Thrissur: Thrissur is known as the land of poorams (temple festivals), and the world-famous Thrissur Pooram is the most majestic of all. One couldn’t help but get awe-struck by the rare visual treat the pooram offers every year. However, Kerala’s cultural capital is not limited to temple festivals alone but is the hub of an array of economic activities, including jewelry making, trade, and commerce.
Then, it’s no wonder that a recent survey by a national media found the city, which extends from the erstwhile port city of Kodungallur in the south to the sandy coasts of Bharatapuzha in the north, home to many rich people in the country. As per the report, the combined wealth of the rich there is a whopping Rs 40,000 crore. Thrissur’s achievement was while considering some of the wealthiest, yet small towns, in the country.
Surat in Gujarat tops the list when the big cities are considered. The wealthy there together possesses Rs 52,000 crore. There are 19 people from the city who are in the Rs 1,000-crore club. In Thrissur, there are four people who have a net worth of over Rs 1,000 crore, the survey found.
From the expanding jewelry trade to the booming textile industry, banking, financial institutions ranging from small-scale chit fund companies to Nidhi companies, traditional Ayurveda centres to super-specialty medical colleges, furniture outlets, small-scale industries comprising roofing tile business to joss stick manufacturing, — the Kerala city has it all. Even the first Indian Coffee House, the restaurant chain run by worker co-operative societies, in the state and the country’s fourth, was set up in the region. In short, the entrepreneurial people in Thrissur sell anything from tea to gold, raking in riches.
The Thrissur brand
Thrissur was always a super brand in Kerala’s emerging commercial sector. It is one of the state’s prominent business centres.
The contributing factors are many. Thrissur had an entrepreneurial culture from the good old days.
The city is the hub of gold ornament, furniture, and Ayurveda medicine industries. Its Kunnamkulam is known for several notebook manufacturing companies.
Not only in trade, but Thrissur leads the way when it comes to the manufacturing industry too.
A lot many machine parts manufacturing units dot various parts of the city. Its proximity to Coimbatore ensures easy raw-material availability.
The entrepreneurs hailing from the land not only succeed in setting up successful ventures and trading activities in the state but also outside it.
For instance, the Gulf countries. It is claimed that Thrissur natives form nearly 70 percent of the traders in the Gulf. Even in the state’s commercial hub of Kochi, a majority of jewelry stores, textile outlets, automobile showrooms, and stationery shops are owned by Thrissur natives. Among the merchants, there are associations comprising traders hailing from Thrissur.
Thriving gold trade
Thrissur has a rich history when it comes to the gold business.
The people there were the first to realize the vast potential of gold restrictions introduced in the 1960s and the economic liberalization in the 90s. Only the gold ornaments having 14-carat fineness could be sold through jewelry shops.
But the ornament lovers insist on having 22 carats. This trading secret lured even those outside the gold business into it. Soon, jewelry making, confined to traditional goldsmiths till then, expanded to other sections.
The coming of age of mechanization, modern technology, and fashion designing speeded up the trend. In no time, jewelry-making witnessed a boom with many households in ex-urban areas like Ammadam, Perumbillisseri, Cherpu, and Ollur taking up the activity, akin to a cottage industry. In due course, the practice of employing goldsmiths in jewellery stores was stopped and replaced by outsourcing.
When the demand for gold ornaments went sky-high, big workplaces manufacturing ornaments as a whole cropped up.
Some of them even brought skilled workers en masse from North India to make jewelry as per the latest fashion, to cash in on the trend.
At first, these big units used to make ornaments out of the gold provided by the traders and handover the finished products back to them. The benefits include low making charges and less finishing work. Then they stopped the practice and indulged in ornament-making by purchasing gold by themselves. Gold ornaments from north India also began to flood the local markets.
The migration in large numbers to the Gulf region not only inflated the demand for gold but also resulted in its easy availability.
Imports were eased following economic liberalization. As the profit share dipped, jewelleries began to set up more branches to increase sales and makeup. The steep increase in gold prices, however, results in a sales decline. Here, it is noteworthy that the traders from Thrissur are way ahead of others in opening branches, both within the state and outside it.
Service too sets apart Thrissur salespersons
The ‘Thrissur touch’ can be experienced not only in the workmanship of making fine jewelry but also in its selling.
Just have a glance at the salespersons behind the counters serving customers with a smile, increasing the finesse of the huge ornament stock neatly displayed in glass almarahs.
The way they talk, and the way they behave, all have the uniqueness of Thrissur and much influence on the buyers. However, the spurt in jewellery stores and the growing importance of regional relations in sales have effected a change in this image.
Here the question arises: is it due to the fact that a major share of jewelry owners are from Thrissur that has led to the preponderance of salespersons hailing from the region in gold ornament stores?
To an extent, yes. However, that is not the sole reason, as pointed out by jewellery owners from outside the district. The very nature of the trade calls for a lot of trust and salesmanship.
Both the owners and the customers will be much more careful since they are dealing in gold. They should have trust in each other.
The salesmen are entrusted with the enormous task of gaining this trust, both with their words and actions. There is a common belief that the Thrissur natives excel in this.
Trade legacy
The city of Thrissur figures prominently in the political economy of South India’s industrial growth from ancient times itself.
The district can rightly claim a big role in enhancing trade relations of the state with the outside world during ancient and medieval periods. The erstwhile port city Kodungallur in its heydays buzzed with trade and commercial activities.
The modern-day Thrissur owes its origin to Raja Ramavarma, who ascended the throne of the kingdom of Kochi in 1790.
It was he who rebuilt Thrissur, which suffered extensive damages during the invasion of Tipu Sultan. Popularly known as ‘Sakthan Tampuran’, it was during his rule that the modern era of Kochi and Thrissur began, and both places witnessed a revival and attained significant progress.
Banking city too
Thrissur, in addition to being the cultural-industrial hub, leads the chart when one considers the number of banks.
With the coming of ESAF Small Finance Bank, there are four banks that are headquartered in Thrissur.
The others are the Catholic Syrian Bank (now renamed as CSB Bank Limited), South Indian Bank, and Dhanlaxmi Bank. Earlier, the Lord Krishna Bank operated out of Kodungallur. Later, this bank was merged with the (erstwhile) Centurion Bank of Punjab.
The head office of Kerala State Financial Enterprises Ltd, which has a major role in inculcating financial discipline and savings habits among the Malayalees, is also in Thrissur. Recently, ESAF Small Finance Bank became the first scheduled bank in Kerala since independence to receive a banking licence from the RBI.
The Catholic Syrian Bank was established on November 26, 1920. The bank started functioning on January 1, 1921, with a capital of Rs 5 lakh. The head office of the bank is located at St Mary’s College Road, Thrissur.
The Dhanlaxmi Bank was set up on November 14, 1927, under the leadership of a group of investors based in Thrissur.
The bank, which started operations with Rs 11,000 and seven employees, became a Scheduled Commercial bank in 1977.
The South Indian Bank was formed in Thrissur in 1946 as part of the Swadeshi movement. The bank started operations by collecting Rs 500 each from 44 persons.