Kottarakkara

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Kottarakkara (IAST: Koṭṭārakkara) is a town located in the district of Kollam, formerly known as Quilon, in the Kerala state of India. It is 72 km to the north of the State Capital, Thiruvananthapuram, on the Main Central Road, a State Highway and 25 km to the east of Kollam on the National Highway 208/220.

The Palace
The Palace
Kottarakkara Sree Mahaganapathi Kshethram
Kottarakkara Sree Mahaganapathi Kshethram

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[edit] History

The place has served as a seat of residence for the King. Thus, it is named 'Kottarakara', which literally 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 the King Marthanda Varma, a distant cousin of hers, of Travancore in the 18th century and she fled to Cochin and sought asylum with her allies, the Dutch. She was pensioned by them for 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 and this family became extinct in the mid 19th century.

[edit] Demographics

The region is primarily agrarian, although it has substantially acquired 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 as economically. The Kottarakara Taluk has a population of 5.77 lakhs as per the 2001 census. There are lots of educational institutions including the 'St. Gregorious College' and the 'Engineering College'. The Engineering College is run by IHRD, a State Government organisation and is affiliated to the Cochin University of Science and Technology. The College offers B.Tech degree courses in Electronics & Commnication and in Computer Science & Engineering, with an intake of 60 students in each stream. The town is well-connected, with a good network of roads and frequent bus services to all places. The Kollam - Chennai railway passes through Kottarakara and there is a railway station here. The line is currently closed for upgradation from metre gauge to broad gauge.

[edit] Governance

Kottarakara, like other parts of India, is governed by different levels of government such as the three tiers of 'Panchayatraj', namely Grama/Village, Block and Jilla and, of course, the state and central governments. The Kottarakara Block consists of Kottarakara grama Panchayat and five other Panchayats. The revenue and land administration has 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 coterminous with the Kollam District.

The 'State Institute of Rural Development', which trains the senior officers of the Rural Development Department, is at 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. The important Government institutions include the Irrigation Chief Engineer's (Kallada) office, Electricity Superintending Engineer's office, Transport Corporation's District office, Taluk Office, Taluk Supply Office, Block Development Office and Taluk Hospital.

The Kottarakara Assemby seat has been held by the Kerala Congress leader 'R. Balakrishna Pillai' for decades. He holds the record for the highest margin of victory for any candidate to the Kerala Assembly. He has been responsible for most of the developmental activities here. However he lost the elections in May 2006. Other prominent political leaders from the area are 'E. Chandrasekharan Nair'(the Gandhian Communist,former CPI minister) and the late 'D. Damodaran Potti'.


[edit] Prides

Kathakali
Kathakali

Kottarakara is the place where the classical art form of Kathakali was conceived. It was developed by Kottarakkara Thampuran (the King of Kottarakkara) in competition with Krishnanattom which had its origin in Kozhikode.

Malayalam novelists Lalithambika Antharjanam and Kakkanadan hail from here.

The late Kottarakara Sreedharan Nair was one of India's best movie actors. He gave memorable portrayal of the historical heroes like 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. Veteran actor 'Bharat' Murali, who is now the Chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Akademi, hails from Odanavattom near Kottarakara. 'Ganesh Kumar', MLA and former Minister, son of' R. Balakrishna Pillai' is also a renowned actor. 'K. P. Kottarakkara' (died: 2006) was a leading Malayalam film producer in the seventies.

[edit] Places of Worship

Kottarakkara is a famous pilgrim centre for the Hindus 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'. There are lots of churches in the area, mostly of the 'Malankara Orthodox Church '(St. George Orthodox Valiya Pally Kizheketheruvu) and the 'Marthomma Church'. Kottarakara also has a good number of Muslims with their mosque at market junction.

[edit] Historically related Towns and Villages

A number of smaller towns/villages surround the main town of Kottarakkara, such as Thrikkannamangal, Perumkulam, Pallickal, Mylom, Kulakada, Melila, Vettikkavala, Poovattoor, Puthur, Oommannur, Valakom, Plappally, Panavely, Sadanandapuram, Odanavattom,Chengamanad ,Thalavoor and kalayapuram.

[edit] Distance from major places in Kerala

[edit] Nearby places

[edit] See also

[edit] Internal links

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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