At an age when respectable ladies seldom ventured out of their homes, woman of the Kulamkara Tharavad were travelling abroad and introducing innovative changes into their home and community. Parukutty writes about the Kulamkara Tharavad describing an era when up to forty families, lived together in their ancestral home. A woman's beauty, family intrigue, malevolence and simple fun, brought about the beginnings of a progressive and powerful family, which propelled the village into the 21st century.