The Disagreeables

Though the controversies surrounding Pattanam have put an end to excavation work at the archaeological village in Kerala, the site is still cloaked in secrecy thanks to ASI

- Shahina K.K.

SEVENTY-YEAR-OLD Gopi, a daily wage worker in Pattanam, located in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, is proud of himself. He believes he has lent a hand to a seminal project that involved discovering the region’s past. When the Pattanam excavations started, Gopi was one of the many manual labourers hired to participate in the grand excavation project undertaken by the Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR). Initially, he was a bit suspicious about the project, which was widely discussed by local villagers.

“It was a bit difficult to understand why they have been digging the ground; what is there so important about broken pieces of pots, coins and things like that? Later, I understood that it was such an important process of discovering our own past,” says Gopi.

He was told that the excavation aimed to understand the life and systems of the region’s ancestors—who lived here centuries ago. However, he is unaware of the ongoing controversies surrounding the Pattanam excavation project. He disagrees with any attempt to communalise the excavation. “If somebody claims this is against the interests of the Hindu community, I totally disagree. This is for everyone. Learning about people who lived here centuries ago is important to all of us,” says Gopi, who has only elementary education and works under the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.