Palakkad

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Palakkad
Palghat
Palakkad
Location of Palakkad
in Kerala and India
Coordinates 10°46′N 76°39′E / 10.77°N 76.65°E / 10.77; 76.65
Country  India
State Kerala
District(s) Palakkad
Chairman Position Empty
Population 2,617,094 (2001)
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Area
• Elevation
• 84 m (276 ft)


For the district with the same name, see Palakkad District.

Palakkad (Malayalam: പാലക്കാട്) is a town and a municipality in the state of Kerala in southern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District. Palakkad lies near the Palghat Gap, a pass or natural depression through the Western Ghats ranges that run parallel to the west coast of India, and connects Kerala to the plains of the state of Tamil Nadu to the east. The people of Palakkad speak Malayalam. The city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu is only about 50 km from Palakkad.

Contents

[edit] Transport

The nearest international airport is Coimbatore Airport, which is about 52 km from Palakkad. Coimbatore airport has connecting flights to Singapore, Sharjah, Colombo, apart from major Indian cities.

There is a KSRTC Government bus stand. There are also three private bus stands, the Main bus stand, the Town bus stand and the Stadium bus stand. There are frequent buses to Coimbatore, Kozhikode and Thrissur from the KSRTC bus stand.

Palakkad is well connected by roads. The National Highway 47 (NH 47) from Salem to Kanyakumari 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.

There are two railway stations in Palakkad. Palakkad Junction is a Broad Gauge railway junction (located at Olavakkode), on India's Southern Railway network. It also houses the office of The Divisional Railway Manager (Palakkad Division). The cities of Coimbatore, Erode, Salem, Ernakulam and Kozhikode are connected by the broad gauge line. Pollachi, Dindigul and Madurai are connected by the metre gauge line starting from the Palakkad Town railway station. Under a policy "project unigauge", metre gauge tracks are being converted to broad gauge tracks all over India. This Metre Gauge track is now being dismantled for conversion to broad gauge tracks. The nearest city is Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu which is well connected to Palakkad with broad gauge trains and buses.

[edit] Demographics

In the 2001 census[1], Palakkad had a population of 130,736. Males constituted 49% of the population. The average literacy rate of the area is 81%, much higher than the national average of 59.5%.

A significant amount of Tamil speaking population come from the sixty agraharams - villages. Palakkad town - has 19 of them - namely : New Kalpathy, Old Kalpathy, Chatapuram, Govindarajapuram, Vaidyanathapuram, Sekharipuram, Venkateshapuram, Kumarapuram, Lakshminarayanapuram, Chokkanathapuram, Nelliserry, Vadakanthara, Pallipuram, Adityapuram, Noorani, Thondikulam, AvinjiPadam,Tharekkadu, Thirunellai and Ramanathapuram.

Communities peculiar to the Palakkad district are Iyers, Nedungadi, Vellodi, Pisharody, Guptan, Moothan, Mannadiar ezhavar & Tharakan. Irular, Mudugar & Kurumbar are the adivasi communities of the Attappadi tribal areas.

[edit] Politics

Palakkad and Alathur assembly constituencies is part of Palakkad district.[2]

