Kottayam - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Kottayam is a city in the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, spread over an area of 55.40 km². It is the administrative capital of the Kottayam district

Kottayam district

Kottayam is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala, India. The district has its headquarters at Kottayam town, located at 9.36° N and 76.17° E. According to the 1991 census, it is the first district to achieve highest literacy rate in the whole of India...

. Kottayam (pop. 1,72,878 according to the 2001 census) is located in south-central Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

and is approximately 150 km (93.2 mi) from the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...

.

The town is an important trading center

Trade

Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...

of spices and commercial crops, especially rubber

Rubber

Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...

. Major Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

print media such as Malayala Manorama

Malayala Manorama

Malayala Manorama is a daily news paper, in Malayalam language, published in the state of Kerala, India. It was first published as a weekly on 14 March 1890, and currently has a readership of over 16 million . The Malayalam word "manorama" roughly translates to "entertainer"...

, Deepika and Mangalam are headquartered in the city. Also a pioneering center of modern education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, the city became India's first municipality to achieve 100% literacy in 1989 and the district became the first tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

free district in India on September 28, 2008. The city of Kottayam is also known as "Akshara Nagari (അക്ഷര നഗരി) (City of Alphabets) in honor of its contributions to print media and literature

Literature

Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

. Kottayam is the 7th largest city in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, after Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram

, Ernakulam

Ernakulam

Ernakulam refers to the downtown area or the western part of the mainland of Kochi city in Kerala, India. The city is the most urban part of Kochi and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Ernakulam is called the commercial capital of the state of Kerala and is a main nerve of business in...

, Kozhikode

Kozhikode

Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...

, Thrissur

Thrissur

This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...

, Kollam

Kollam

Kollam , often anglicized as ', is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city lies on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake on the Arabian sea coast and is situated about north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram...

, and Kannur

Kannur

Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...

Etymology

It is believed that the name "Kottayam" is derrived from the [Malayalam / Tamil] words "kotta" (fort) and "akam" (inside), and can be roughly translated as "the interior of the fort".

History

The Rajas of the independent little kingdom of Thekkumkoor

ThekkumKoor

Thekkumkoor , also transliterated Thekkumkur or Thekkumcore, was a small independent kingdom that existed before 1749 in the southern part of Kerala in India and was ruled by a royal household known as Thekkumkoor Kovilakam, from a place called Thaliyilkotta near Thazhathangadi in the present day...

ruled Kottayam from Thazhathangady till the mid-18th century. Later, Marthanda Varma

Marthanda Varma

Marthanda Varma , was the founder of the Indian Hindu feudal kingdom of Travancore from Venad SwaroopamHe ruled from 1729 till his death in 1758, having succeeded his maternal uncle Dharma Raja.King Marthanda Varma is usually credited as the "founder of Kingdom of Travancore" from...

, who was king of Travancore

Travancore

Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...

annexed Thekkumcore and the surrounding areas of Kottayam to the Kingdom of Travancore. During the British rule of India, Kottayam continued to be ruled under the Princely State of Travancore.

Earlier, the state of Travancore consisted of two revenue divisions viz., the southern and northern divisions, under the administrative control of a 'Diwan Peshkar' for each. Later in
1868 two more divisions Quilon (Kollam

Kollam

) and Kottayam were constituted. A fifth division, Devikulam existed for a short period but was then added to Kottayam. At the time of the integration of the State of Travancore and Cochin in 1949, these revenue divisions were renamed as districts and the Diwan Peshkars gave way to District Collectors. Thus,in July 1949 Kottayam came into being as a district. Later it became a part of the state of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, and the headquarters of the district

District

Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...

bearing the same name when the state was formed in 1957.

The citizens of Kottayam played an important in the early social struggles in Kerala. In 1891, a protest movement known as the 'Malayali Memorial Agitation', was started in order to seek better representation for Travancoreans,in comparison to ed to outsiders, in the Travancore civil services sector. It is believed to have started in Kottayam. This movement had a major influence on the beginnings of modern political movements of Kerala . Kottayam played a major role during the 'Nivarthana struggle' in the 1930s which aimed at the representation of Hindus of the lower castes

Caste system in India

The Indian caste system is a system of social stratification and social restriction in India in which communities are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups called Jātis....

, Christians and Muslims in the Travancore Legislature. The Vaikom Satyagraha

Vaikom Satyagraha

Vaikom Satyagraha was a satyagraha in Travancore, India against untouchability in Hindu society. The movement was centered at the Shiva temple at Vaikom, near Kottayam.The Satyagraha aimed at securing freedom of movement for all sections of society through the public roads leading to the Sri...

of 1924 against untouchability

Untouchability

Untouchability is the social practice of ostracizing a minority group by segregating them from the mainstream by social custom or legal mandate. The excluded group could be one that did not accept the norms of the excluding group and historically included foreigners, nomadic tribes, law-breakers...

