S.M. Street, abbreviation for Sweetmeat Street, also known as Mittai Theruvu, is busiest shopping street in kerala located in

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

, India. The street is a

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

. It also has a 160 year old

fire temple A fire temple (; ) is a place of worship for Zoroastrians. In Zoroastrian doctrine, ''atar'' and '' aban'' (fire and water) are agents of ritual purity. Clean, white "ash for the purification ceremonies sregarded as the basis of ritual lif ...

amidst shopping places.

History

The history of S. M. Street dates back to time of the Zamorin when the ruler invited Gujarati sweetmeat makers to set up shop in the city and accommodated their shops just outside the palace walls.

About the name

S. M. Street Street derives its name from the time it was lined with

sweetmeat Confectionery is the Art (skill), art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two bro ...

and

halvah Halva (also halvah, halwa, halua, and other spellings; ) is a type of confectionery that is widely spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, Central Asia, and South Asia. The name is used for a broad va ...

stalls. Its

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

name is ''Mittai Theruvu''.

Renovation of S. M. Street

In May 2017, as part of the first phase of the S. M. Street beautification project, an amount of Rs. 3.64 crore was allocated. As part of the renovation, overhead power supply lines were removed and lamp posts were placed across the sides of the street. Chief Minister

Pinarayi Vijayan Pinarayi Vijayan (; born 24 May 1945) is an Indian politician who has served as the List of chief ministers of Kerala, Chief Minister of Kerala since 25 May 2016. A member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), politburo ...

formally opened the renovated S. M. Street on 23 December 2017.

In popular culture

S. M. Street is the subject of the

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award is given each year, since 1958, by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy), to Malayalam writers for their outstanding books of literary merit. The awards are given in various categories.

-winning book ''

Oru Theruvinte Katha ''Oru Theruvinte Katha'' () is a Malayalam novel written by S. K. Pottekkatt and published in 1960. It sketches a host of characters who spend their lives making a living in ‘The Street’. However the central character can be discerned as K ...

'' by

S. K. Pottekkatt Sankarankutty Kunjiraman Pottekkatt (14 March 1913 – 6 August 1982) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature, traveller, and politician from Kerala. Best known for his travelogues, he has authored nearly 60 books, which include 10 novels, ...

. The statue of S. K. Pottekkatt, stands facing the street.

Image gallery

File:Mittayitheruv, S.M.Street, Kozhikode, India.jpg File:S M Street1.jpg

References

Shopping districts and streets in India Roads in Kozhikode {{India-road-stub