[edit] Places of interest

View from outside the northern wall of Palakkad Fort.
  • Palakkad Fort - Fort dating from 1766, built by Hyder Ali of Mysore. In 1784, after a siege which lasted eleven days, the British Colonel Fullerton stormed the Fort.[citation needed] Later it fell into the hands of the Zamorin’s troops, but was recaptured by the British in 1790.[citation needed] This well-preserved fort is also known as Tipu's (Tipu Sultan, son of Hyder Ali) Fort. Today there is a functioning jail in the fort grounds.
  • Malampuzha Dam and Malampuzha dam garden. This is a large irrigation dam built on the river Bharathapuzha at the base of the hills of the Western Ghats. The gardens, the amusement park for children, and the boating facilitices on the reservoir make Malampuzha a centre of interest for tourists, easily accessible from Palakkad.
Paddy fields in Palakkad
  • Jain Temple of Jainimedu - Situated on the western border of Palakkad town and not far from the railway station, this is an historic Jain Temple. The area around the temple is known as Jainimedu. This is one of the few places in Kerala where vestiges of Jainism have survived without substantial damage.[citation needed] The granite walls are devoid of decoration. The temple, 32 feet (9.8 m) long and 20 feet (6.1 m) wide, consists of four divisions with images of Jain Thirthankaras and Yakshinis in three of them. Kumaran Asan wrote his monumental poem Veena Poovu (the fallen flower) at a Jain house here during his brief stay with his master Sri. Narayana Guru.[citation needed]
  • Parambikulam The Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, covering 285 km², is 135 km from Palakkad and adjacent to the Annamalai Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. Besides being a home for elephants, wild boar, sambar, bison, guar, crocodiles, and a few tigers and panthers, it has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. Trekking in the forest is allowed with prior permission. Boating facilities are available on the lake. The large Cannimare Teak Tree is here near Thunakadavu.
  • Silent Valley National Park A dense rain forest and the habitat of rare species 80 km from Palakkad. It is popularly known as the evergreen forest and noted for its eerie silence because of the lack of cicadas.[citation needed] It is an important biosphere reserve in the Western Ghats and home of the tribal people. The valley is known for the rare Lion-Tailed Macaque. This National Park is a protected area for tigers also.[citation needed]
Heap of rice straw, usually seen in front of houses in Palakkad district.
  • Nelliampathi Known as the Ooty of Kerala,[citation needed] Nelliampathy, about 80 km from Palakkad, is a hill station in the Nelliampathy forest ranges. This forest range constitutes a series of ridges cut off from one another by valleys of dark evergreen forests.
  • Pothundy Dam Around 35 km from Palakkad town, Pothundy Dam is situated on the way to Nelliampathi hills. The hill area to Nelliyampathy hills starts from Pothundy Dam. People visiting Nelliampathi, stop here to enjoy the beauty of the dam as well as to relax during their long journey up the Nelliampathi hills.
  • Walayar Dam is around 25 km from Palakkad town, It is located on the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is a beautiful place. It is an easily accessible location to the visitors to and from Tamil Nadu also. There is a Deer park located 3 km from Walayar.
A typical fence made of bamboo usually seen in villages of the Palakkad district.
  • Attappady Attappady is an extensive mountain valley above the crest of the Ghat ranges, with several rivulets of the river Bhavani. The area is dominated by tribal people.[citation needed]