, led by Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

, took place in Vaikom

Vaikom

Vaikom is a taluk and also its capital town, situated in the North-West of Kottayam in Kerala, India. Its western border is the Lake Vembanad, and is crossed by various estuaries of the River Muvattupuzha. It lies between Ernakulam and Kottayam...

near Kottayam. It was the first systematically organized agitation in Kerala against orthodoxy to secure the rights of the depressed classes.

Geography and climate

Kottayam has an average elevation of 3 metres (9 feet) from sea level. Kottayam town is situated in the basin

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

of the Meenachil River

Meenachil River

The Meenachil river flows through the heart of Kottayam district of Kerala state, India. The river, 78 km long, flows through Poonjar, Teekoy, Erattupetta, Palai, Ettumanoor and Kottayam before emptying itself into the Vembanad Lake at Kumarakom, the famous tourist place of Kerala.The...

and in the basin of the Vembanad backwaters which is formed from several streams in the Western Ghats

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...

in Idukki district

Idukki district

Idukki district is one among the 14 districts of Kerala state, India. The district headquarters is located at in Painavu.It is the second least populous district in Kerala, after Wayanad .-Etymology:...

. It flows through Kottayam district and joins Vembanad lake. According to the division of places in Kerala based on altitudes, Kottayam is classified as being a midland area.The general soil type is alluvial

Alluvium

Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...

soil. The vegetation is mainly tropical evergreen and moist deciduous type.

The climate in this District is moderate and pleasant. Kottayam's proximity to the equator

Equator

An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....

results in little seasonal temperature variation, with moderate to high levels of humidity

Humidity

Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...

. Annual temperatures range between 20 to 35 °C (68 to 95 F). From June through September, the south-west monsoon brings in heavy rains as Kottayam lies on the windward

Windward and leeward

Windward is the direction upwind from the point of reference. Leeward is the direction downwind from the point of reference. The side of a ship that is towards the leeward is its lee side. If the vessel is heeling under the pressure of the wind, this will be the "lower side"...

side of the Western Ghats. From October to December, Kottayam receives light rain from the northwest monsoon. The average annual rainfall is 3600 mm.

Kottayam is bordered by Pathanamthitta district

Pathanamthitta district

Pathanamthitta district is the youngest district located in the southern part of the state of Kerala, India. The district headquarters is in Pathanamthitta town. The district is surrounded by Kottayam, Idukki, Alappuzha and Kollam districts. It has a border with the state of Tamil Nadu in the east...

on the south, Alappuzha district

Alappuzha district

Alappuzha is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala in India. It was formed as Alleppey District on August 17, 1957. The name of the district was officially changed to Alappuzha in 1990. The district is a widely known tourist destination, and is well known for its coir factories. Most of...

on the west, Ernakulam district

Ernakulam district

-Economy:Agriculture constitutes the most important segment of the district’s economy and it is the biggest source of employment. Of the geographical 235319 hectares, crops are grown in 0 hectares. Coconut is the principal crop followed by rubber, paddy, and tapioca...

on the north and Idukki district

Idukki district

on the east.

Location in Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&source=hp&ie=UTF8&q=kottayam&fb=1&gl=us&ei=zq2dS_H2AZW2yASW9a2CAg&ved=0CBMQpQY&view=map&geocode=FQ5HkgAdRaGPBA&split=0&hq=&hnear=Kottayam,+Kerala,+India&ll=9.593641,76.58844&spn=0.208529,0.439453&z=12

Transport

Road & Bus

Kottayam lies on the National Highway 220 (NH 220)

National Highway 220 (India)

National Highways 220 is located in India. It connects Kollam in Kerala with Theni in Tamil Nadu. Starting from NH 47 in Kollam it runs northwards and turns east at Kottayam and runs along the northern border of Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary before crossing the border into Tamil Nadu and end at Theni,...

connecting Kollam

Kollam

and Theni

Theni

Theni is a town in the Western Tamil Nadu state of South India. It is the headquarters of Theni District. It is known for the large-scale trading of Cardamom, Cotton, Grapes, chilli and Textiles. It hosts the second largest weekly market in Tamil Nadu and the fourth largest in South India...

.

The NH220 connects Kottayam to the state of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

and the tourist destinations of Thekkady

Thekkady

Thekkady is the location of the Periyar National Park, which is an important tourist attraction in the Kerala state of India.- Overview :...

and Kuttikanam

Peermade

Peermade, also transliterated as Perumade, Peerumed, Peerumade or Peermede, is a hill station in the state of Kerala, India...

, as well as the agricultural towns of Kanjirapally and Mundakayam

Mundakayam

Mundakayam is a small town in Kottayam District of Kerala state, South India. It is the gateway to the high ranges of Kerala, and is at the border of Kottayam and Idukki districts. It is here that the high ranges of south Kerala start. It is one of the most developed towns in Kerala, with rubber...

.

