Famous small and big towns in Kerala

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Ambalappuzha


Ambalappuzha is a town in the southern Indian state of Kerala. The town is famous for its Sri Krishna temple. The Ambalappuzha temple is one of the three important Sri Krishna temples in the state of Kerala. The Ambalappuzha Sri Krishna Temple is believed to have been built in the in the year 790 M.E by the local ruler Chembakasserry Pooradam Thirunal-Devanarayanan Thampuran.

This temple is directly associated to the Guruvayoor Sri Krishna Temple. During the raids Tipu Sultan in 1789, the idol of Sri Krishna from the Guruvayoor Temple was brought to the Ambalappuzha Temple for safe keeping.

The payasam served in the Ambalappuzha Temple is famous among Hindu devotees. This sweet pudding made of rice and milk has an interesting mythological legend behind it.

According to the legend, Lord Krishna once appeared in the form of a sage in the court of the king who ruled the region and challenged him for a game of chess (or chaturanga). The king being a chess enthusiast himself gladly accepted the invitation. The prize had to be decided before the game and the king asked the sage to choose his prize in case he wins. The sage told the king that he had a very modest claim and being a man of few material needs, all he wished was a few grains of rice. The amount of rice itself shall be determined using the chess-board in the following manner. One grain of rice shall be placed in the first square, two grains in the second square, four in the third square, eight in the fourth square and so on. Every square will have double the number of grains of its predecessor.

Upon hearing the demand, the king was unhappy since the sage requested only a few grains of rice instead of other riches from the kingdom which the king would've been happy to donate. He requested the sage to add other items too to his prize but the sage declined.

So the game of chess started and needless to say the king lost the game. It was time to pay the sage his agreed-upon prize. As he started adding grains of rice to the chess board, the king soon realised the true nature of the sage's demands. By the 20th square, the number had reached one-million grains of rice and by the 40th square, it became one-trillion. The royal grainery soon ran out of grains of rice. The king realised that even if he provides all the rice in his kingdom and his adjacent kingdoms, he will never be able to fulfill the promised reward. The number of grains was increasing as a geometric progression and the total amount of rice required to fill a 64-squared chess board is ((2^64) - 1) which is equal to the number 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 translating to trillions of tons of rice.

Upon seeing the dilemma, the sage appeared to the king in his true-form, that of lord Krishna. He told the King that he doesn't have to pay the debt immediately but can pay him over time. The king shall serve paal-payasam (made of rice) in the temple freely to the pilgrims every day until the debt is paid off.

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Varkala


Varkala is a municipal town in Chirayinkil taluk of Thiruvananthapuram district. It is 51 km from Thiruvananthapuram City, located on the coast. Varkala is an important hub for neighbouring places like Kadakkavur, Edava and Kappil.

A famous beach resort, Varkala is also famous for its 2000-year old Janardanaswamy temple which is an important Vaishnavaite shrine in India and is referred to as "Southern Kashi". It is also the centre of Sivagiri Mutt, established by the great social reformer Sree Narayana Guru. The 'Papanasam' beach is considered to have holy waters which wash away sins, and is also an important Ayurveda treatment centre.

Population (2001): 42273
Sex Ratio: (females per 1000 males): 1034
Literacy: 87.78% (85.02% male, 89.1% female)

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Thrissur

Thrissur is a city (located at 10.31 North and 76.12 East) in the central part of Kerala state, India. The name is derived from 'Tri-Shiva-Perur', which means the place with three famous Siva temples which are said to be 1)the Vadakkunathan, 2) Kottapuram Siva temple and 3)Punkunnam Siva temple.

[Alternately, the name can be parsed as 'Thiru-Siva-Perur', the place with the holy name of Siva.]It is an important cultural centre, and is known as the "cultural capital" of Kerala.
It is famous for the Thrissur Pooram festival, the most colourful and spectacular temple festival of Kerala. The festival is held near the Vadakkumnathan temple, in April or May. The temple city of Guruvayoor is also nearby.

