The Cashew House in

Mundakkal Mundakkal, also spelled Mundackal, is an important residential area and industrial hub situated in the city of Kollam, Kerala, India. The place is considered as the capital of India's cashew processing activities. Kerala State Cashew Developme ...

, Kollam city, is the headquarters of

Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation Limited The Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation Limited or KSCDC is a model employer in the field of cashew industry mainly to protect the interest of workers and to provide maximum employment to its workers and to give statutory benefits like mi ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is very closely related with the history of ancient

Quilon Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city ...

and the Cashew business of Kollam city.

History

Cashew business and export from Kollam city is world-famous and that is why Kollam is known as ''Cashew Capital of the World''. The gigantic two-storied building was owned by an American businessman Lindsay Johnson since it was built in 1935. He came to

as the representative of a New York-based food company. He named his daughter ''‘Kerala’'' because of his love to the state. Johnson became one of the richest men of his times because of his cashew business in Kollam city. But he was forced to go back to his country,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

during the time of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, when the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Government ordered its citizens in

to return. Johnson pledged his house to the well-established Quilon bank at that time and had handed over his cashew business to his manager Swaminathan, while looking forward to return after the war. But later, Swaminathan told Johnson that his business was running at a loss due to the

world war A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

and the Quilon bank was looking to attach the building. The manager knowingly diverted the profit from Johnson's business and later Quilon Bank had attached the property. Later, Mr. F.X. Pereira (former owner of

Kerala Minerals and Metals Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd is an integrated titanium dioxide manufacturing public sector undertaking in Kollam, Kerala, India. Its operations comprise mining, mineral separation, synthetic rutile and pigment-production plants. Apart from pr ...

and started mining rare earth minerals from the shores of Kollam) acquired the building in an auction. As time passed, the old bungalow of Mr. Johnson was procured by the

Kerala Government Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

to make it the headquarters of

, a public sector company that deals with cashew business in Kollam and the entire

References

{{Kollam Buildings and structures in Kollam Cashews Buildings and structures completed in 1935 1935 establishments in India 20th-century architecture in India