Uthrada Kizhi presented to royal family

N.K. Soumyavathi Thampuratti, a member of the royal family of erstwhile Cochin from Vayaskara Illam, was presented with the traditional Uthrada Kizhi on Thursday. The Uthrada Kizhi is a customary gesture of respect given to former royal family members by the government on the occasion of Uthradam, the day before Onam.

Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan presented the Kizhi, containing an amount of ₹1,001, to Ms. Soumyavathi at a ceremony held at the Vayaskara Kovilakam.

The event was attended by Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, MLA, Kottayam tahsildar S.N. Anilkumar and Kottayam village officer Jeboy Mathew.

This tradition owes its origin to a practice before the Independence when the Maharaja of Kochi began gifting the women in his family with funds to purchase ‘Onakkodi.’ The distribution of the royal gift was scheduled for Uthradam. Following the merger of Travancore and Cochin states, this tradition was formalised as an endowment known as Travancore-Cochin State Charities-Sree Rama Varma Endowment-Uthradam Payment, with the government taking on the responsibility.

Each year, the endowment amount is allocated from the Thrissur district treasury and delivered to the Kottayam taluk office by a representative of the Thrissur District Collector.