The richness in archaeology as we find in the North, particularly the ancient period, is absent in the South. All important monuments we see today are from 10th Century onwards except at Mahabalipuram and Kancheepuram where there are some standing structures datable to 6th Century AD.
When it comes to Kerala the conditions are pitiable. Hardly we come across antiquities which could be placed before the 8th Century AD. Kodungallur (also known as Cranganore) is said to be the ancient port of Muziris. It is a place where all foreigners came. Jews settled there and later many of them shifted to Kochi. Apparently it was a great trading centre with hundreds of Jews and Arabs doing roaring business at the market place. It appears to me that Arabs were mainly engaged in maritime trade with India. Arab vessels remained at the port for months together unloading goods brought and then loading whatever they wanted. In the process a small settlement of people (in a colony) got created to look after their warehouses and the trading operations with the interior parts of India.
Now comes the question as to which faith they belonged. Definitely not Islam as it did not exist at that point of time. Here perhaps we can bring in Vavar or Arab who could have approached the Maharaja with a request to provide them a place where they could worship. Yes that was needed by them. The king was benevolent and the presence of Arabs was also beneficial to the State’s interests. The Raja ordered one less used Arathali temple to be handed over to the Arabs for the purpose. That way the earliest place of their worship became the oldest Mosque in our country said to have been built in 629 AD. It is known as Cheraman Perumal Mosque.
Old Cheraman Perumal Mosque
Whatever I have stated above is attributable to my own thought process. The story goes back to the second half of 1950’s. I was visiting my native place during school vacations. After lunch (it used to be a little early) I was sitting in an easy chair in the front varandah reading Indian Express.In the magazine section (Sunday) there was an article which said about the oldest Mosque where Muslims pray facing East. It also told about a very large oil lamp hanging inside. I discussed with my dad, he being a great story teller. He prompted me to visit Kodungallur and briefed me appropriately. It was at a distance of 30 kms.
Next day I took a bus to Kodungallur carrying an umbrella as the weather was cloudy. In those days I used to wear Full length pants and I was the only one in that area in that gear. My Malayalam was terribly bad but still I tried to manage. After getting down at Kodungallur I started making inquiries. I was suggested to take the Kotapuram road. The name fascinated me. Since buses were not that frequent I decided to cover the distance by foot. I reached the spot where an old house like structure stood adjoining a grave yard. Inside, it was carpeted and there was a pedestal for the Mullah to stand. Still inside, there was a room not larger than 12′ x 12′. A very large brass lamp was really hanging by a solid black beam. The chain also looked horrible. Then I was a boy of 16 and therefore it is difficult for me to estimate its circumference. I tried to talk to a bearded man, who seemed to be the care taker, in Urdu, but I could not get any confirmation with regard to the direction the Namazis faced. The mosque was facing East.
After seeing the Mosque, I thought of going to ‘Kotapuram’ as it seemed to invite me. I continued walking and found myself at a Boat Jetty. There was the Back Waters but far away, there was also an island. It was Paravur. The spot which I believed to be Kotapuram was also known as Krisnamkotta. The ruins of the Dutch Fort. I enjoyed the boat ride and returned to Kodungallur and had a fill at a wayside Restaurant. Perhaps I had the best Dosa and Chutney in my life.
People at the Restaurant were curious to know about me. I spoke in my broken Malayalam. Guessing my interests, they suggested me to go to Azhikode and catch a boat for Vypin. I thought of doing it some other day. I visited the local Bhagawathi temple and then caught a bus to my home.
Next week I again went to Kodungallur and then to Azhikode where I got a boat for Vypin Island. On the shore I made enquiries about the fort there. I was advised to take a bus. I boarded the bus and midway the conductor asked me to get down, There I saw a hexagonal tall tower. This one was the earliest European building existing on the Indian soil. I entered through a small Iron door and went up. One can watch the movement of ships in the sea. Then I reached the other end of the island catching a bus. From there people asked me to board a boat to Mattancherry. After roaming around, I took a Matcha or a round boat which took me to Ernakulam (Shanmukham Road).
Photo: Divya Diya
In July 1996, while going through the morning new papers, I stumbled upon a news item appearing in the Times of India. The caption said “Historians stumped by “Om” Coin”. The report said that six coins were found near the Siddheshwar lake in the Khopat area of Thane (Maharashtra) and one coin had “OM” engraved on it. The report further stated that occurance of “OM” symbol (as is known today in North India) was evolved during the 2nd Century BC as confirmed by the officials of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Thane. Famous historian V.V. Mirashi is quoted to have assumed its occurance somewhere in the 9th or 10th Century AD.
I looked at the coin photographs appearing alongside the news. There was a coin with a lion standing to the right, with the tail rolled up. At the end of the tail the so called “OM” was clearly visible but the area was darker indicating that the symbol was placed deeper than the coin surface. Clearly a device was overstruck. Faintly I remembered to have had some affinity with the coin. Later in the evening I went through the Journals of the Numismatic Society of India and traced the same to the Sada Dynasty (JNSI Vol XLVIII pp14-23 : Sada Coins from Vaddamanu). Similar overstruck Sada coins with a “Triratna“ device 
were already reported. In this case the Triratna was punched over the tail of the lion. The end of the tail became a part of the symbol to resemble “OM”. Out of the six coins discovered, only three of them were shown in the photograph. One small coin had the legend “Rajasa Kurasa” (Kuru dynasty of Kolhapur area) and the other one was of “Pulamavi” of the Satavahana lineage. All the coins are datable to 2nd Century AD. How come that a site is yielding coins of different dynasties of the same period. It is, however, not clear as to how were the coins discovered. Thane was definitely a crucial centre with maritime trade. We can not rule out the possibility of a modern day collector’s coins being lost and found. The coins appear to be clean without traces of any deposits. While examining my old floppies, I came across scanned photograph of the disputed coin and thought of penning down for wider appreciation of such numismatic problems.
Incidentally, the “OM”, according to the Hindu mythology, is a cosmic sound and is there from the beginning of the Cosmos. Not only in Hinduism, “OM” is the ultimate, even in Jainism, Buddhism and among the Sikhs. The question is, how was it represented symbolically. Today we find it represented by characters of a script, expressed by a combination of letters producing an “OM” like sound. But it is not necessary that the SOUND be bound with the same characters for ever. “OM” in the various Indian scripts as known today was not the same in the past. This I could understand from the symbols appearing at the beginning of Copper plate grants/inscriptions. Usually they begin with “OM Siddham/Swasti……….” Here we find “OM” appearing differently.
