India's first car accident at Kayamkulam 110 years ago; death of Kerala Kalidasan Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran

KAYAMKULAM: It has been 110 years since Kerala Kalidasan Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran, who was the beacon of light of Malayalam language and literature, died in a car accident in Kayamkulam. This was the first car accident in India.

The accident took place on September 20, 1914 at Kuttitheruvu, east of Kayamkulam. The injured, Valiya Koil Thampuran (69), died on the 22nd. He was the first person to die in a road accident in the country.

Valiya Koil Thampuran was returning to Thiruvananthapuram along with his nephew Kerala Panini AR Rajaraja Varma after staying at Ananthapuram Palace in Harippad for two days after visiting the Vaikom temple. A dog jumped across the bend near the Vilayil bridge on KP Road. When the driver turned the car, he lost control. The car overturned to the side where Valiya Koil Thampuran was sitting. The cause of death was internal bleeding caused by a severe impact to the chest. There were no further injuries. He died at the Palace in Mavelikkara. The body was buried there with all honours. AR's diary entry contains detailed facts of the accident.

There were four people in the car, including the driver and the servant. The servant's leg was broken. AR Rajaraja Varma suffered minor injuries. This is also the first accident in the country caused by a stray dog. Kuttitheruvu is a junction where accidents are repeated even today. Innocent people have lost their lives here in accidents that shook the country.

Mahadeepam has set

Mahakavi Kumaranasan wrote in the magazine Vivekodayam about the demise of Valiya Koil Thampuran, "O Kerala, your mahadeepam has set." Many poets, including Vallathol and Ullur, wrote lamentation poems.