Thrissur also has added to its name The Church of Our Lady of Dolors, popularly known as the New Church. It is one on the biggest Catholic churches in south Asia. The first church of India is also situated in Thrissur, the St. Thomas church at Palayoor

54 km long coastal area. South East corner of the District is bounded by Tamil Nadu. Mountains-Machad, Paravattani, Palapalli, Kodeswary & Athirapalli. The Periyar, The Chalakudy, The Karuvannur and The Ponnani (Bharatha Puzha) are the main river systems in the District.

Kerala Agricultural University is located at Vellanikkara, about 9 km away from Thrissur. One of the important animal research institution in the State College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences is located at Mannuthy, 5 km away from Thrissur.

The Kerala Forest Research Institute is established under the Science and Technology policy adopted by the Government of Kerala as an autonomous institution to undertake research in areas like forestry, biodiversity etc., that are vital to the development of Kerala State. The Institute was registered as a society on 3rd July 1975 under the Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act, 1955. The institution fulfills number of economic, social and environmental objectives set by the Government.

The city also has three engineering colleges on one two medical colleges.


The nearest airport is at Nedumbassery, which is privately owned and close to Cochin. It is well connected by roads and railways too. Thrissur's location in central Kerala gives it a unique mosaic culture of the erstwhile Cochin and Malabar regions.

Kerala's leading Malayalam news papers, Mathrubhumi and Malayala Manorama have Thrissur edition published from Thrissur.

Pilgrim centre
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The Kodungallur Bhagavati Temple
Vadakkunnathan Temple
Paramekkavu Bhagawathy Temple
Thiruvambady Temple
Poonkunnam Temple
Mulangunnathukavu
Thiruvilwamala Sree Rama Temple

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Wayanad

Wayanad, One of the fourteen districts in Kerala (India) is situated in an elevated picturesque mountainous plateau in Western Ghats. It lies between north latitude 11degree 26?28?? and 11degree 48?22?? and east longitude 75 degree 46?38?? and 76 degree 26?11??.

There is a land not far from Calicut, the city of Zamorins, yet a world apart from Kerala's agricultural and industrial epicentres. It is a quiet place where scenic beauty wild life and traditional matter, simplicity is a virtue and beauty still blossoms from the mountainous horizon and from the green glaze of alluring vegetation. This is Wayanad - the green paradise - the border world of greener part of Kerala. Clean and pristine, enchanting and hypnotising this land has a history and mystery, culture and social epistemology yet to be discovered. Located at a distance about 76 km. from the sea shores of Calicut in the Western Ghats, this station is full of plantations, forests and wildlife. Wayanad hills are contiguous to Mudumala in Tamil Nadu and Bandhipur in Karnataka, thus forming a vast land mass for the wild life to move about in its most natural abode.

The name Wayanad has been derived from the expression 'Vayal nadu' - the village of paddy fields.
In the ancient times this land was ruled by the Rajas of the Veda tribe. In later times, Wayanad came under the rule of Pazhassi Rajahs of Kottayam royal dynasty. When Hyder Ali became the ruler of Mysore, he invaded Wayanad and brought it under his way. In the days of Tipu, Wayanad was restored to the Kottayam royal dynasty. But Tipu handled entire Malabar to the British after the Sreerandapattam truce that he made with them. This was followed by fierce encounters between the British and Kerala Varma Pazhassi Rajah of Kottayam. Even when the Rajah was driven to the wilderness of Wayanad he waged several battles with his Nair and Kurichia-Kuruma tribal soliders against the British troops and defeated the latter several times through guerilla type encounters. The British could get only the dead body of the Rajah who killed himself somewhere in the interior forest. Thus Wayanad fell into the hands of British, and with it began a new turn in the history of this area. The Britishers opened up the Plateau for cultivation of tea and other cash crops. Roads were laid across the dangerous slopes of Wayanad from Calicut and Telicherry. These roads were extended to the city of Mysore and to Ooty through Gudalur. Roads facilities provided opportunities for the people of outside Wayanad to flow and settle to these jungle regions.
When the state of Kerala was formed in 1956, Wayanad was part of Kannur district. Later South Wayanad was added to Kozhikode district and then on November 1, 1980 North and South Wayanad joined together to form the present Wayanad district.