State Highways SH1 or Main Central (MC) road

Main Central Road

The Main Central Road is the arterial State Highway in the Travancore region of Kerala state, India. It is designated as SH 1 by the Kerala Public Works Department.The highway was built by Raja Kesavadas, Dewan of Travancore...

, SH11, SH13, SH14, SH15 and SH32 pass through Kottayam.

The major port city of Kochi

Kochi

-Places:* Kochi, a city in the state of Kerala, India, formerly known as Cochin* Kingdom of Cochin, a former feudal city-state on Malabar Coast, India** Fort Kochi, one of the three main urban components which constitute the present day city of Kochi, Kerala, India...

(70 kilometres (43 mi)) can be reached by the Changanassery-Alappuzha

Alappuzha

Alappuzha , also known as Alleppey, is a town in Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India. As per 2001 census Alleppey is the sixth largest city in Kerala with an urban population of 177,029. Alleppey is situated to the south of Kochi and north of Trivandrum...

road and also via Ettumanoor

Ettumanoor

Ettumanoor is a major town in Kottayam District of Kerala, India, located 11 kilometers north-east of Kottayam town, 65 km from Cochin and 73 km from Cochin International Airport...

and Kumarakom

Kumarakom

Kumarakom is a popular tourism destination located near the city of Kottayam , in Kerala, India, famous for its backwater tourism. It is set in the backdrop of the Vembanad Lake which is the largest freshwater lake in the state of Kerala.-Environment:...

.

Public transport in the town is largely dependent on buses, run by both private operators and the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation

Kerala State Road Transport Corporation

Kerala State Road Transport Corporation is the state-run bus company in Kerala, India. It is one of the oldest state run public bus transport services in India.-History:...

(KSRTC). There are three bus stations serving Kottayam, two of which cater to private buses and one exclusively for KSRTC buses. The bigger of the two private bus stations, is located at Nagampadam, close to the railway station and the other is located in the heart of the town. Besides local bus services for traveling within the town, Kottayam is well-connected to the rest of Kerala through inter-state bus services run by KSRTC. Hired forms of transport include metered taxis and auto-rickshaws.

Railway

Kottayam (KTYM) railway station is situated in the heart of the city and is under the administration of the Southern Railway

Southern Railway Zone (India)

The Southern Railway is the earliest of the 16 zones of the Indian Railways created in independent India. It was created on April 14, 1951 by merging three state railways namely Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway, and the Mysore State Railway. The South Indian Railway...

.

Kottayam lies on the busy rail route between Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram

and Ernakulam

Kochi

and is served by several long distance trains connecting most major cities in the country like New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

, Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

, Bengaluru Kolkata and Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

Air

The nearest airport is Cochin International Airport

Cochin International Airport

Cochin International Airport is an international airport located in Nedumbassery, a suburb on the outskirts of the city of Kochi about northeast of downtown Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. It is the busiest and largest airport in the state of Kerala...

, 90 km to the north. Another airport, Trivandrum International Airport lies 170 km to the south in Thiruvananthapuram.

Ferry & Port

Kottayam Port

Kottayam Port and Container Terminal is the first PPP minor port and Inland Container Depot in Kerala state, situated in Nattakom, on the banks of Kodoor river...

, India's first multi-modal ICD and a minor port using inland water way, is situated at Nattakom (near Kodimatha), on the banks of Kodoor river.

The Kerala State Water Transport Department (KSWTD) operates ferry services through the backwaters in and around Kottayam city. Ferries are a major mode of transport to the town connect to the tourist destination of Kumarakom

Kumarakom

and Alappuzha town,as well as several smaller destinations. There are two major ferry jetties in the city - Town Jetty and Kodimatha Jetty. In recent years, the boat jetty at Kumarakom has acquired international fame as a launch point for the backwater rides on Vembanad lake, which has virtually become a poster image for tourism in Kerala.

Demographics

India census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Kottayam Urban Agglomeration had a population of 1,72,878
, while Kottayam district had a population of 19,52,901. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. It is one of the very few places which witnessed a negative population growth from 1991 to 2001.
Kottayam District is ranked 1st in Literacy with a percentage of 95.9 compared to 90.92% for Kerala State and 65.38% for India (2001 census). It is ranked 10th in population as well as in area among the districts in Kerala. This District has the lowest decadal population growth rates of 6.76% compared to 9.42% for Kerala.

Economy

Kottayam is a major trading center of natural rubber

Rubber

in India. Rubber trees are extensively cultivated in central Kerala,on plantation

Plantation

A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...

s, both large and small especially in vast areas of Kottayam District, . The Rubber Board

Rubber Board

The Rubber Board is a statutory body constituted by the Government of India, under the Rubber Act 1947, for the overall development of the rubber industry in the country.- Rubber Research Institute of India :...

