A sepia-toned photograph of Parukutty Neithyaramma, the queen consort of Raja Rama Varma XV1 of Cochin with her great grandson, Raghu Palat, is an endearing throwback. The regal matriarch stands beside a baby capped and clothed in woolens sitting pretty in a pram.
In the preface of the recently launched book ‘ Destiny’s Child-The Undefeatable Reign of Cochin’s Parukutty Neithyaramma’, written by Raghu Palat and his wife Pushpa, it throws light on the royal who despite her seminal contributions to the people and state of Cochin has been relegated to the back pages of history.
Raghu, a banker and Pushpa, a former journalist have been writing alongside their careers for decades. They began their writing partnership with the first book, The Case That Shook The Empire (2019) on Raghu’s great grandfather Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair, the only Indian member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council at that time.
