it is a fact that the tree exists & so does the miracle of the chain. Karinthandan was considered a martyr for selflessly giving up his life for the good of the world. Karinthandan & his tribe would always be remembered for providing all who believe in a simple way of life & innocence.

 

Location: Lakkidi, Kunnathidavaka, Kerala 673576, India

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