Page 6 - history_Classical

Balaramapuram is the centre for the production of traditional varieties of handloom
textiles meant for the contemporary cloth wearing style of Kerala. Religious harmony plays
a great role. St. Sebastian’s Church festival during the month of January is an example of
this harmony.

During the regime of His Highness Maharaja Balaramavarma, from 1799 to 1810,
handloom weaving was first introduced at Balaramapuram. The Maharaja and his Delava,
Ummini Thampi jointly decided to convert Balaramapuram and its surrounding places into
an agro-based industrial belt with various traditional industries by the development of
paddy and coconut cultivation, fishing, weaving, and oil extraction. Separate streets with a
clustered at identified places, providing a comparatively better infrastructure for
development.

MAHARAJA BALARAMAVARMA HANDLOOM

The Delava of Maharaja brought seven weaver families
from Tamil Nadu to produce fabrics for the members of
the royal family and made them at Balaramapuram in a
separate location now called “Shaliar Street”. Markets
places were opened at convenient location to make the
marketing of products easier. The present residents of
the streets are the descendants of these seven families.
The place Balaramapuram itself was named after the
king who started industries in this region

ATHUL S
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