It has been more than seventy years since we have snatched our independence by loosing our differences. Even though the rule was a lot harsh on us the glory of their builds still shines through. Some of them are destroyed while some among the sustaining beauties still remain unnoticed. One of such beauty ; architectural beauty, lies hidden on the sides of the Western Ghats in a beautiful village Karingarapully , Palakkad.
It’s nothing like a marvelous castle built so as to show their power nor is a war tower to sneak on the fellow country side. But, this is one of the most useful structures ever built to ease the life of the people. It is a bridge. It is not just a bridge but it is an aqueduct. What is an aqueduct? You may think. Before getting into that let me just introduce you to this hidden gem popularly known as the “BRITISH PALAM” or “BRITISH BRIDGE”
It is a beauty built in 1941 by (as the name suggests) Britishers. It a bridge and a canal at the same time. Just like we are able to cross the river using this bridge the water can also cross it. Well, don’t get confused we are not going to walk on the canal water but, just like side walk made specifically for the walkers there is a path made just for the water to flow.
One of the main sources of water for irrigation purposes in this “rice bowl” of kerala is the Malampuzha Dam and its extensive and efficiently planned canal system. We can give kudos to britishers for this, as we (even after hundreds of years) are still following the same network and the structures still hold strong.
This aqueduct is build with 13 arches of around 30ft each. It has a catchment of 475 sq mL , discharge of 44690CS , afflux of 2.1 and velocity of 7306ft per second. The river that flows beneath is the Bharathapuzha herself (one of the only source of water for the entire district of Palakkad)
Even though it is not a popular tourist spot, the eye of location hunters are always on this beauty. This bridge has starred in many famous Malayalam movies such as Jamunapyari and Odiyan (two of the most popular and recent movies among the lot ). It is located in Karingarapully, one of the offbeat places in Palakkad and oh boy! this road leads to one of the paramount work of Malayalam literature Khasak from Khasikinte ithihasam wgich is written by O V Vijayan.
This is one of the place that according to a “born and brought up Palakkadian” ( that is me! ) thinks will give you the real feel ,the real essence and the real beauty of Palakkad in just a breath. Something that could only be felt. It shows you the strong yet semi heat-cool Palakkadan wind , the lush green trees , a peek of Western Ghats and our one and only Bharathapuzha.
Thus I can surely say or maybe declare that this is one of the boon that the “firangies” have done for us. The gem among the rock
To know more about this
https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Student_Projects/The_British_Bridge
Alchemy 