This mountain district is in many ways the most picturesque in the state, with its rolling hills covered with tropical rainforest. Wayanad also contributes richly to its fortunes, thanks to the flourishing cultivation of many spices, as well as Tea, Coffee and Cocoa. Wayanad is situated at a height of 700 to 2100m above sea level and is home to many species of animal and plant life. Temperatures range from 12 to 25 degrees centigrade. This district also has the added advantage of linking Kerala with the golden triangle of South India : Bangalore, Mysore and Ooty.

This high altitude district is characterised by the cultivation of perennial plantation crops and spices. The major plantation crops include coffee, tea, pepper, cardamom and rubber. Coffee based farming system is a notable feature of Wayanad. Coffee is grown both as pure crop and as mixed crop along with pepper. Pepper is grown largely along with coffee in the north eastern parts of the district, especially in Pulpally and Mullankolly areas. Coffee in Wayanad (66,999 ha.) shares 33.65 per cent of the total cropped area in the district and 78 per cent of the coffee area in the state. Other major crops are rubber(63,015 ha.), coconut(59,452 ha.), cardamom (38,348 ha.), tea (31,792 ha.) cassava and ginger. A recent increase in the area under coconut cultivation is noticed in the lower elevations. Paddy is cultivated in 22,772 hectares of land. The rice fields of Wayanad are in the valleys formed by hillocks and in majority of paddy lands, only a single crop is harvested. Ginger cultivation in Wayanad has also substantially increased in recent times and the ginger produced is mainly marketed in the form of green ginger. Homestead farming assumes importance in this district. The average size of holdings are 0.68 ha. A variety of crops including annuals and perennials are grown in these small holdings. The crops include coconut, arecanut, pepper, vegetables, tuber crops, drumstick, papaya, etc. and fruit trees like mango and jack. The crop patterns/crop combinations prevelant in this district are not based on any scientific norms. Therefore scientific cropping patterns suitable for the agro-ecological situation is to be recommended.

THE POPULATION OF THE DISTRICT: Accoring to 1991 census, is 6,72,128 of which male population is 3,41,958 and female 3,30,170. The density of population is 316.2 per sq. kilometres. The population of scheduled tribes is 1,14,969 and that of scheduled caste is 27,835. Strictly speaking, there is no urban population in Wayanad. However, life in Sulthan Bathery, Mananthavady and Kalpetta is in the process of gaining urban status. The decadal growth rate in the population of Wayanad was 59.17 per cent in 1941-51, 62.60 per cent in 1951-61, 50.35 per cent in 1961-71 and 33.71 per cent in 1971-81. In the first three decades of this century, the growth of population in Wayanad was less than ten per cent. This shows that there was an influx of settlers to Wayanad after the Second World War. The economic slump, difficulties and miseries creeping as a result of war into the life of common people, compelled them to seek 'pastures anew' on the virgin soil of Wayanad from all parts of Kerala and Karnataka. In the first year of settlement, thousands succumbed to malaria and the attack of wild animals. Those who survived these and the cold conditions, cleared the forests and transfomed Wayanad into a paradise of prosperity. Total number of workers in the district is 2,27,453. Out of them 53,773 are females. There are 40,729 cultivators of which the male numbers 36,063 and females 4,666. Total number of labourers are 74,813 of which 26,907 are females.


Marketing of Agriculture Produce

The marketing of coffee was fully regulated by the Coffee Board till 1992 and the entire coffee grown in the district had to be pooled to the Board.But in the Coffee Policy of 1995 - 96 , the Government exempted small scale growers possessing land less than 10 hectares from the obligation of pooling.Those growers with more than 10 hectares of coffee plantation were obliged to provide 60 percent of their produces to the Coffee Board.But Government of India recently announced the abolition of the pooling system for coffee altogether from 14th September 1996 and coffee growers are now free to market either in the domestic market or export.