, a body set up by the Government of India for the development of the rubber industry, is located at Kottayam. A number of small and medium sized enterprises in and around the town are engaged in the processing of rubber latex

Latex

Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...

and manufacturing of rubber products. Besides rubber, Kottayam is a trading place of other commercial crops like spices cultivated widely in the surrounding areas. The Plantation Corporation of Kerala also has its headquarters at Kottayam.
Kottayam is also known as a business centre. The stretch of Kottayam–Kumily Road (KK road) that passes through the town is a major shopping centre. Sastri Road, one of the broadest roads in kottayam is also popular for shopping and has outlets of many national and international product brands. Baker Junction and Kanjikuzhy are also considered as commercial and residential hubs of the town. Kottayam district has industries like Hindustan Newsprint Limited, Kottayam Spinning Mills and KSE factory.

Tourism

Tourism in Kerala

Kerala, a state situated on the tropical Malabar Coast of southwestern India, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. Named as one of the ten paradises of the world by the National Geographic Traveler, Kerala is famous especially for its ecotourism initiatives...

is a major contributor to the economy as many tourism related businesses thrive in the town. Kumarakom

Kumarakom

, a popular tourist destination in Kerala, is located 14 km from the town. Wagamon

Wagamon

Vagamon is a hill station located in Kottayam-Idukki border of Idukki district of Kerala, India. It has a cool climate with the temperature between 10-23°C during a summer midday. It is situated 1,100 metre above sea level....

, another tourist destination is located on the borders of the districts of Kottayam and Idukki.

Kottayam is known for religious tourism. St. Alphonsa

Alphonsa Muttathupadathu

Saint Alphonsa Muttathupadathu, F.C.C., or Saint Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception was a Catholic Franciscan Religious Sister who is now honored as a saint, the first person of Indian origin to be canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church and the first canonized saint of the Syro-Malabar...

, the first woman to be canonized as a saint by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India is an East Syrian Rite, Major Archiepiscopal Church in full communion with the Catholic Church. It is one of the 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in the Catholic Church. It is the largest of the Saint Thomas Christian denominations with more than 3.6...

was born and raised in Kottayam.

Proposed Kottayam Municipal Corporation

There is a demand to upgrade Kottayam Municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

to a Municipal Corporation

Municipal corporation

A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...

.

The proposed Kottayam Municipal Corporation comprises:

Kottayam Municipality (villages of Kottayam, Kurichy, Veloor, Muttambalam, Nattakam, Pallam
Pallam
Pallam , is a small village in the Kottayam district of Kerala state, south India. It is near Kottayam town.-Religion:The village has a mix of predominantly Hindu and Christian residents....

, Kumaranalloor
Kumaranalloor
Kumaranalloor is a panchayat in Kottayam taluka, Kerala, India and near Kottayam Town. Kottayam town is 5 km from Kumaranalloor.Kumaranalloor is a village situated in Kottayam District. The village is famous for Kumaranalloor Devi Temple and the annual Trikarthika festival of the...

, Perumbaikad
Perumbaikad
Perumbaikad is a census town in Kottayam district in the Indian state of Kerala.-Demographics: India census, Perumbaikad had a population of 42,984. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Perumbaikad has an average literacy rate of 86%, higher than the national average of 59.5%:...

)
Vijayapuram
Vijayapuram
Vijayapuram is a village and a Mandal in Chittoor district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India.The village is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vijayapuram....

panchayat
Panachikkad
Panachikkad
Panachikkad is a village in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India.Panachikkad is a small village near Chingavanam, almost 10 km away from Kottayam, famous for its temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati...

panchayat
Tiruvarppu panchayat (villages of Tiruvarppu, Chengalam South
Chengalam South
Chengalam South is a village in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India.-Demographics: India census, Chengalam South had a population of 15200 with 7506 males and 7694 females....

)
Aymanam
Aymanam
Aymanam is a village in Kottayam District, Kerala, India, the setting of Arundhati Roy's 1997 novel The God of Small Things.-Overview:Ay in the Tamil language means 'five' and Vanam in Sanskrit means 'forests': Ayvanam, or Aymanam, is the land of five forests...

panchayat (villages of Aymanam, Kudamaloor)
Arpookara
Arpookara
Arpookara is a village in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India.The Kottayam Medical College is situated in Arpookara.The main attraction is the backwaters in Arpookara.- Demographics :...

panchayat

Total Area: Around 180 km²

Total Population (1991 Census): 308,958

Culture, literature and sports

Kottayam has a place of honor on the cultural map of Kerala

Culture of Kerala

The culture of Kerala is a synthesis of Dravidian and Aryan cultures, developed and mixed for centuries, under influences from other parts of India and abroad. It is defined by its antiquity and the organic continuity sustained by the Malayali people. Modern Kerala society took shape owing to...

. The culture of Kottayam is influenced mainly by the large presence of the Syrian Christian community. The cuisine of Kottayam is the same as rest of Kerala, but with a distinct Syrian Christian influence seen in the use of cocunut and spices, as well as beef, pork and sea food Keralite Cuisine.

