Pachalam
| Pachalam | |
|---|---|
| neighbourhood | |
  Pachalam | |
| Coordinates: 10°0′3″N 76°16′47″E / 10.00083°N 76.27972°ECoordinates: 10°0′3″N 76°16′47″E / 10.00083°N 76.27972°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Kerala |
| District | Ernakulam |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Malayalam, English |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Vehicle registration | KL- |
| Nearest city | Cochin |
Pachalam is a place located near the city of Cochin, Kerala in India.
There is a story how the name "Pachalam" came to be. In the 16th century there was Portuguese Viceroy D. Francisco de Almeida who camped in this area. "Thavalam" is the Malayalam word for camp. So the word "Franciso thavalam" was shortened to "Pachalam".
It is a thickly populated area with many schools, shops, churches and hospitals. Lourde's Hospital, one of the Cochin city's major hospitals, is situated here. The Mount Carmel Church is situated here. It is home for more than 3,000 Christian families. There is a temple situated in Pachalam called Thachapuzha Devi. The place is divided by a railway line passing through it and the nearest link to cross over is the Pachalam gate. The erstwhile rail line of Kochi Raja to starting from The High Court passes through the place though the lane is not used now. A major artery of the city the S.R.M road passes through the place.
Some famous people in and around are:
- Bharath P.J. Antony, an actor, was born in Pachalam. There is a ground and a road named after him.
- K.P Issac of Issac group, owner of Sarit Savita Sangeetha Theatre in Banerji Road, stays in S.R.M road near Pachalam
The name Pachalam became quite famous after the humorous character named "Pachalam Bhasi" played by the actor Jagathy Sreekumar in the Malayalam movie Udayanannu Thaaram starring Mohanlal
A Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) study centre is located in Pachalam.[1]