- Kottarakkara
Kottarakkara (
IAST : Koṭṭārakkara) is a town located in the district ofKollam , formerly known asQuilon , in theKerala state ofIndia . 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.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 KingMarthanda Varma , a distant cousin of hers, ofTravancore in the 18th century and she fled toCochin and sought asylum with her allies, the Dutch. She was pensioned by them for 2rupee s and 5 "annas". Later duringTipu Sultan 's invasion ofMalabar , a Royal family from NorthMalabar was settled in Kottarakara byDharma Raja and this family became extinct in the mid 19th century.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.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'.Prides
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 withKrishnanattam which had its origin inKottayam .Malayalam novelists Lalithambika Antharjanam andKakkanadan 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 fromOdanavattom 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.Some of the prominent families in kottarakara are Shankarapuri Thekkedathu,Aaviyottu.Places of Worship
Kottarakkara is a famous pilgrim centre for the
Hindu s as the seat of the famous Ganapati Temple. It is believed that the idol was sculptured byPerumthachan from the root of the jack tree. This temple is famous for its 'Unniappom'. There are lots ofchurches 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.Historically related Towns and Villages
A number of smaller towns/villages surround the main town of Kottarakkara, such as
Karikom ,Thrikkannamangal ,Perumkulam ,Pallickal ,Mylom ,Kulakada ,Melila ,Vettikkavala ,Poovattoor ,Puthur ,Oommannur ,Valakom ,Vayakkal ,Plappally ,Panavely ,Sadanandapuram ,Odanavattom ,Chengamanad ,Thalavoor andkalayapuram .Distance from major places in Kerala
*
Thiruvanathapuram -72 km
*Kollam - 27 km
*Pathanamthitta - 31 km
*Pandalam - 30 km
*sabarimala - 101 km ( viaAdoor ,Pathanamthitta )
*Kottayam - 80 km
*Erumeli - 71 km
*Alappuzha - 88 km
*Ernakulam - 150 km
*thekkady - 144 km (viaPathanamthitta )
*Munnar - 221 km
*Thrissur - 213 km
*Palakkad - 269 km
*Kozhikode - 351 km
*kannur - 440 km
*Ayur - 16 km
*Thevannoor - 14 kmNearby places
*
Adoor - 20 km
*Pandalam - 30 km
*Punalur - 18 km
*Pathanapuram - 16 km
*Karunagappalli - 33 km
*Parippally - 25 km
*Mannadi - 11 km
*vendar - 5 kmee also
Internal links
*
Kollam
*Kottarakkara Sree Maha Ganapathi Kshethram
*Karunagappally
*Pathanamthitta External links
* [http://kollam.nic.in/kotta.html Detailed informations about Kottarakkara]
* [http://kottarakara.in/ Detailed Directory of Kottarakara City]References
*
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