Pepper is marketed mainly as dired berries. The different agencies engaged in the marketing of the produce are hill produce merchants , marketing socities, commission agents and exporters.Being an export oriented commodity, pepper prices show frequent fluctuations depending on the international prices prevailing for the commodity from timt to time.Ginger is mainly marketed as green ginger.Cardamom is sold at auction centres.The traders are licensed by the Spices Board and they participate in the different marketing centers for auction.Rubber is a controled commodityand is mainly marketed in the form of smoked rubber sheets.A large number of private dealers as well as the primary rubber marketing societies under the Rubber Marketing Federation , operate at the village level for the purchase and sale of commodity.

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Tripunithura


Located 10 kms. south-east of Kochi city, Tripunithura is easily accessible by bus. This municipal town which has an area of 18 sq. kms. is a major centre between Kochi city and other important places such as Kottayam, Muvattupuzha and Piravom. Frequent bus services are available to all the major places.

Area : 18 sq. km.
Time : GMT +5.30
STD Code : 0484
ISD Code : +91-484

Located at the southwest tip of India sandwiched between the Arabian sea and Western Ghats on the east. The narrow fertile stripe is mainly divided into three regions. The costal low lands the fertile midland and hilly highland. The lowlands are networked by backwaters, the midlands cater for cultivation crops and the highlands constitute the thick forest and wildlife reserve.

Area : 38,863 sq. km.
Time : GMT +5.30
Population : 3,18,38,619
Languages Spoken : Malayalam, English is widely spoken
International Airports : Cochin, Thiruvananthapuram
Currency : Indian Rupee
Climate : Tropical
Summer: February - May
Monsoon : June - September
Winter: October - January

Kerala is a land of rivers and backwaters. Forty-four rivers (41 west-flowing and 3 east-flowing} criss-cross the state physique along with countless runlets. During summer, these monsoon-fed rivers will turn into rivulets especially in the upper parts of Kerala.

Backwaters are an attractive, economically valuable feature of Kerala. These include lakes and ocean in lets which stretch irregularly along the Kerala coast. The biggest among these backwaters is the Vembanad lake, with an area of 200 sq km, which opens out into the Arabian Sea at Cochin port. The Periyar, Pamba, Manimala, Achenkovil, Meenachil and Moovattupuzha rivers drain into this lake. The other important backwaters are Veli, Kadhinam kulam, Anjengo (Anju Thengu),Edava, Nadayara, Paravoor. Ashtamudi (Quilon).

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Trikarpur


Trikarpur Panchayath is composed of North and South Trikarpur villages, which were part of former Karnataka state. With the formation of Kerala state in 1.11.1956 it has become part of Kerala.Payyanur, which is renowned for her role during the 'Uppu Sathyagraha' Movement of our freedom struggle, is the adjacent town separated from Trikarpur by the Olavara Bridge.

Trikarpur played a significant role during our freedom movement. The State Congress meeting held at Payyanur with the participation of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1928 was attended by very many patriots from Trikarpur, notable among them being Nanatt Kannan Nair, K.C.Koran, Ibrahim Haji.The great 'Uppu sathyagraha' movement of the freedom struggle was organized at the Uliyam Kadavu near Olavara of Trikarpur

Trikarpur was very receptive to the changes occurring in state politics from time to time. The Panchayath has made remarkable progress in the cultural and educational field because of the untiring and collective endeavors made by different individuals and organizations. The progress especially in the field of education and transport is very noteworthy. In this respect we owe a great deal to the farsightedness of the late V.P.P.Muhammad Kunhi Patel who had been the president of Trikarpur Panchayath continuously for a long time.

Here recognized schools came in to being with the dawn of the 2oth century. The first such educational institution was Thazhekkattu 'Kudippallikkoodam' which was the forerunner of the present South Trikarpur government High school.

The importance of individual health was well recognized by our great predecessors as evidenced by the progress made by us in the various disciplines of medical science such as Allopathy, 'Ayurveda', 'Marma' treatment of snake poisoning etc. Some of the noteworthy names among the physicians of the past include Perunthatta Muhammad Vydyar, Vannan Ambu vydyar, Maniyamma etc.

