History · Places · 7 min read

Devikulam: The Goddess's Pool and the Heart of the High Range

A small town in the tea above Munnar gave its name to a taluk, a constituency and a lake from the Ramayana. The legend, history and politics of Devikulam, from Sita's bath to the first by-election in Kerala.

By GK Global, Adimali, Munnar · Trails & Tales by GK

About 8 km from Munnar on the road towards Bodimettu and Tamil Nadu, the road climbs through tea estates to Devikulam, a small town at about 1,800 m. It is quiet and easily passed by, but its name is known across Kerala: it is the name of the taluk that includes Munnar, of a famous assembly constituency, and of the office of the sub-collector who administers the high ranges.

The goddess's pool

The name Devikulam means "the goddess's pool" (devi, goddess, and kulam, pond or tank). According to local tradition, Sita, the heroine of the Ramayana, bathed in a small lake here during the exile of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana. The lake, set among tea gardens, is known as the Sita Devi Lake. Its water is said by many to have healing powers. The legend belongs to the same tradition of Ramayana stories that names Ramakkalmedu in the east of the district.

The administrative seat

When the Travancore government extended its administration into the High Range in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Devikulam became an important administrative centre for the hills. Today it is the headquarters of Devikulam taluk, which includes Munnar, Marayoor, Kanthalloor, Adimali, Pallivasal, Vattavada and Edamalakkudy, and of the sub-collector (Revenue Divisional Officer) of the area, an office that has often been at the centre of disputes over land and encroachment. (Read about land and law in Munnar.)

Kerala's first by-election

Devikulam has a special place in Kerala's political history. In the first Kerala Legislative Assembly election of 1957, the constituency elected Rosamma Punnoose of the Communist Party of India. She became the first member to take the oath in the new assembly, and served as its first pro tem speaker. But her election was set aside by a court, making her the first legislator in India to lose a seat as a result of a court order. In 1958, she won the seat back in the first by-election ever held to the Kerala assembly.

The Devikulam constituency, which covers most of the high ranges, has been reserved for Scheduled Castes since 2011, reflecting the large population of plantation workers. (Read the history of Munnar's tea workers.)

Places to see

• Sita Devi Lake, in the tea gardens near the town.
• The tea estates around Devikulam, with views over the valleys.
• The Munnar Botanical Garden, on the Devikulam road just outside Munnar. (See our guide to parks and gardens.)
• The road on to the Gap Road viewpoints and Bodimettu, with views over the valleys towards Tamil Nadu.

(Read also our introduction to Munnar and our sightseeing guide.)