Kottayam district General information
Kottayam is an important commercial centre of Kerala, India, thanks to its strength as a producer of cash crops. Most of India's natural rubber originates from the acres of well-kept plantations of Kottayam, also home to the Rubber Board, One of the country's primary commodities board. Kottayam, among the state's more mountainous districts, provides some of Kerala's finest natural scenes sandwiched as it is between serene palm-fringed backwaters on the west and the Western ghats on the east.
Kottayam came into limelight when it was declared the first fully literate municipal town of India, an event that triggered a mass movement to make Kerala the country’s only state to achieve total literacy. Kottayam is also the birthplace of the state’s publishing industry, and is home to a number of globally renowned newspapers and magazines including Malayala Manorama (India’s largest circulated daily), The Week, Mathrubhumi, and Deepika
K R Narayanan, the former President of India hails from Kottayam district.
History
Kottayam literally means the interior of a fort - Kotta + Akam. Rulers of Munjanad and Thekkumkur had their headquarters at Thazhathangadi near Kottayam town. Marthanda Varma of Travancore attacked Thekkumkur and destroyed the palace and the Thaliyil Fort. The remnants of the palaces and forts are still seen here.
Kottayam has played its role in all the political agitations of modern times. The 'Malayali Memorial ' agitation may be said to have had its origin in Kottayam. The Malayali Memorial sought to secure better representation for educated Travancoreans in the Travancore civil service against persons from outside. The Memorial, which was presented to the Maharaja Sri Moolam Thirunal (1891) was drafted at a public meeting held in the Kottayam Public Library. The event marked the beginning of the modern political movement in the state.
It was in Kottayam that the famous Vaikom Satyagraha (1924-25), an epic struggle for eradication of untouchability, took place. Scheduled castes and other backward classes in Travancore were denied not only entry into temples, but also access to temple roads. Vaikom, the seat of a celebrated Siva Temple, was the venue of the symbolic satyagraha. It is of immense historic significance that national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, C. Rajagopalachari, Acharya Vinoba Bhave and E.V. Ramswami Naykar, associated with this struggle. The ' Nivarthana ' agitation of the early thirties, to secure adequate representation for the non-caste Hindus, Christians and Muslims in the state Legislature, enjoyed considerable support from this district. The district was also a centre of the agitation led by the state Congress for responsible Government in Travancore. The agitation had a triumphant end, with the overthrow of Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, the then Dewan of Travancore.
The present Kottayam district was previously a part of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore. Earlier, the Travancore state consisted of two revenue divisions viz. the southern and northern divisions, under the administrative control of a 'Diwan Peshkar' for each. Later in 1868 two more divisions Quilon (Kollam) and Kottayam were constituted. The fifth division Devikulam came next but only for a short period, which in course of time, was added to Kottayam. At the time of the integration of the state of Travancore and Cochin (Kochi) in 1949, these revenue divisions were renamed as districts and the Diwan Peshkars gave way to District Collectors, paving the way for the birth of the Kottayam District in July 1949
Climate
Kottayam has a tropical climate like that of the rest of Kerala, hence there are no distinct seasons in the area. Humidity is high and rises to about 90% during the rainy season. Kottayam gets rain from two monsoon seasons, the south-west monsoon and the north-east monsoon. The average rainfall is around 1600 mm per year. The south-west monsoon starts from June and ends in August. The north-east monsoon is in October-November. December, January and February are cooler, while March, April and May are hotter. The highest temperature recorded here was 38.5 °C (6 April 1998) and the lowest was 16 °C (13 December 2000).Kottayam district experienced the most intense red rainfall, heavy downpours occurred in 2001 which the rain was colored red, Yellow, green, and black.
Economy
Aside from two public sector companies, Hindustan Newsprint at Velloor and Travancore Cements at Nattakom, industries in the district consist mostly of small and medium scale units. The main activity are in publishing (newspapers and books) and processing of rubber (latex) and manufacturing of rubber based products. Rubber based industries in the district include a unit of MRF Ltd. (Madras Rubber Factory) in Vadavathoor, Midas Rubber Ltd. at Ettumanoor, Intermix factory (Neezhoor) and Rubco at Pampady.
