Famous small and big towns in Kerala

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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.

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New DocumentThiruvalla

History is beyond B.C. 500. We can know that the present day area of Niranam and Kadapra on the western part of Thiruvalla was merged in sea . Some people believe that St.Thomas came to Niranam in A.D. 52 through Purakkadu . It will be interesting to note that the ancient name of Thiruvalla was " Valla vai".

This name had some relation with the river Manimala which was known as "Vallapuzha". The mouth ?vai? is known as "Valla vai". On the western part of Thiruvalla, rivers, Pampa, Manimala and Achen Kovil join which gives us a panoramic view. As in many other places in India, the culture and heritage of Thiruvalla are tied up with the temples.

In olden days, temples were not just places of worship but also centers of judicial, educational and cultural activities. For instance, the Thiruvalla Sree Vallaba Temple governed a Vedic School with one thousand students and one hundred teachers. The temple also maintained a hospital in the service of the public at large. The rulers of Thiruvalla belonged to the Thekkumkoor Dynasty, which had one of its headquarters at Edathil near Kavil Temple. Today's Paliakara Palace is a branch of Lekshmipuram Palace of Changanacherry which was the branch of Alikottu Kovilakam of Pazhancherry in Malabar.

Thiruvalla Municipality started functioning in 1919, with Shri. M.K. Kesavan Nair as the first Chairman. It has a good library functioning in the Municipal Office Building. There is a public stadium in the heart of the town constructed by Thiruvalla Municipality. The very famous pilgrim centre of Sabarimala is about 100 km. from Thiruvalla. The spiritual conventions at Maramon and Cherukolpuzha are at a distance of 17 to 20 km. from Thiruvalla. The link railway of Thiruvalla - Thakazhy connecting the hilly places of Pathanamthitta District to the sea shore of Alappuzha is a golden dream of Thiruvalla.

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Thalassery

Thalassery is in Kannur district of northern Kerala state , south western India. It is 21 km away from district head quarters, Kannur. It was established in 1663 by the British for the pepper and cardamom trade and was their first settlement on Malabar cost.

Thalassery fort was built by British in 1708 and was attacked by Mysore ruler Hyder Ali in 1781. But he failed to capture the fort. British were doing pepper trade by using this fort. It is constructed near to Arabian sea and most of the construction is rocky. During the British rule the jurisdiction of Thalassery court was up to Mysore. Sir.Wellesly who introduced Cricket in this district during 18th century. Now also cricket clubs in and around Thalassery are major players in various tournaments in the state. The beginning of western education in Thalassery may be traced back to the middle of 16th century. The first English school known as Basal German Mission English School was started on 1st March 1856 at Thalassery. The Brennen school at Thalassery, the nucleus of the present Brennen College, was started in 1862 with the generous donations made by Mr. Edward Brennen, Master Attendant at Thalassery. Thalassery and its neighboring villages actively participated in freedom struggle. On 15th September 1940 , Thalassery town Congress Committee called on a meeting at Jawahar Ghat to protest against human right violations in British rule. Sri. O Abu master and Chathukkutty was killed in the police firing.

Basic Data- Municipality
Area 23.98 Sq.Km
Municipal Wards 50
Villages Thalassery, Thiruvangad and Kodiyeri
District Kannur
Thaluk Thalassery
Borders North - Dharmadam
South - New Mahe
East - Eranholi
West - Arabian Sea
Population 105,997
Chairman-Municipality Mr.N.V Muhammed Salim
Member of Parliament Smt. AK Premajam
Member of legislative assembly Sri.Kodiyeri Balakrishnan

German missionary Dr. Herman Gundert played an important role in the history of Thalassery. He was born in Stuttgart on 1814 February 14 and came to India as a Christian missionary. He studied history and religion from Tubin University and got doctorate from Switzerland. In 1834 he become a member of Basal Mission. Basal Mission Society was his motivation for coming to India. He studied Hindi, Bengali and Tamil in early day itself. He started staying at Thirunalveli. At the age of 24 Gundert married Yuliya de Bova. From 27th February 1839 he started staying at Illikkunnu , a place near Thalassery- Ancharakkandy road. Now also Gundert Bungalow is tourist attraction. It is a beautiful building with tiled roof. He was a master in 18 languages. In 1939 he started a school in the Bungalow. He was the first school inspector for Malabar and South Karnataka. In 1847 first Malayalam news paper 'Rajyasamacharam' started from Thalassery. After that another publication named 'Paschimodayam' was also started. Articles published by Gundert in German, English, Malayalam and Tamil languages spanned to various subjects such as history, grammar, language science, general knowledge etc. Out of 50+ books published by him, most famous one is English-Malayalam dictionary. This dictionary was published at Mangalore in 1872. Although the dictionary was published at Mangalore, he verified the content from Kalwa of Germany since he left India on April 11 1859 itself. 'Keralolppathi' published in 1843 and 'Keralapazhama' published in 1868 are also well known. Dr. Herman Gundert died on April 25 1893.
In almost all big circus companies like Great Bombay circus, Jumbo circus, Rajkamal and Gemini circus more than 80% of circus artists are from Thalassery. Keeleri Kunhikkannan , the father of Indian circus , is from Thalassery. He was the sports teacher of BEMP High School, Thalassery. Kamala Circus was the first three ring circus of Thalassery. It was founded by Mr.K Damodaran. Kalarippayttu, an ancient martial arts, was considered to be born at Kathirur, a village near Thalassery. Kathirur Gurikkal, Thacholi Othenan, Payyavelli Chandu and Mayan Pakki were the stalwarts in this field. Mambally Bakery of Tellicherry is the first Bakery of Kerala. Now also bakery items of Thalassery are very famous throughout the world. Sri Vengayil Kunhiraman Nair, Sanjayan (M Ramunni Nair), NE Balaram and O. Chandu menon are also great Tellicherians.

