Chemanchery
Grama Panchayat

This land stretching between the Arabian Sea in the west and Elathur River in the east was formerly known as Payyanad. The main occupations were fishing, farming and salting. Inscriptions inscribed on two sacrificial stones in the Narasimha Parthadasarathi temple at Travancore throw light on the social structure from 962 AD onwards. These inscriptions record the offerings of Naduvana Bhaskara Ravi Perumal. As in other settlement centers in Kerala at that time, the growth of temple-centered agricultural society can be read through the inscriptions in Payyanadan region. Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese sailor, landed at Kappad in this panchayat on 20 May 1498. Thus Kappad Kadappu took its place in the historical records. Arabs and Chinese came here for trade purposes. But the purpose of the parangis was different....