Meenkunnam
| Meenkunnam | |
|---|---|
| village | |
|
| |
  Meenkunnam Location in Kerala, India | |
| Coordinates: 9°55′44″N 76°34′36″E / 9.9290111°N 76.5767455°ECoordinates: 9°55′44″N 76°34′36″E / 9.9290111°N 76.5767455°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Kerala |
| District | Ernakulam |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Malayalam, English |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 686672 |
| Telephone code | 91 485 |
| Vehicle registration | KL-17 |
| Nearest city | Muvattupuzha |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Idukki |
Meenkunnam is a village with waterfalls, rocky terrains, small hills, and paddy fields. It is located within Arakuzha and Marady Panchayat, Kerala. The local community heavily rely on farming and forms an agrarian-based economy. Most of the income is generated from rubber and pineapple plantations combined with other cash crops such as black pepper, cocoa bean, banana, and tapioca.
The existence of paddy fields which make up for the scenic beauty of this place is endangered by the actions of some unscrupulous individuals who want to transform paddy fields into lands more suitable for the cultivation of lucrative crops. When compared with the extent of land which was available a decade ago, only 20% of the paddy fields remain today.
Landmarks
A main landmark of Meenkunnam is a copy of Michelangelo's Pietà,which was created by the artist Appukuttan. It is situated in front of St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church founded by Mar Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly.[1][2] This sculpture at Meenkunnam gigantic when compared with the size of the original Pietà (1.74 m x 1.95 m), located at the St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. Owing to its size, the artist could make a compromise on intricate details and created a sculpture lacking realism, ideal beauty, harmony and balance observed in the original sculpture which showcases a balance of Renaissance ideals of classical beauty with naturalism.