Thalassery and neighboring villages like Eranholi, Pinarayi, Kadirur, Kodiyeri etc. are strongholds of Communist parties. Congress and Muslim league is having good support in Municipal areas and New Mahe. BJP is having some support in Pathayakkunnu, Konkachi, Panoor ares. These areas ill famous for atrocities.

Panchayats
Pinarayi Eranholi Dharmadam
Chokli Kadirur Kariyad
Kottayam New Mahe Peringalam
Keezhallur Kanichar Kelakam
Kolayad Kottiyur Malur
Muzhakkunnu Peravur Aralam
Ayyankunnu Keezhur - Chavassery Koodali
Payam Thillangeri Chittariparamba
Kunnothparamba Mangattidam Mokeri
Pannyannur Panur Pattyam
Thriprangottur Vengad

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Pinarayi

Pinarayi is at a distance of 20 KM from the district head quarters Kannur. The population is around 29,000. The nearest town and railway station is Thalassery which is 8 Km away. Three sides of my village is surrounded by rivers. Remaining boundaries consists of five panchayats namely, Kadirur, Dharmadam, Peralassery, Vengad, Kottayam and Erancholi.

Arabian sea is just five Km away from here. Main occupation is Beedi manufacturing in which 'DINESH' is having a monopoly. For administrational purposes the Panchayat is divided into two villages Eruvatty and Pinarayi. Pinarayi consists of 15 wards and almost all wards contains one or more primary schools. My village is having all the facilities for cultural and social activities mainly anchored by sports clubs, reading rooms, educational centres, youth organizations and libraries. Pinarayi is having 18 reading rooms , 19 libraries and more than 60 arts and sports clubs. Electricity reached this village in 1958 itself and was inaugurated by then state minister Sri VR Krishna Iyer. Former Deputy Collector Mr. MP Kunhiraman Nair was the first consumer. Totally seven Muslim mosques and forty three Hindu temples are there in this Panchayat.

Pinarayi is a beautiful village which is surrounded by rivers on its three sides. Hundreds of years ago feudal fights between Kottayam and Kolathunadu rulers were common in this village and lot of peoples died during these fights. Due to this, it is believed that, the name Pinarayi was derived from 'Pinam' ( word for dead body in Malayalam). In 1920's itself peasant and teachers organizations were strong in this village and there was a wide support for freedom movement. As a part of freedom movement struggle, 'boycotting foreign cloths' strike was conducted here In 1930. Leaders of this strike were Sri AKG, AK Sankaran Nambiar, Kacherikkandi Chathukkutty and Thattari Kunhiraman. In 1938 seven thousand peasants marched from Pinarayi to Kottayam kovilakam for reducing 'varam and pattam' (rent given by peasants to landlords). It is worth to note that the population of Pinarayi during that time was around 10,000. This was considered as the first instant of unified mass movement against landlordism. AKG, Kundancheri Kunhiraman master, NE Balaram, Pandyala Gopalan Master, Pinarayi Krishnan master and TV Govindan Nair were the leaders.
In 1937 itself a committee of Communist Party was formed in a formal meeting at Kozhikkode that was presided by Com. SV Ghatte. But Kerala unit of Indian communist party started publicly working after its historic conference at Parapram of Pinarayi village in 1939. Communist legendaries like AKG, EMS, P Krishnappilai were present in the conference. Late CPI leader Sri. NE Balaram ( former Industry minister of Kerala and Member of Parliament) was a delegate. Pandyala Gopalan Master , great son of Pinarayi, was a volunteer during the conference.

Pinarayi was very famous for its Hindu-Muslim friendship. When there were communal riots in different parts of Thalassery, this village remained unaffected, which proved the progressive mentality of the public. Hindu communalists attacked several mosques and Muslim houses in and around Thalassery. CPIM leader Pinarayi Vijayan, Velayudhan Nambiar and Chirayi Ananthan played an important role in resisting those communalists and protected minorities.