Margamkali and Arjuna Nritham are popular dance forms. Margamkali and martial arts like Parichamuttukali, are popular among the Syrian Christian community. It is performed by men and women separately. In the past, it was performed during Syrian Christian weddings. Arjuna Nritham, also known as Mayilpeeli Thookkam is a popular dance form performed by men. Besides these, other South Indian dance forms like Bharatanatyam

Bharatanatyam

Bharata Natyam or Chadhir Attam, is a classical dance form from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, practiced predominantly in modern times by women. The dance is usually accompanied by classical Carnatic music...

, Mohiniyattom, and Kuchipudi

Kuchipudi

Kuchipudi is a Classical Indian dance form Andhra Pradesh, India. It is also popular all over South India. Kuchipudi is the name of a village in the Divi Taluka of Krishna district that borders the Bay of Bengal and with resident Brahmins practicing this traditional dance form, it acquired the...

and classical Carnatic music

Carnatic music

Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...

are also practiced by a large number of young people.

The Public Library in Kottayam is located at Sastri Road, which is a frequent happening place with art exhibitions.

Kottayam has produced many well-known writers, journalists and artists. Muttathu Varkey

Muttathu Varkey

Muttathu Varkey was a Malayalam novelist, short story writer, and poet from Kerala state, South India.-Early life and career:...

, a novelist and Pala Narayanan Nair

Pala Narayanan Nair

Mahakavi Pala Narayanan Nair was an Indian poet. His most celebrated work 'Keralam Valarunnu', penned in 1953 in ten volumes, absorbs the cultural vibrancy, spirit and hope of the masses who were then on the threshold of imbibing the concept of a unified state.The masterpiece earned him the...

, a poet, both have their footing in Kottayam. Kottayam Pushpanath

Kottayam Pushpanath

Pushpanathan Pillai, better known by the pseudonym Kottayam Pushpanath , is a prolific Malayali author most noted for his detective novels in Malayalam language. He has also written mainstream novels, science fiction, and horror fiction, and translated Bram Stoker's Dracula into Malayalam.Most of...

, a writer of crime thrillers lives in Kottayam. The famous Indian-English novelist Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy is an Indian novelist. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and has also written two screenplays and several collections of essays...

is a native of Kottayam and her semi-autobiographical Booker prize winning novel, The God of Small Things

The God of Small Things

The God of Small Things is the debut novel of Indian author Arundhati Roy. It is a story about the childhood experiences of fraternal twins whose lives are destroyed by the "Love Laws" that lay down "who should be loved, and how. And how much." The book is a description of how the small things in...

contains her childhood experiences in Aymanam

Aymanam

Aymanam is a village in Kottayam District, Kerala, India, the setting of Arundhati Roy's 1997 novel The God of Small Things.-Overview:Ay in the Tamil language means 'five' and Vanam in Sanskrit means 'forests': Ayvanam, or Aymanam, is the land of five forests...

, Kottayam.

Cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

, basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

and football are among the most popular sports in Kottayam. Kottayam is also famous for athletics, as the place has produced several athletes who represented India in various international tournaments.Nehru stadium, which is Kottayam's main stadium is located at the entrance of the town. A number of popular basketball tournaments including the Marian Trophy, Girideepam Trophy, Lourdes Trophy and Virginia Memorial Tournament are conducted every year.

A municipal park is located by Sastri road. There are also restaurants that cater to Kerala, Tamil and Northern cuisines. Kumarakom

Kumarakom

, the major backwater tourism destination on the outskirts of the city has several luxury hotels and resorts including ones from reputed hotel chains like Taj, Zuri & Casino.

There are several movie halls which screen Malayalam, English, Tamil and Hindi movies. Kottayam have 5 theaters where movies are released periodically. They are Abhilash, Anupama, Anaswara, Anand and Asha. Most of these theaters lie close to the K.S.R.T.C bus stand apart from Anaswara which is closer towards Thirunakkara bus stand (Private Bus Stand).Dhanya and Remya are the two newly built theatres which started working from 2011 onwards.

Religious institutions

Reflecting the religious constitution of the population, a large number of Hindu temples and Christian churches dot the townscape. Some of them are the Thirunakkara Mahadeva temple & Kumaranalloor Devi temple(5 KM towards North Direction) two churches known as Valiya Palli and Manarcad Palli (Manarcad church

Manarcad church

Manarcad Marthamariam Cathedral , is a Jacobite Syrian Christian Church located about 10 km from the town of Kottayam in Kerala, India and a destination for people on annual pilgrimages seeking the blessings of the Virgin Mary...

) and the Thazhathangadi Juma Masjid.

Thazhathangady Juma Masjid

Thazhathangady Juma Masjid

Thazhathangady Juma Masjid is a mosque situated in Thazhathangady, one of the Heritage Zones of Kerala, India, near the town of Kottayam. It is one of the oldest mosques in India and is more than 1000 years old. It is famous for its richness of architecture, wood carvings and the beauty...

