Cherpulachery

Cherpulassery or Cherplassery/Cherpalchery is a small and beautiful small town in Palakkad district of Kerala state, south India. It is in Ottapalam Taluk, known for its eminent and prolific contributions to the world of culture. Geographically, it is a tri-junction of roads converging from three towns -- Ottapalam, Pattambi and Perinthalmanna. A couple of kilometres north to the place, at Kacherikkunnu, the semi-hilly road also branches off eastwards to the district headquarter town of Palakkad.

Cherpulassery has a known government school, the foundation for which was laid by Mahatma Gandhi. It has also a couple of leading hospitals in the locality.

The heart of Cherpulassery typically bustles with business and hotels, but the place is better known for its vintage temples (Ayyappan Kavu, Puthanalkkal Bhagavathy shrine and the Shiva Kshetram) and as the home of several Kathakali and traditional Kerala percussionists with expertise in playing instruments like the chenda, maddalam and the edakka.

Prominent among today's artistes hailing from Cherpulassery are Kathakali artiste Sadanam Krishnankutty and Cherpulassery Sivan, a drummer having specialised in maddalam.

Cherpulassery has made seminal contributions to the traditional chenda percussion concert called thayambaka through its late brothers -- Alipparambu Kesava Poduval, Krishna Poduval and K.P. Sivarama Poduval. Another late artiste from the place is Kathakali musician Kalamandalam Ramankutty Varrier. The place, in the earlier days, also boasted of Carnatic music artistes like Puzhikunnathu Sankunni Nair, Madhavan Nair, Kuttikrishnan Nair and Sankaran Nair (all nadaswaram pipers) besides thavil percussionists like Valpparambil Kunhan Nair and Chazhiyattu Appunni Nair. Late novelist T.A. Rajalakshmi also belonged to Cherpulassery; her novel "Oru Vazhiyum Kure Nizhalukalum" went on to win the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award.

The leading artistes among the younger generation from Cherpulassery include Cherpulassery Haridasan (timila), Krishnakumar Poduval (chenda) and his young disciples Jayan and Vijayan (thayambaka). Also promising are Cherpulassery Vijesh, Raju, Sreeju, Sudhi and Hariharakrishnan. The Ayyappan Kavu also hosts the temple art called Ayyappan Thiyyattu performed by a Thiyyadi Nambiar family in the vicinity. Noted art organiser, K.B. Raj Anand, a key figure in the cultural forum called Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair Memorial Trust, is a native of Cherpulassery.

Nearest Places
*Thootha - 7 km towards west.
*Pattambi - 17 km towards north west.
*Ottapalam - 17 km towards north.
*Perintalmanna - 17 km towards west.
*Coimbatore - 101 km towards east.
*Karalmanna - 3 km towards west
*Palakkad - 39 km towards east.
*Mangode - 3.5 km towards east.
*Vellinezhi - 6 km South East.
*Kuruvattoor - 3 km East from vellinezhi.
*Shoranur - 18 km towards north west.
*Karumanamkurussi - 4 km towards east [Festivals.] Puthanalkkavu Kalavela (10/02/08) Puthanalkkavu Pakalpooram (11/02/08) Iyappan kavu Ulsavam (especially, ettam vilakku) Mangode kavu Vela - with 30 to 35 caparisoned elephants Thootha pooram - with decorated elephants too A festival is annually conducted in Karumanamkurussi temple

[Banks] Canara bank Cherpalacherry Co-operative Bank State Bank of India State bank of Travancore Punjab National Bank (earlier, Nedungadi Bank) South Malabar Grameen Bank HDFC Bank (earlier, Lord Krishna Bank) Federal Bank

[Schools] C.E.M.C.S Government Higher Secondary School Government Upper Primary School