Kuttichira Vannan Ramman Vydyar was a legendary figure in the field of pediatric treatment. The valuable service rendered by the late Dr. K.S. Shetty to the people in and around Trikarpur should be remembered with immense gratitude.

Trikarpur has established her indelible impressions in the field of Arts and Sports. The Katha Kali chief of 'Adayar Kalakshethram' of Chennai Sree Arayambath Janardhanan and the renowned 'Poorakkali' master Kottan Panikkar are the proud products of Trikarpur. So also the most memorable names in the cultural activities of the place include that of the Krishnan Perumalayar and Raman Panickar.

Trikarpur is cradle of Football and her position is among that of Malappuram and Kozhikkod. We could bring up very many boys who could take part in the district and state level teams. So also we have very many sports club in our locality. The most notable being Acme, Golden Star, Subhash etc. Some of the great boys of Trikarpur include the Mohan Bagan player Suresh the G.V. Raja award winners Rajesh Sinul Abideen, the national sub junior player Subash, the proud coach of the Kerala Police team Unnikrishnan and the host of other unending names. The history of Trikarpur sans her role in Football will be incomplete. A good organizer of Football in Trikarpur Mr.M.T.P.Abdul Kader contributed greatly for the development football in Trikarpur. He could ascend to the level of District Football secretary. So also most talented teams in the various branches of sports such as 'Kabady', Volley Ball and Cricket are at the proud procession of various clubs of Trikarpur. 'Pent', 'Udaya chovvery' etc are such notable clubs. An astounding figure of as many as seventy-five small and large Arts and Sports club are functioning in our Panchayath.

Providing and promoting the reading habit of the public Trikarpur provides ample facilities in the form of libraries and reading rooms, while perpetuating the Cheri sable memories of the great leaders of our freedom struggle. The 'Acharya Narendra Dev library' and reading room at Koyonkara and the 'Muhammad Abdul Rahman library' Thankayam are some of the shining examples of for this.

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Thodupuzha

Thodupuzha is a little, picturesque town situated on the banks of the Thodupuzha river.The name Thodupuzha might have been derived from of two Malayalam words, "Thodu" (which means canal) and "puzha" (which means river).

The conjecture is that a canal eventually became a river and that this town is close to it. There is yet another version that the word "Thodu" also means "touching' and "puzha" means "river", which makes it a place that touches a river. It is an ancient town with a history dating back to many centuries ago. It is a neat, quiet town and the cradle of religious harmony and peaceful co-existence., Christian churches, Hindu temples and Muslim mosques abound in Thodupuzha and co-exist next to each other. The people of Thodupuzha are hard working in nature. By sheer dint of hard work, they have converted the hilly terrains into prosperous plantations of Cardamom,Rubber ,Ginger, Bananas, Coco, Tapioca, P

epper, etc. This has enabled them to live a prosperous and contended life. Which has also provided the momentum for their social and cultural attainments.


The Buddhest and Jain religions which made their first inroads into kerala in 300 B.C. have left thier impact on Thodupuzha and neighbouring areas. The Buddhist religious relics found at Karikodu is ample proof of this surmise. In 100 A.D. kerala was divided for administrative reasons into several provinces such as Venad, Otanad, Nanvushainad, Munjunad, Vempolinad and Keezhmalainad. Thodupuzha and Muvattupuzha were in Keezhmalainad which had its headquartes at Karicodu. Keezhmalainad was in existence till 1600 A.D. In that year, it lost a battle with Vadakkumcoor and became part of it. The kings of Vadakkumcoor used to live at Karicodu for several years. At the time of king Marthandavarma, Vadakkumcoor became a part of the State of Travancore. The relics of a fort is still there at Karicodu. The Annamalai Temple which carries the traits of Tamil architecture is at Karicodu. At this temple, one can see many statues and lamps made out of stone and metals believed to have been made in the 14th century.