, situated in the banks of river Meenachil

Meenachil

Meenachil is the name of the north-eastern region of Kottayam district in Kerala, south India. The name originates from Meenakshi the Dravidian goddess. Palai is the main town in Meenachil. The arterial river of the district is also named Meenachil...

,in Kummanam

Kummanam

Kummanam is a village that lies on either side of River Meenachil. Administratively it is in Thiruvarpu and Aymanam Gramapanchayat of Kottayam district in Kerala State, India. Capital town of Kottayam District is 4 km east from here. A bridge named Thazhathangadi palam connects either areas...

, is one of the oldest mosques in India and is more than 1000 years old, famous for its architectural beauty, and richness in wood carvings. This mosque was constructed by the followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad

Muhammad

Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

during one of their first voyages to Kerala.

Thirunakkara

Thirunakkara

Thirunakkara is the name of an area of Kottayam town in Kerala, India.The place is a hill known as "Nakkara Kunnu" in the regional language Malayalam.There is a Hindu temple located on the hill and the hill is considered to be a Sacred hill by Hindus hence the name "Thiru" + "Nakkara" meaning...

Mahadeva temple, at the heart of the town, is a Shiva

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

temple built in the Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

style of temple architecture, with interior murals depicting themes from the Hindu epics

Epic poetry

An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...

. It was built at the beginning of the 16th century by the then Raja of Thekkumkur. The annual temple festival that culminates in a ceremony called the Aaraattu

Aaraattu

Arattu is a part of the rituals of the festivals of most of the major temples of Kerala, India. In this ritual, the priest takes the Deity form of the god with him and takes a bath in Holy Water. This is mainly carried out at the end of the Festival of the temple....

, attracts large number of devotees. The other famous temples include the Ettumanoor

Ettumanoor

Ettumanoor is a major town in Kottayam District of Kerala, India, located 11 kilometers north-east of Kottayam town, 65 km from Cochin and 73 km from Cochin International Airport...

and Vaikom

Vaikom

temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswathi at Panachikkad

Panachikkad

Panachikkad is a village in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India.Panachikkad is a small village near Chingavanam, almost 10 km away from Kottayam, famous for its temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati...

(also known as Dakshina-Mookaambika). All these temples are rich in lore and festivities and attract a large number of pilgrims from all over the country. Kumaranalloor Devi temple, located near the banks of Meenachil River is famous for its cultural heritage. The sreekovil is beautifully illustrated with Mural Paintings. Karthika, the birth star of Devi is celebrated in the ninth day of the 10 Day long temple festival attracts lot of pilgrims from all over the country. Kumaranallor and nearby place Kudamaloor is also famous in the name of artists. Great Kathakali artists like Kudamaloor Karunakaran Nair, Kuroor Vasudevan Nampoothiry (Vesham), Mathoor Govindankutty, Kuroor Cheriya Vasudevan Nampoothiry (Chenda), famous flute maestro Kudamaloor Janardhanan etc to name a few.

Kottayam is a major center for Syrian Christians in Kerala. St. Mary's Church, the Valia Palli (the Big Church) was built in 1550 by Knanaya

Knanaya

The Knanaya also known as Q'nanaya, Q'nai, Kanai, or Thekkumbagar, are endogamous Jews who settled in Kerala, India. Their origins are unclear and are hotly disputed by academic scholars...

Syrian Christians who immigrated from West Asia,and is considered the first Christian church in Kottayam town. This church is famous for its two Persian crosses made of granite. There are rare antique carvings and mural paintings behind the main altar and on the ceiling of the church. Another St. Mary's Church known as Cheria Palli (the Little Church), belonging to the Malankara Orthodox Church was built in 1579 by the Raja of Thekkumkur for his Christian subjects. These churches feature temple architectural influences. The interior murals, painted using vegetable dyes, depict Biblical themes.

St. George's Edacatt church is also an ancient church, established in 1822. It belongs to the Knanaya Catholic Archdiocese. This was the Catholic Cathedral of Kottayam from 1887 to 1896 and from 1911 to 1944. This church houses the mortal remains of the Servant of God Mar Mathew Makil and is a pilgrimage centre.

However, the most famous Christian church in the district of Kottayam is St. Mary's Cathedral in Manarcad (Manarkad Palli). It is known for its celebration of the ancient practice of the 8 Day Lent and the Feast of Virgin Mary's Birth between September 1 and 8 every year. During the days of the lent, hundreds of thousands of people from the far corners of the world reach Manarcad to seek the blessings of Virgin Mary. Manarcad cathedral is one of the most important churches among the ancient churches of Malankara. It has stone inscriptions which were found to be memorial stones from tombs set up in 910 A.D. and 920 A.D. and this indicates that the church is almost a 1000 years old.

