Palayam / Cantonment

Palayam or Cantonment is a place where lodging is provided for military troops - a barracks or military post. It is located in Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala state in India. It is famous as a place where religions converge and also as a shopping district.

History

A vast stretch of land extending from the cantonment house in the north up to the present A.k.G. Centre in the south, including areas now occupied by the University Stadium and chandrasekharan Nair stadium, was the camping area of the Travancore state army and cavalry. That place, therefore, came to be known as Palayam/Cantonment – meaning military area. The name "Cantonment" is not much in use for that area, though that name is still associated with the police station near the Secretariat, i.e. "Cantonment Police Station" as also the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition, i.e. "Cantonment House". The Army subsequently moved to Pangode. The cavalry, however, remained at Palayam.

Religious Confluence

A church, a mosque and a temple were consecrated side by side, with their compound walls touching each other near the Palayam junction for the personnel of the State Forces and their family members to perform their religious duties. The co-existence of these three centres of worship of different religions is quite unique and is a standing example of the religious tolerance and harmony in the state. Almost during the same period (1850s), the Hanuman temple near the main entrance to the barracks was consecrated for the benefit of the soldiers to offer prayers for physical fitness. Today hundreds of devotees offer prayers to that temple, especially on Thursdays.