A residential area hardly five minutes away from the city’s hustle and bustle, Pachalam acts like a link between major parts of Kochi. It is connected to Vaduthala in the north, Elamakkara in the northeast, Palarivattom in the east, Kaloor in the southeast and Mulavukad island in the west.
The Goshree bridge, which links the islands of Kochi to the mainland, begins near Pachalam. The daily getaway destinations of Kochiites — the Queen’s Walkway and the Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary — are next to the town. The Lourdes Hospital is a huge part of the area. And Pachalam is home to many Anglo-Indian families, which takes us back in time to European settlements in the area.
The name, Pachalam, cannot be unfamiliar to any Malayalam movie enthusiast who knows Pachalam Bhasi, the character famously enacted by Jagathy Sreekumar. While one local legend is that the place got its name because it once used to be home to large swathes of greenery. Some believe Tamil travellers of yore called the place pachai alam meaning ‘green region’.
However, delving deeper into history, the name Pachalam seems to have a colonial link. The suburb, apparently, took its name from the Portuguese captain Duarte Pacheco Pereira, who led a small garrison to victory over a large invading army of the Calicut zamorin.
“When Pacheco camped at Pachalam, then known for two places ‘Chathiath’ and ‘Mariyath’, the place was called Pachecoyude Thavalam (Pacheco’s base). Later, the two places collectively came to be known as Pachalam,” says Donal Vivera, an avid reader and a retired Bamboo Corporation employee residing there.
Writer and historian F Antony Puthoor agrees. He also points out the town played a part in the battle between the erstwhile kingdoms of Calicut and Cochin, which happened at Edappally.
“The Cochin kingdom was led by the Portuguese army, with General Pacheco as the commander, in the early 1500s. The place where the Portuguese army camped is now the LMC Boys LP School,” he says. “’Pacheco thavalam’ became Pachithavalam, and later Pachalam.” Interestingly, in the subsequent period, Pachalam also came to be referred to as ‘London Pachalam’.
“The Anglo-Indians living near the Mount Carmel Church in Chathiath introduced new fashion to the town and they wore them at their gatherings and festivals. Thus, it was called ‘London Pachalam’,” says Manuel Vivera, a former judicial magistrate.
He also highlights a piece of history to add to the significance of the place. “Mathevus Pathiri (Fr Matthew of St Joseph), the Italian missionary who played a part in compiling the famous botanical encyclopedia on plants in Kerala, Hortus Malabaricus, stayed at the same armoury as Pacheco’s,” says Manuel. “The author of Hortus Malabaricus, Hendrik van Rheede, visited Mathevus Pathiri. Thus, Pachalam became part of the journey of a significant text on medicinal plants.”