The Syro-Malabar

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

rite of the Catholic Church has an archeparchy based in Kottayam. Some of the important Catholic churches in Kottayam include Christ the King Cathedral of Kottayam Archdiocese, Lourdes Forane Church, Good Shepherd Church and Vimalagiri Cathedral. Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

visited Kottayam, during his visit to India in 1986. In Kottayam he announced the beatification

Beatification

Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...

of Father Kuriakose of Chavara and Sister Alphonsa

Alphonsa Muttathupadathu

, who hail from Kottayam district. The mortal remains of Saint Alphonsa

Alphonsa Muttathupadathu

, who was elevated to sainthood in 12 October 2008, are kept in a chapel next to St. Mary's Church, Bharananganam. It is a popular Christian pilgrimage center.

Media

Kottayam is considered as the nerve center of Malayalam literature

Malayalam literature

The term Malayalam literature refers to Literature written in Malayalam language. Malayalam is the language spoken by around 35 million people, mainly the inhabitants of the state of Kerala and the union territory of Lakshadweep Islands in India. Malayalam is a Dravidian language and thus has close...

and publishing media. Unnuneeli Sandesam, a beautiful and a famous work of poetry, is supposed to have been written by one of the Rajas of Vadakkumkur. In 1821, Benjamin Bailey

Benjamin Bailey (missionary)

Benjamin Bailey was a British missionary in Kerala for 34 years. He finally left Travancore in 1850. He was ordained 1815 and moved to Kerala in 1816 where he founded a mission station in Kottayam, and in 1821 established a printing press...

, a British missionary, established C.M.S. Press, the first printing press in Kerala, in Kottayam. The town has been in the forefront of newspaper and book publishing in the state ever since.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Malayalam literature was enriched by the works of Christian missionaries. Varthamana Pusthakam (1778), written by Parammekkal Thoma Kathanar on a visit to Rome, is the first travelogue

Travel literature

Travel literature is travel writing of literary value. Travel literature typically records the experiences of an author touring a place for the pleasure of travel. An individual work is sometimes called a travelogue or itinerary. Travel literature may be cross-cultural or transnational in focus, or...

in Malayalam. The first Malayalam English dictionary and Malayalam dictionary were published in Kottayam in the years 1846 and 1865 respectively. The first autobiography in Malayalam by Vaikom Pachu Moothathu was published in Kottayam in 1870. The first Malayalam Bible was also published in Kottayam.

Jnananikshepam was the first newspaper published by the natives of Kerala, and it was brought out from CMS press at Kottayam in 1848. Nasrani Deepika was started in 1887 by the Carmelities of Mary Immaculate (CMI) missionaries at Mannanam near Kottayam. The newspaper still continues to be published under the name Deepika

Deepika

Deepika, a Malayalam language newspaper, is one of the oldest newspapers published in India. Started in 1887, it is the oldest Malayalam newspaper now in circulation. Deepika publishes editions from Kottayam, Kochi, Kannur, Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. It was controlled by the Syro...

and is a leading Malayalam daily. Malayala Manorama

Malayala Manorama

, India's largest circulating regional daily, was founded here by K.C. Mammen Mapila in 1890. The part played by newspapers published from Kottayam, like Malayala Manorama

Malayala Manorama

, Deepika

Deepika

and Bhashaposhini

Bhashaposhini

Bhashaposhini is an Indian monthly magazine. It is one of the oldest Malayalam literary review magazines.Bhashaposhini was first published in 1892. After a long break, this publication has been revived by the Malayala Manorama group of Publications...

, a literary magazine from Malayala Manorama Group in the cultural and literary development of Kerala is immense.

Today, six major Malayalam newspapers – Malayala Manorama

Malayala Manorama

, Mathrubhoomi, Deshabhimani, Deepika

Deepika

, Madhyamam

Madhyamam

Madhyamam is a Malayalam daily newspaper published from Kerala, India, since 1987.. It was founded in 1987 by the initiatives of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. It has 10 editions in India and its Gulf edition Gulf Madhyamam has 9 in the Middle East...

and Mangalam

Mangalam

Mangalam Publications Private Limited, is a publishing company in Kottayam, Kerala in India. It publishes daily newspaper and weekly magazines such as Mangalam Weekly and Cinema Mangalam in Malayalam language.- History :...

– and around thirty periodicals are published from Kottayam. Kottayam is also home to several book publishers in Malayalam such as D. C. Books

D. C. Books

DC Books is the largest publisher in Kerala, the leading publisher of books in Malayalam, and one of the top ten publishers in India. It also operates one of the largest book store chains in India, with a network of over 30 bookshops, and over 50 agencies in Kerala....

, Labour India Publications and Current Books. Almost 70 percent of books published in Kerala are from Kottayam. In 1945, a group of writers set up Sahithya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Sangam, which stands for 'Literary Workers' Co-operative Society' in Malayalam. It was the first co-operative enterprise of writers, novelists and poets.

