Palakkad
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| Image:Location of Palakkad Kerala.png | ||
| District | Palakkad district | |
| Area | 4,480km² | |
| Population Total Males Females | 26,17,482 12,66,985 13,50,497 | |
| Density | 584 | |
| Sex ratio | 1,066 | |
| Literacy rate (2001): Total Male Female | 84.35% 89.52% 79.56% | |
| Altitude | ? above sea level | |
| Latitude | 10° 46`N to 10° 59`N | |
| Longitude | 76° 28` and 76° 39`E | |
| Temperature Summer Winter | °C to°C °C to°C | |
Contents |
Statistics
- Area : 4,480 square kilometres
- Population : 2,617,072 according to Census 2001
- Language : Malayalam , Tamil and Telugu .
- Climate : Tropical
- Religions : Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.
- Taluks : Palakkad, Chittur, Alathur, Ottappalam and Mannarkkad.
- Parliament Constituencies : Palakkad and Ottappalam.
Palakkad was a part of Malabar district during the British rule. After independence, it came under the Madras state. It was made a separate district of Kerala when the state was formed in 1956.
Agriculture is the main occupation. The most prominent crop is rice. Palakkad is known as the Rice Bowl of Kerala. But in recent times, rice cultivation has become unremunerative due to high wages and low prices. Hence farmers have turned to other crops and the area under rice cultivation has decreased drastically. In the areas bordering Tamil Nadu, crops like sugar cane, groundnut, tomato, jasmine etc are cultivated. Rubber is the main crop in the hilly regions in the different parts of the district. Vegetables like pumpkin, ash gourd, bitter gourd, brinjal, pea etc. are now cultivated all over the district. Tamarind, Neem, Mango and Palm trees are seen in abundance in the Palakkad, like in Tamil Nadu. The district is a major centre of export for mangoes and tamarind. Jaggery, which is unrefined sugar, is made from sugarcane in Chittur Taluk.
People
The main religion is Hinduism, with many castes - Menon, Nair, Ezhava, Ezhuthachan, Namboothiri (Kerala Brahmin), Iyer (Tamil Brahmin), trader (Moothan),Gupthans, artisan community like carpenter (Asari), goldsmith (Thattan), blacksmith (Kollan) and potter (Kusavan). There are some tribals also in the forest areas. Nairs are traditionally the warrior caste. They are now in all fields, mainly in government service. Ezhavas and Ezhuthachans are mostly farmers, the educated among them in other areas also. Namboothiris work as temple priests. They were big landlords once and some of the families were of great astrologers, physicians and scholars.
The Tamil Brahmins of Palakkad require special mention. They migrated from Thanjavur of Tamil Nadu centuries back, on the invitation of the then ruler. They were settled in 96 villages called Agraharams in different parts of the district. They are also basically priests. They brought along their rich cultural heritage, Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam dance among them. Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavagthar, Palakkad Mani Iyer, M.D. Ramanathan are some of the prominent names in the field of Carnatic music.
Muslims are in majority in the areas bordering Malappuram district. Here almost every family has male members in the Gulf region. Due to the remittances from these people, the area has substantially improved economically in the recent years.
The earliest Christians in the district were from Trissur district, who settled at Melarcode (R C Kambolam) around 1550 CE as traders of coconut oil and spices to near by districts. Later on, Christians from Idukki and Kottayam districts migrated to Palakkad and made the hilly terrains of the district their homes. They are very hard working and have a reputation of being good farmers. They have made enormous contribution in the fields of education and medical care by establishing schools, colleges and hospitals even in remote villages.
The language spoken by the majority is Malayalam, with a distinct Tamil flavour. Also, the accent differs according the community of the speaker. Tamil is spoken in the areas bordering Tamil Nadu, by Tamil Brahmins and some Muslims who have roots in Tamil Nadu. There are some Telugu speaking people also, who are believed to have been come to Kerala centuries ago as part of an invading army.
Traditions of Palakkad
In the months of March and April, after the harvests, festivals called Vela are celebrated in many villages. These festivals consist of parade of caparisoned elephants, traditional orchestra of percussion instruments (called Panchavadyam, Thayambaka, Pandimelam etc) and fireworks. These festivals are very popular; people from neighbouring districts and Tamil Nadu come to witness them. Nemmara Vallangi Vela and Chinakkathur Pooram are the prominent among them. The vela season comes to an end with Mangalam vela, which usually happens in the month of May.
Another important festival is the Kalpathi Ratholsavam. This is festival of the Tamil Brahmins. The deities of the various temples are taken out on a procession in chariots. It is believed that the God goes out to see his people on these days.
The Anjumoorthy temple at Anjumoorthy Managalam, a village in Palakkad, is a unique temple in the district. The temple is considered to be the only temple in India where Sudharshana Chakram, a sharp spinning wheel carried by Lord Vishnu, is the primary deity. The belief is that Sudarshana Chakram self-manifested (Swayambhu) in the area where the temple now stands.
