Kulpanthandalam: Where ex-Chinese PM opened a maternity centre

Even as Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit Mamallapuram, the Unesco Heritage site in Tamil Nadu this month, the first Premier of the Asian giant Zhou Enlai had visited Kulpanthandalam, a nearby village, way back in 1956 where he had opened a maternity and child welfare centre.

Kulpanthandalam was then known as a model village. A picture taken several years ago shows a plaque, which is now lost, that states: "Maternity and Child Welfare Centre opened by His Excellency Mr Chou En-Lai, Prime Minister of People's Republic of China."Kulpanthandalam even won the Nehru Prize for model village in 1954.

During those days, a visit to this village, about 10 km from Mamallapuram, used to be part of several VIP's itinerary.

Distinguished visitors apart from Zhou were American rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. and Howard d'Egville, former Secretary General of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Several foreign tourists and others also used to visit the village which is now forgotten.

The village was the first to build low cost houses in the country using country tiles replacing thatched roofs.

While all the 300 houses were involved in Khadi spinning, Kulpanthandalam was also the first village to use the Japanese method of row planting for increased yield.

Another pioneering project in the village was the setting up of a cattle breeding and insemination centre.

The village had a maternity hospital, a community library and recreation centre with a radio.

All these pioneering works were the result of one man, G Veeraraghavachari who was then the village Chairman, according to the then District Collector J M Lobo Prabhu's notes in the village visitor's book.

For a long time, the maternity block that was inaugurated by Chou Enlai stood as only visible proof of the village's past glory. But even that has been lost now.