Education and Research

The Orthodox Pazhaya Seminary

Orthodox Pazhaya Seminary

The Orthodox Pazhaya Seminary is a seminary of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. It was founded in 1815 by the priest-monk Ittoop Ramban to serve the then-unified Malankara Syrian Church. It was the first Syriac Orthodox school of theology in Asia....

of the Malankara Orthodox Church was the first institution to start English education in Southern India. C.M.S High School, (now Church Missionary Society College High School), was founded by the British missionary, Benjamin Bailey of the Church Mission Society

Church Mission Society

The Church Mission Society, also known as the Church Missionary Society, is a group of evangelistic societies working with the Anglican Communion and Protestant Christians around the world...

of London. C.M.S College, the first college in Kerala, was started in Kottayam in 1817 by the Church Missionary Society. The Baker Memorial Girls High School

Baker Memorial Girls High School

Baker Memorial Girls High School, Kottayam is one of the oldest girls schools in India....

in Kottayam, founded by Amalia Dorothea Baker in 1820, is one of the oldest girls' schools in India.

Mahatma Gandhi University

Mahatma Gandhi University

Mahatma Gandhi University, also known as M G University, was established on 2 October 1983 in Kottayam. The University Grants Commission of India does not believe that the names of Indian universities should be unique, so another UGC-recognized government-run Mahatma Gandhi University was...

, one of six universities in Kerala, is located at Kottayam. Medical College, Kottayam

Medical College, Kottayam

Government Medical College, Kottayam is one of prominent government medical colleges in Kerala, India. The campus is located about 8 kilometres north of Kottayam in central Kerala.-History:...

is located about 10 km from the town. There are a number of Arts & Science Colleges, including C.M.S. College Kottayam,K.G.College pampady, BCM College etc. There are government engineering colleges, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam,Kidangoor engineering college are some near the town, self financed engineering colleges are also there in kottayam such as St.Joseph's College of Engineering & Technology,Palai. Amal Jyothi College of Engineering,Kanjirappally. Saintgits college of engineering and technology, Mangalam college of engineering and technology, are some of the main colleges in the district. Polytechnic colleges such as Model Polytechnic College,Mattakkara, Govt.Polytechnic College,Nattakom and several Nursing schools/Colleges are located in and around the town.

Other institutes include the Centre for rural management

Centre for rural management

The Centre for Rural Management is an autonomous multifaceted research organisation located at Perumpaikadu village, Kottayam, Kerala, India. Established in 1990 under the charitable societies act, the centre has been concentrating on research, project evaluation, training, consultancy and social...

(CRM), Kottayam (a leading autonomous research organizations for rural development), Central Research Institute for Homoeopathy, KR Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts, Rubber Research Institute of India, proposed Indian Institute of Information Technology and the proposed Indian Institute of Mass Communication

Indian Institute of Mass Communication

The Indian Institute of Mass Communication is India's premier media school funded and promoted by the Government of India. IIMC is an autonomous society under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The institution was established on August 17, 1965 with support from UNESCO.-The...

Hospitals and health care

Apart from the Medical College, there is one District Hospital and one District T.B. Centre.
There is also one Children's Hospital, four Taluk Hospitals, six Community Health Centres, 11 Block Health Centres, 51 Primary Health Centres and seven Government Hospitals under the Health Department. Most of the modern treatment facilities are available both in the government and private sectors. A disease surveillance programme has been undertaken in the district.

Religion

Various sections of Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

, Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

and Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

co-exist harmoniously. The Nairs, Namboothiris, Ezhavas, Viswakarmas and the Scheduled Class & Tribes constitute the major sections of the Hindu religion. Kottayam is the headquarters of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.

St. Alphonsa, the first saint of India hails from Kottayam. She born on 19 August 1910 at Kudamaloor and died on 28 July 1946 at Bharananganam. St Mary's church Kudamaloor where she was baptized and the church of Bharananganam where she is buried are pilgrim centers of large interest among the Catholics.

Politics

The Kottayam assembly constituency is part of the Kottayam (Lok Sabha constituency)

Kottayam (Lok Sabha constituency)

-Assembly segments:Kottayam Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments:piravom/-/pala#Kottayam#Ettumanoor#Puthuppally#Kaduthuruthy#Vaikom #Palai#Piravom-Members of Parliament:*1952: C. P. Matthew, Indian National Congress...

.

The district has 09 Assembly constituencies - Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Ettumanoor, Kaduthuruthy, Kanjirappally, Puthuppally, Poonjar and Vaikom. The only Parliamentary constituency with in the district is Kottayam. Kanjirapplly and Poonjar Assembly constituencies are included in Pathanamthitta Parliamentary constituency and Changanassery included in Mavelikkara Parliamentary constituency.

Administratively, Kottayam district consists of two Revenue divisions - Kottayam and Pala - each under the control of a Revenue Divisional Officer. There are five taluks -Kottayam, Changanassery, Vaikom

Vaikom

, Meenachil

Meenachil

and Kanjirappally

Kanjirappally

Kanjirappally is a taluk and a town in Kottayam district, in the state of Kerala, India. Rubber plantations are a major source of income for the local population. The place has a large population of Syrian Catholic Christians....

External links

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