Kottarakkara

Kottarakkara Kottarakkara
town

Kottarakkara (IAST: Koṭṭārakkara) is a town located in Kollam District (formerly known as Quilon), in Kerala state, India. It is 72 km to the north of the State Capital, Thiruvananthapuram, on the Main Central Road and 78 km to the south of Kottayam. The town lies 25 km to the east of the District headquarters city of Kollam and 15 km to the west of Punalur on National Highway 208/220.

History

For many centuries, the city served as a place of residence for kings, hence the name "Kottarakara", which means "the land of the palaces". (Kottaram means palace and Kara means land) The "Elayidath Swaroopam", a branch of the Travancore Royal family, was the last ruling family of the area. The last queen of the dynasty was defeated by King Marthanda Varma (a distant cousin of hers), in the 18th century and she fled to Cochin to seekt asylum with her allies, the Dutch. They pensioned her with 2 rupees and 5 annas. Later, during Tipu Sultan's invasion of Malabar, a Royal family from North Malabar was settled in Kottarakara by Dharma Raja. This family line became extinct in the mid 19th century.

Demographics & Public Facilities

The Kottarakkara Palace

Kottarakkara Sree Mahaganapathi Kshethram

The region is primarily agrarian, although it has recently acquired many urban characteristics. In the past, commercial activities were centered around two junctions - the Pulamon Junction and the Market Junction. The entire stretch between the two Junctions and the surrounding areas have now developed into active commercial hubs. The town has grown in population as well. The Kottarakara Taluk has a population of 5.77 lakhs as per the 2001 census.

There are many educational institutions, including St.Gregorius College affiliated to the Kerala University and the "Engineering College", which is run by the IHRD (a State Government organisation) and is affiliated with the Cochin University of Science and Technology. The College offers Bachelor of Technology degree courses in Electronics & Communication as well as Computer Science & Engineering, with an annual enrollment of 60 students in each stream. The R V Training College at Valakom run by the R.Balakrishna Pillai Trust offers degree course in Teacher Education. The Divine Public School, Puthoor, Affiliated to the CBSE Delhi, offers admission from Play class to Plus Two. Web: www.divinepublicschool.comThe town is well-connected, with a good network of roads and frequent bus services. The Kollam - Chennai railway passes through Kottarakara and there is a railway station. The railway line is being converted into broad gauge under project Unigauge.

Governance

Kottarakara, like most areas in India, is in the jurisdictions of several different levels of government, such as the three tiers of Panchayat raj (Village, Block and District), and, of course, the state and central governments. The Kottarakara Block consists of Kottarakara Village Panchayat and five other Panchayats. Revenue and land administration have the village as the basic unit. The Kottarakara Taluk consists of 27 villages. The Taluk is part of the Kollam Revenue Sub-Division, which is conterminous with the Kollam District.

The State Institute of Rural Development, which trains the senior officers of the Rural Development Department, is in Kottarakara. One of the three Extension Training Centres in the State is also here. The ETC conducts training programmes for Village Extension Officers. There are also training programmes for self-employment in agriculture. Other important government institutions include the Irrigation Chief Engineer's (Kallada) Office, Electricity Superintending Engineer's Office, Transport Corporation's District Office, the District Treasury, the District Education Office, the Taluk office, Taluk supply office, Block Development Office and the Taluk hospital.

Politics

Kottarakara Assembly Constituency is part of the Mavelikkara (Lok Sabha constituency). This assembly seat was held by the Kerala Congress Party leader R. Balakrishna Pillai from 1960 until his defeat in May, 2006. He holds the record for the highest margin of victory for any candidate to the Kerala Assembly. He has been the sponsor for much of the development in the area. Other prominent local political leaders include E. Chandrasekharan Nair (a former CPI minister & Author),the late D. Damodaran Potti and Aisha PottiM.L.A.

Famous People from Kottarakkara

Kathakali

• Kottarakkara Thampuran (the King of Kottarakkara in the sixteenth century) was the father of the classical art form of Kathakali. This form of dance drama (which was originally based on stories from the Ramayana and was called Ramanattam), was developed by him to complement Krishnanattam, which had its origin under the Zamorins of Kozhikode.

• Malayalam novelists Lalithambika Antharjanam,Kakkanadan and writer Johnson Eyeroor were born here.

• The late KP Kottarakkara- Kaippallil kuttan Pillai known as KP Kottarakkara was a film story writer, director, producer and actor. KP Kottarakkara played a serious part as a freedom fighter and was confined by the British government. Pasamalar written by him was the first Indian movie which was remade into eight different languages. He had written stories for around 87 movies including malayalam, telugu, kannada, tamil and had produced 59 movies in these languages.Celebrites like , Dilip Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Gurudath, MGR, MT Ramarao, Sivaji Ganeshan, Rajkumar, Nageshwararao, Kamalhassan, Vijayakanth, Prabhu, Vaheed Rehman, Rekha, Sathyan, Prem Naseer, Madhu etc had done excellent in his movies.