  • Punarjani Guha The Punarjani Guha is a natural tunnel 15 meters long in the rocky cliff. It is 2 km from the Thiruvilwamala Temple and the chief presiding deity is Sri Rama. The idol is believed to be ‘swayambhoo’, i.e. born on its own. It is believed that performing ‘noozhal’ -- crawling through the tunnel from one end to the other—will wash away all of one’s sins and thus bring about rebirth. Only men are allowed to do the ‘noozhal’: women may only visit the cave. This ritual is practised on only one day per year, on Guruvayur Ekadashi. This particular site actually comes under the district of Thrissur.
  • Kanjirapuzha Dam: This dam feeds almost half the agricultural land of the district. It supplies water to such places as Mannarkkad, Ottappalam and Shoranur, and is the biggest dam built with soil in Kerala. There is a garden in front of the dam.
  • Peruvemba Well known for its festivals, the Chandabhishegam in December and Peruvemba Vela in April.
  • Kalpathi Most famous of the eighteen agraharams of Palakkad, for its annual Ratholsavam.These place is also famous for Ajith and Lakshmi's love story
  • Srikrishnapuram: A small and welcoming village; the name comes from Palakkadussery Sekhari Varma Raj. It is one of the many villages of Palakkad. Punchappadam and Karimpuzha are also included in this village area
  • Dhoni Waterfalls: It is a gift of nature to the district with green forest, rocks, shallow water and beautiful water fall. Dhoni waterfall is in the western ghats 15 km from the Palakkad Town bustand and 9 km from the Palakkad Junction railway station. There is a beautiful temple near the mountain valley and it is believed that this was built by the Goddess for Shiva Bhagawan.
  • IRTC [1]: Integrated Rural Technology Centre (IRTC) is an R&D and Training Institution situated at Mundur, Palakkad. It develops or adapts technology having rural applications. Training and follow up facilities are extended in various livelihood programmes.
  • Koduvayur: Koduvayur is one of the major markets in Palakkad district. The vegetable and cloth markets here attract customers as well as dealers from different parts of the state as well. The famous car festival is celebrated here. Major market possessions are managed by Moothans, the Vaisya sect of Palakkad and Muslims.
  • Cherpulassery Ayyappankavu is the famous Dharmasastha Temple, where thousands of devotees visit, especially during Mandala season. Many who go to Sabarimala start from here. The ten days long Utsavam in the month of Kumbham attracts thousands of devotees.
  • Karnaki Temple. Palakkad has a Karnaki Temple where goddess Kannaki is worshipped in her full idol form.[citation needed] In the Karnaki temple, Kerala form of pooja practices are done by Kerala Brahmins (Namboothiris) and in the Siva Temple in the same compound, Tamil Shaiva form of pooja practices are carried out by Tamil Brahmin Priests.
  • Vayillyamkunnu - (new name Kadambazhipuram): The name Vayillyamkunnu came from VAYILLAKUNNILAPPAN - the last member of PARAYI PETTA PANTHIRUKULAM of the famous saint Vararuchi. It is a historical place which was famous due to Gandhian activities and Sanskrit scholars. Vayillyamkunnu Bhagavathy Temple is famous for its Pakalpooram, the Annual festival.
  • SREE CHEMITTIYA BAGAVATHY KSHETRAM: Around 6 kms from PALAKKAD town on CHITTUR road is the temple of the goddess. Every year during MARCH - APRIL the annual fair happens here. There are many people who come here for rituals during that season. The temple committee is setting up a MARRIAGE HALL which on completion can help many of the surrounding village to use this.
  • CHITTUR BAGAVATHY KSHETRAM : 18 Kms from PALAKKAD TOWN in CHITTUR dedicated to Goddess CHITTUR BAGAVATHY, annualy there is a temple fair conducted by the locals and the family called KONGAN PADA [KONGAN ARMY] during FEB - MARCH.The story goes thus:

The Chittur Bagavathy Temple located in present Chittur was part of the Old Kochi kingdom. Ages ago the King of KONGAN KINGDOM attacked Chittur. The residents of Chittur who were well trained in war fare fought a heavy battle with the invaders. Soon it was apparent that the KONGAN army was winning the battle and the tired army of Chittur prayed at the temple for help. Chittur Bagavathy appreared and fought the war along with them and destroyed the Invaders including the Kongan King who was riding a [water]buffalo to war. The day of victory is celebrated as KONGAN PADA when all the local landlords and residents gather in full force as show of support and to remember the day of Victory.

[edit] Local Festivals

  • Valliya Aarattu -Karnaki Amman Temple, Moothanthara celebrated in the month of Medam Punertham Constellation (Star)
  • Chinakathur Pooram: A spectacular festival celebrated in every March-April in the famous Durga temple at Palappuram
  • Cheramkulangara Vishu Vela (April 14)
  • Akathethara-Thekkethara Vela - (March 30 ) (Meenamasathille, Karthika)
  • Akathethara-Vadakkethara Vela - April 24
  • Padur Vela - February 24
  • Pudussery Vedi - February 28
  • Kalpathy Ratholsavam. Famous for Kalpathy Rathotsavam held during the second week of November every year.

Kalpathy : One of the 18 Agraharams of Palakkad District on the banks of the Kalpathy river. One of the oldest settlements of Tamil Brahmins in Kerala, it dates back to the 15th century.

  • Chittur Konganpada
  • Nemmara-Vallanghi Vela - Nemmara Vela Photographs
  • Koduvayur car festival - The ancient and famous Koduvayur car festival is celebrated on Thiruvathira of malayalam month Dhanu. Visit http://www.keralapuram.co.nr (or http://keralapuram.50webs.org) for more
  • Sree Maha Ganapathy Sahayam - Naga Sahayam Vela- April 17
  • Manappullikavu Vela
  • Vayilliamkunnu Pooram
  • Kavasseri Pooram (celebrated on "Pooram" star day in "Meenam" Malayalam month
  • Mangottu Kavu Temple Vela - Second Sunday after Vishu (every year)
  • Vadakkanthara Vela (only once every 3 years)
  • Ashtami Rohini (Sreekrishna Jayanthi) (Kunnathurmedu Sreekrishna Temple )
  • Kizhkencherry Ratholsavam - December 25
  • Thiruvara Niramaala - December 28
  • Karumanassery Ratholsavam - December 29
  • Tattamangalam Angadi Vela Angadi Vela Photographs - celebrated every 2 years
  • Perinkulam Ratholsavm March-10 & 11-2009 (Pournami Day Of Kumbamasam)
  • Puthur Kavu Vela - April 7
  • Pariyanampatta Pooram - Kumbham -7
  • Peruvemba Vela [2]
  • Kannambra Vela - May 24
  • Nurani Sasthapreethi (Every year end of Dec - beginning of Jan) www.nuranivillage.org
  • Puthucode Navaratri Festival for 9 days September - October.
  • Kallepully Kummati Kummati Festival during February - March every year
  • Kongad Pooram Festival at the Kongad Shri Thirumandankunnu Bhagavati Temple during March- April every year
  • Mangod Pooram festival at Mangottukavu Bhagavathy temple; it is situated near the heritage village, Vellinezhi
  • PariyanamPatta Pooram: Pooram at the Pariyanampatta temple, MangalamKunnu, Palakkad. It's the famous festival of Valluvanadu. The pooram day is (Malayalam) Kumbam 7.
  • Manappullikavu Vela Cheruppil Kavu: It is situated 2 km from Palakkad railway station. The Goddess is "Cheruppil amma". One of the famous festivals is "PANA" which happens once in every 5 years. It is a 41 day festival. Various famous art forms are performed on these days.
  • Thiruvaraikkal Temple Pooram Festival
  • Thiruvaraikkal Temple Pooram, Thiruvazhiyode: Thiruvaraikkal Temple pooram festival is celebrated on April 20 (Medam 7). The temple is situated 37 kilometres from Palakkad town (Palakkad - Cherpulassery route).
  • Mathur Kooth Festival (Kalikavil Bhagawathy Temple, Mathur Padinjharethara, Mathur, Palakkad ) Celebrates Kooth Festival in April - May , in every year.
  • Pariyanempatta Bhagavathi Temple, Kattukulam, Mangalamkunnu, Palakkad
  • Pappady Sreekrishna Temple- Ashtami Rohini and Kumbabhishekam in every year.
  • Athaniparambu Chandhana Bhagavati Vela
  • Harvest festival: The festival of harvest celebrated around October every year at the C.S.I Churches of Palakkad. [3]
  • Mulayankavu Bhagavathi Temple - kalavela, pooram

[edit] Educational Institutions in Palakkad

[edit] See also

[edit] Satellite image of the town

Punchapadam Tattamangalam

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01. 
  2. ^ "Assembly Constituencies - Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies". Kerala. Election Commission of India. http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/background/S11/KL_Dist_PC_AC.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-19. 

Vadakkanthara

[edit] External links

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