Teekoy

Teekoy is a Southern Indian village, situated in the eastern part of Kottayam District in Kerala, between Vagamon, Erattupetta and Thalanadu.

Geoography

Teekoy is a typical Kerala village, which is a mixture of the features of both midland countryside and the Malanad hill area, enveloped in greenery with a clean and unpolluted atmosphere. It is a small panchayat, but quite long, stretching about 20 kilometres reaching up to the Wagamon area, at about three thousand feet above sea level. This place is known for its agriculture and landscape. It is full of hills and valleys in the middle of which flows the Meenachil river (made famous by Arundhati Roy's novel, "The God of Small Things").

People

Large scale settlement in Teekoy began more than 100 years ago. It has resemblance to a tropical rain-forest area with all kinds of trees like teak, jackfruit, etc., found in the Western Ghats region growing profusely besides coconut, rubber, arecanut and other crops. It is a very fertile area. The first large rubber plantation in India was established in Teekoy. Here most of the people are farmers and they cultivate rubber, elachi, ginger, cardamom, clove, nutmeg, turmeric, pepper, cashew and other spices. Considerable variety of medicinal plants also grow here which have been used in making the traditional home remedies. Most of the people are Christians, but there are also Muslims and Hindus. There are some third or fourth generation Tamil people, descendants of workers who came to work in the rubber plantations in Teekoy many decades ago. Before Independence in 1947 Teekoy had some English people who had set up rubber plantation here.

Culture

Teekoy is a rural village with a hilly touch. It has a dominant rural culture, with celebrating the annual festivals, feasts in church etc. Women are not just housewives. They too join public life especially after the restructured Panchayati Raj system was introduced. There is conflict between the old views and those who join the new mainstream life- or the clash betwewen the liberal and the orthodoxy. There is only a moderate level of political activity, hence hardly any social divisions over politics.

Climate

Teekoy's climate has a heavy rain season and mild summer. Summer rains are not infrequent. With hills in the backdrop it never gets very hot, and the climate tends towards windy and cool.

Tourism

Teekoy is naturally perched by its location in one of the busiest tourist circuits in Kerala. Rolling hills and hillocks dot Teekoy in abundance but some places are very steep. Many tourists come to experience this journey to Wagamon, which gets covered in [mist] on-and-off throughout the year. The central area of Teekoy is a narrow strip of zig zagging plain land with the Meenachil river on the eastern side. Both the river and the flat land are flanked by hills. Plantations such as Rubber in Teekoy displays excellent growth and suitable agro-climatic conditions.

Day picnickers often come to Teekoy. There are trekking trails in and around Teekoy. One is the Marmala waterfall in the Meenachil river where water cascades down from the hill over a rocky slope. Another trekking route is the Teekoy-Cherippad-Ayyampara. [Ayyampara] has a huge rock formation whose top is a flat expanse running into hundreds of acres. It is a place with many cliffs, a cave and panoramic views. People also visit this place in the evening to enjoy the cool breeze and see the sun set.

The nearby Illickan mountain rises steeply to a height of more than three thousand feet, from its top with views extending up to 75 kilometres to the Alleppey port on a clear night. In the season tourists camp on its top. There is only one entry and exit point to the top. Legend has it that its rocky top is believed to have a mythical pond where the Neelakoduveli grows, a wonder plant that assures you perennial prosperity if you can collect its leaves when they flow down through the river Meenachil once a year.