The Mithai Theruvu Heritage

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Traditionally & locally called SM street is the busiest street in Kerala for shopping. As you walk along the street at the entrance from Mananchira you will find the bust of SK Pottekkatt looking over towards SM Street. His statue here is appropriate as this  famous writer of Kozhikode loved this town, and has written a lot about the place, especially in his ‘Oru Theruvinte Kadha’ (The Story of a street). 

Kozhikode for many centuries was known to be a place where people could enjoy the sweet  - Halwa & this street is labelled to have been the place where you could get the best Kozhikodan Halwa. As per historical records, Zamorin was approached by Gujarathi traders for a place to start business. The goods that they wanted to sell were cloth & sweets, Zamorin raja chose this piece of land for them to start the business along with the Arabs & Zorastrians who were already present in Kozhikode. When the British came, they built the Huzur Kacheri which was the residence of the collector under the Madras Presidency. The street was thus named Huzur road. The British officers happened to walk past one such shop along the market and saw a trader cutting meat & playing the same on a scale for selling. They later realized that it was red colored halwa & not meat; thus naming it the Sweet Meat Street. The old Huzur Kacheri is not present anymore as it was demolished and the LIC building stands in its place.  

The oldest Film theatre; Radha Theatre opened in 1937, the oldest bakeries; Sankaran bakery, old photo Studios, textile shops etc are near this street. The Khadi Emporium of Calicut is at the starting point of the street. Next to the street you can also see the Public library. SM Street was also part of many protests during the Independence movements & the town hall was a place for eminent speakers to communicate with the masses. The place is still a platform for people on protests & agitations. 

Today you can find only a few shops offering sweets; actually none, many have changed to apparels & accessories. But there are still some traditional shops here. Bargain well in shops here & also enjoy some good Banana chips or Halwa as you walk along. The shops today have changed their trade and one can find shops selling gifts, toys, footwear, plastic, fancy & food products; however there are still the old merchants present here to offer the old items like records, cameras, antiques. Walk the length and breadth of this beautiful street and one realizes that there is nothing that one can’t buy here. As part of the heritage project the street is now a Walking street & no vehicles are allowed. 




Watch the video of SM Street on our channel:



You can also listen to story on the HEARITAGE BLOGGER podcast in 

Location: Kozhikode, Kerala, India

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