page_title: Chala, Thiruvananthapuram
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Chala, Thiruvananthapuram / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Trevandrum Bazaar (p.102, 1891), London Missionary Society
context_page_description: Chala or Chalai bazaar is an old shopping area in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
context_section_description: Chala was officially established towards the end of 18th century by Raja Kesavadas, Dewan of Travancore. The idea was to make Chalai bazar the central point for the supply of commodities to the Travancore kingdom. The Killi and Karamana rivers nearby was used to transport goods to the market. However, Mathilakom records of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple talk of a large market place that existed ‘near’ the temple, at least a century and a half before. Going further back to the 13th century, the composition Ananthapuravarnanam, which describes the capital city in detail, vividly describes a bustling marketplace with a fish market, textile market, provision market and so on. Merchants used to come in ships to trade at the market.
caption: Trevandrum Bazaar (p.102, 1891), London Missionary Society[1]
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