# Why Is It Called Companypady? Place Names along the Aluva Metro

> Between Kalamassery and Aluva, Kochi Metro’s stations carry four small local names: Muttom, Ambattukavu, Companypady and Pulinchodu. They have been on maps and tickets since the line opened in June 2017. Yet none of their Wikipedia station articles explains them, and we found no official history of any of them. As of October 2026, this page separates what the words mean in Malayalam from local stories we could not verify.

- URL: https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/companypady-name-history/
- Publisher: Ashraf Gents Hostel, Ashraf house, NAD Rd, signal, Kalamassery, Aluva, Kerala 683563, India (+91 90746 23855)
- Published: 2026-10-08 · Updated: 2026-10-08
- Topic: History & archive
- Cite as: Ashraf Gents Hostel. “Why Is It Called Companypady? Place Names along the Aluva Metro.” Published 8 October 2026. https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/companypady-name-history/

## Key facts

- Pulinchodu, Companypady, Ambattukavu and Muttom stations were inaugurated on 17 June 2017 and opened to the public on 19 June 2017, as part of Kochi Metro’s first Aluva–Palarivattom section.
- Wikipedia’s Companypady and Pulinchodu station articles do not explain the origin of either name.
- In Malayalam place names, -pady or -padi commonly marks a stop or junction, and kavu means a sacred grove or shrine.
- Puli is the Malayalam word for the tamarind tree, and a widely repeated local explanation links Pulinchodu to a large tamarind that once stood there.

## The stations and their dates

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Kochi Metro’s first section on **17 June 2017**, and it opened to passengers on **19 June 2017**. Going south from the Aluva terminus, the stations are Pulinchodu, Companypady, Ambattukavu, Muttom and then Kalamassery. Wikipedia’s articles on Companypady and Pulinchodu give those dates and the stations’ positions. Neither says where the names come from. The story of the opening is in [When Kochi Metro reached Kalamassery](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/kochi-metro-reaches-kalamassery-2017/).

## Timeline

| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 16 July 1902 | Shoranur–Cochin railway opens, with stations at Aluva and Kalamassery; the highway corridor grows beside it | Wikipedia: Shoranur–Cochin Harbour section |
| 17 June 2017 | Kochi Metro’s Aluva–Palarivattom section inaugurated, with stations at Pulinchodu, Companypady, Ambattukavu and Muttom | Wikipedia: Companypady and Pulinchodu metro stations |
| 19 June 2017 | Stations open to the public | Wikipedia: Companypady and Pulinchodu metro stations |
| October 2026 | No published official explanation found for Companypady or Ambattukavu | Our research |

## Companypady: which company?

The name splits easily: *company* plus *pady*. In Kerala place names *-pady* (also *-padi*) usually marks a stop, gate or junction on a road. Other examples nearby are [Kangarappady](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/kangarappady-and-hmt-colony-history/), Pukkattupady, Kuzhivelippady and Malekkapady in Edathala. So “Companypady” most likely means “the company stop”, a junction named after a company that stood beside the road. **Which company it was, and when, we could not find in any reliable source.** Local accounts vary, and we have chosen not to repeat any of them as fact. If you know of a documented source, such as an old map, a land record or a newspaper, we would like to see it.

## Ambattukavu, Pulinchodu and Muttom

- **Ambattukavu** – *kavu* is a sacred grove or small shrine, a very common ending in Kerala. The first part, *Ambattu*, has no explanation we could verify, so we leave it unexplained.
- **Pulinchodu** – *puli* means tamarind, and *chodu* is close to *chuvadu*, the foot or base of something. “At the foot of the tamarind” is a common place-name pattern in Kerala, and local accounts say a large tamarind tree once stood here. We could not confirm this from a primary source.
- **Muttom** – *muttam* means a courtyard or open yard in Malayalam. The station now sits beside the metro’s **Muttom depot**, the maintenance yard and operations control centre. We found no source on how the locality itself got its name.

> These are word meanings and patterns, not documented place histories. Where a story is local tradition, we say so.

## How to check a place-name story

Place-name stories spread easily and are hard to disprove, so we used a simple test. We accept an origin only if an official body, a published history or a reputable newspaper states it. A meaning that follows from the Malayalam words is presented as a meaning, not as a history. Kalamassery’s municipality, for example, has published its own account of the town’s name, which we summarise on the [Kalamassery name page](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/kalamassery-name-origin/). For these four station names we found no equivalent document. Old revenue maps, survey records and early bus timetables are the likeliest places to settle the question, and we would welcome copies.

## Names that age: from roadside landmarks to stations

Many names on this stretch began as landmarks on the old highway: a stop, a tree, a shrine, a company gate. Kalamassery’s own junctions follow the same pattern, with HMT, Premier and Apollo named after factories, as told in [Kalamassery’s junctions](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/kalamassery-bus-stand-and-junctions-history/). Once a metro station takes a name, it becomes fixed on maps and tickets, even after the tree is gone or the company has closed.

## Why this history matters near the NAD signal

Residents of the NAD side often use these northern stations, or take a bus to Aluva, rather than going back to Kalamassery town. Ashraf Gents Hostel, a boys’ hostel and PG at Ashraf house, NAD Road, signal, is a place to ask which station or bus is quickest for a given college or job, on +91 90746 23855. Our practical [guide to Companypady, Ambattukavu and Muttom](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/companypady-and-ambattukavu-guide/) covers the stations today. The [place-names glossary](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/kalamassery-place-names-glossary/) and [Kalamassery history archive](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/kalamassery-history-archive/) have more.

## Frequently asked questions

**Why is it called Companypady?**

The name most likely means a stop or junction (-pady) named after a company by the road. We could not find a reliable source saying which company, so we do not name one.

**What does Pulinchodu mean?**

Puli means tamarind, and the name is commonly explained as ‘at the foot of the tamarind’. Local accounts mention a large tamarind tree there, but we could not verify it from a primary source.

**What does kavu mean in Ambattukavu?**

Kavu means a sacred grove or small shrine, a common ending in Kerala place names. The first part of the name is unexplained.

**When did these metro stations open?**

They were inaugurated on 17 June 2017 and opened to the public on 19 June 2017.

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Companypady metro station](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Companypady_metro_station)
- [Wikipedia: Pulinchodu metro station](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulinchodu_metro_station)
- [Wikipedia: Shoranur–Cochin Harbour section](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoranur%E2%80%93Cochin_Harbour_section)
- [Wikipedia: Edathala (localities list)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edathala)

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Facts about Ashraf Gents Hostel come from the hostel’s own profile, photos and Google Site; rates are indicative and confirmed on the call. Quoting with a link back to the URL above is welcome.