The Navrathri Festival celebrated annually in Kodunthirapully Village is also very famous. This village has the unique distinction of being two theoretical parts that celebrate the same festival on Ashtami and Navami, often with a lot of competetive edge. The festival although celebrated for every one of the night days culminates on Ashtami and Navami with caprisoned elephants, panchavadyam, a fireworks finale and musical stage shows.
Another very famous festival is the "Puthur Vela". It is the annual festival held during the month of april of the puthur "sree thirupuraykal bagavathy kshethram" where 15 gajaveeranmar(elephants) unite for the famous "kudamattom".The "thayambaka" and "panchavadhyam" is a special treat for music lovers.
Climate
The climate is hot and humid for most part of the year. Palakkad is one of the hottest places in Kerala. There is sufficient rainfall. The district is blessed with many small and medium rivers, which are tributaries of the Bharathapuzha River. A number of dams have been built across these rivers, the largest being Malampuzha dam.
Industry
There are various industries in the district. The Public Sector companies ITI Limited and Instrumentation Limited have plants in Kanjikode, 12 km from Palakkad town. Other big companies are BPL group, Coca Cola and Pepsi. There is an Industrial Area in Kanjikode with a number of medium industries.
There are no big cities in Palakkad. Even the district head quarter is a medium sized town. There are no big shopping complexes or large hospitals. People usually go to Coimbatore for these needs. But recently, all the major jewellers of Kerala have opened their showrooms in Palakkad town.
Established in 1976, the plant manufactures large digital switches and digital trunk exchanges in collaboration with M/s Alcatel. A lean and highly productive plant by virtue of its structure it has modern facility for PCB manufacture (including multi-layer boards) assembly and automated testing facilities with SMT line and environmental test lab.
Facilities include:
- Surface Mount Technology
- Environment Test Lab
- PCB Plant
- PCB Assembly and Testing
Product Range
- OCB 283 Electronic Switching Equipment
- MLLN Manageable Leased Line Network
- VRLA Battery
- SIM Cards
Educational institutions
There are a number of schools and colleges including engineering colleges. Government Victoria College is a more-than-a-century- old institution which has many eminent persons as its former students. They include E. M. S. Namboodiripad(late communist leader), former Chief Election Commissioner T.N.Seshan, writers (the late) O.V.Vijayan and M.T.Vasudevan Nair and cartoonist Ravi Shankar.
The NSS College of Engineering is an Institution by Nair Service Society and was established in the 60's. It has one of the best facilities for pure Engineering like Mechanical and Civil streams. Situated in the valley of the beautiful mountain ridges, it has produced some of the best engineering minds the state has to offer.
The Chembai Memorial Music College, Government College Chittur, NSS College Nemmara are some of the old colleges of Palakkad.
Transport
Palakkad Junction is a very important station of Southern Railway. It is from here the trains take diversion to South and North Kerala. Places like Pollachi, Dindigul and Madurai are connected by the meter guage track starting from here. The trains on the meter guage are like lifelines for the people of the district, bringing vegetables, fish and dairy products.
The office of the Palghat Division of Southern Railway is situated near Palghat Junction Railway Station.
Palakkad has a fairly good network of roads. The between Salem-Kanyakumari National Highway 47 and the Palakkad-Kozhikode National Highway 213 pass through the district. Another important road is the Palakkad Ponnani which connects NH 47 and NH 17.
Places of Interest
Palakkad is an important place in the tourist map of Kerala. The Tipu Sultan's Fort built in the 18th century, Malampuzha dam garden, Nelliampathy hills and Silent Valley hills are the main attractions. Nelliampathy is a hill station with tea and coffee plantations previously owned by the British. Silent Valley is a virgin rain forest land.
There is greenery everywhere during the rice cultivation period.
Palakkad has to its credit the oldest and richest cultural heritage of Kerala. Valluvanad, now comprising of Ottapalam - Shoranur regions is supposed to have the purest form of Malayalam.
Famous festivals
Nemmara Vallengi Vela
Kalpathi Ratholsavam
Manappullikavu Vela
Vadakkanthara Vela (only once in 3 years)
Koduvayoor Ratholsavam
Municipalities of Palakkad Dt.
1. Palakkad
2. Shoranur
3. Chittur-Tathamangalam
4. Ottapalam
Kerala Assembly seats of Palakkad Dt.
- Palakkad
- Chittur
- Kozhalmannam
- Kollengode
- Mannarkkad
- Malampuzha
- Alathur
- Thrithala
- Ottapalam
- Pattambi
External links
- Official site
- UnOfficial site www.Palakkad.tk
- Real Palakkad
- Koduvayur is a small town 10 KM south of Palakkad
- TattaMangalam - a town near Palakkad
- town near Palakkad
- Chittur Yahoo! Group
- TattaMangalam Yahoo! Group
- Portal of Kerala Iyers
- Ecological Protection Group
| Districts of Kerala, India |
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Alappuzha • Ernakulam • Idukki • Kannur • Kasaragod • Kollam • Kottayam • |