• The late Kottarakara Sreedharan Nair was one of India's best known actors. He portrayed many historical heroes such as Pazhassi Raja, Velu Thampi Dalawa and Kunhali Marakkar. He will also be remembered for his roles in Chemmeen and Ara Nazhika Neram. His son 'Saikumar' and daughter Sobha are Malayalam film actors. His grandson Vinumohan is also a film actor.

• Veteran actor "Bharat" Murali (1954-2009), who was the Chairman of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy, hails from Kudavettoor near Kottarakara.

• K. B. Ganesh Kumar, MLA, former Minister and the son of R. Balakrishna Pillai, is also a renowned actor. Other MLAs hailing from Kottarakara are Aisha Potti, B.Raghavan and P.C. Vishnunath.

• DILEEP THOMAS ,President and CEO of "THE MEDAYIL FOUNDATION" is living here in Chengamanadu near Kottarakara.THE MEDAYIL FOUNDATION located in Chengamanadu,near Kottarakara is the charitable family trust under the administration of "MEDAYIL" family of chengamandu.THE MEDAYIL FOUNDATION is founded by Late Er.M.Y. THOMAS of MEDAYIL FAMILY in the year 1997.DILEEP THOMAS is the founder of "thinkCADD Technology Corporation" which is an Engineering HUB designed for delivering “The MOST ACCELERATED DESIGN TECHNOLOGIES” and to host a platform for advanced engineering Research & Development to the Engineering community. Visit the website : www.thinkcadd.com

Places of Worship

Kottarakkara is place of pilgrimage as the seat of the famous Ganapati Temple. It is believed that the idol was sculptured by Perumthachan from the root of the jack tree. This temple is famous for its Unniappom. The temple festival is the largest in Kottarakara. The Mahadeva temple is almost equally famous. The great temples in the vicinity include the Bhagavathy temples at Pattazhy, Poovattoor and Mannadi and the Mahadeva Temple at Vettikavala, Vadakkathil Sree Bhuvaneshwari Devi Kshethram(Policodu) and the Major Thrimurthi Temple at Thevalappuram, Puthoor. .

There are also many churches in the area which is major center for the Malankara orthodox churches, marthoma churches and malankara catholics. The most important churches are Kizhakketheruvu orthodox valiyappalli, Kottapuram orthodox church nad marthoma valiyappalli. roots of the Pentecostal movement in Kerala are here. Some of the most prominent Christian families from here are MEDAYIL FAMILY.

Kottarakara is also the home town of THE MEDAYIL FOUNDATION.

Kottarakkara also has a large number of Muslims with the main mosque at the Market Junction.

College of Engineering Kottarakkara

College of Engineering , Kottarakkara has been the leading technical institution in Kerala since its venture in 2004. Affiliated to CUSAT, CE Kottarakkara offers B.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering, Electronics & Communication Engineering, reflecting the modern technological advancements through its updated syllabi. The institution is approved by AICTE, New Delhi and affiliated to CUSAT. It is under the management of IHRD (Instituteof Human Resources Development),a Kerala Government undertaking. Faculty of international repute belonging to various sciences and engineering streams is engaged in teaching, research and consultancy activities. The Institute is a self - contained beautiful, green residential campus of about 25 acre with all the modern amenities.

See also

• Kollam
• Kottarakkara Sree Maha Ganapathi Kshethram
• Sree Indilayappan Temple, Marayikkodu
• Karunagappally
• Pathanamthitta

College of Engineering , Kottarakara (CEK) is an engineering college established under aegis of Institute of Human Resource Development . IHRD is an autonomous institute established by the Government of Kerala. It has a very large network of educational institutions with more than 50 institutions under it including Engineering Colleges , Applied Science Colleges , Polytechnics and Technical Higher Secondary Schools . About 1000 technical and non technical staff are presently employed in IHRD.To be an academic institution in dynamic equilibrium with its social, ecological and economic environment striving continuously for excellence in education, research and technological service to the nation.

" Our institution is committed to provide high quality technical education that will equip the graduates to solve problems that will benefit the state , the nation and the world"

College conducts the following B Tech courses :

Computer Science & Engineering 60 Seats Electronics & Communication Engineering 60 Seats

''''DIVINE PUBLIC SCHOOL, PUTHOOR, KOTTARAKKARA, CBSE, Affiliated Senior Secondary School, offers admission from PLAY CLASS TO PLUS TWO.

Our Mission Statement: "Aim at encouraging academic excellence, build up self-esteem and to train minds which allow students to think for themselves". Web:www.divinepublicschool.com (Mr.Wales Mathew : Chairman & Managing Director)'''''''

External links

• More detailed information about Kottarakkara
• Kottarakkara City Directory
• college of engineering kottarakkara