Confined more or less to the Vaikom area of the district, is a thriving coir processing industry, processing coir and making coir products. Consisting of more than twenty co-operatives, it employs around 20,000 people. In the hand loom sector, eight co-operative societies provide employment to 2100 persons. The district has a rich forest wealth with good availability of softwood and other varieties of timber providing raw material for a number of small enterprises in the production of plywood, packing cases, splints, veneers and furniture.
Education
The Old Seminary of the Malankara Orthodox Church at Chungam, Kottayam is the first institution to start English education in South India. C.M.S High School (which later became Church Missionary Society College High School) was founded by the British missionary Rev. Benjamin Bailey. The first college in the state (C.M.S College) was started at Kottayam in 1840. It is also the second college in India established by the British empire.[citation needed] CMS college was previously known as "grammar school".
Kottayam is a major centre of education. Mahatma Gandhi University, one of the six universities in Kerala is located here. Other prominent educational institutions located in Kottayam include C.M.S College, Baselios College, B.C.M College, Government College Nattakom and K.G College. Medical College, Kottayam one of the government medical colleges, is located at Gandhinagar close to Kottayam. Government Dental College, Kottayam, the third and the latest Dental College is also located in Gandhinagar. Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, the government engineering college named after former prime minister of India Mr. Rajiv Gandhi is situated in Pampady. There are also a number of other engineering colleges situated in the district. Theophilus college of Nursing, Kangazha is the first Self-financing Nursing College to be started in the private sector.
Kottayam has a Technical Higher Secondary School and College of Applied Science managed by IHRD located at Puthuppally.
The school Pallikoodam, (which means "holy place of learning" or "school") is situated in Kalathilpady suburb of Kottayam.
The famous school Girideepam("light on the hill")is located here in kottayam
Kottayam town is the first town in India to have achieved 100% literacy (a remarkable feat achieved as early as 1989.
Religion
Like the rest of Kerala, Hindus, Christians and Muslims form a significant part of the population. The Percentage being 48.76%, 45.83%, 5.35% respectively. (Census 2001)
Kottayam, Thiruvalla and Chengannur are the railway stations for pilgrims heading to the Hindu holy site of Sabarimala. During December and January of each year pilgrims from all over India head to Kottayam and its vicinities to start their final journey to the Sabarimala Temple. The temple is located around 110 km from Kottayam, in the district of Pathanamthitta. Panachikad Temple, one of the famous Saraswathy temples in Kerala is located nearly 12 km away from Kottayam. The Siva temple at Thirunakkara is in the heart of Kottayam town. Three festivals are celebrated here in Thulam (October-November), Mithunam (June-July) and Meenam (March-April) of which the last one is the most important. The Aaraattu, conducted on the last day of the festival, is the festival of Kottayam, irrespective of caste and creeds. Ettumanoor Mahadeva Temple is another important temple located near Kottayam town. Thirunakkara Srikrishna temple, Pallipurathukavu Devi Temple are other important temples located in the town. Kodungoor Devi temple, Kavinpuram Devi Temple (Ezhacherry), Chirakadavu Mahadevar temple, Ponkunnam Devi temple, Cherubally Devi temple, Kidangoor Subramanyaswamy Temple and Vaikom Mahadevar temple are other famous Hindu temples near Kottayam.
Kottayam has a rich culture. One of the oldest mosques in Kerala, Thazhathangady Mosque is situated in Kummanam at 3 kilometers from Kottayam town. This mosque is considered to be around 1500 years old and was built by early Arab travelers who landed in Kerala during the time of the Cheraman empire.
Cheria Pally Church
A number of old and sacred Christian churches are also located in Kottayam. Old Seminary, a prominent religious institution belonging to the Malankara Orthodox Church and a seminary for aspiring priests for Syrian Christians in Kerala, is also located in Chungam, Kottayam. The Cheria Pally, an ancient Church belonging to the Malankara Orthodox Church is a well preserved church with wall murals dating back to ancient times. These unique wall murals have been painted using vegetable dyes. The Valia Palli has Persian inscriptions and a stone cross and belongs to the Knanaya Jacobite Church. St. George Church, Puthupally, and the Vakathanam Palli are two renowned and ancient churches frequented by pilgrims. Cherpunkal Church is a famous Church in the name of Infant Jesus. Lots of people visit the church every First Friday.
St Mary's Jacobite Syrian Church, Manarkadu is another very important and famous Christian church in Kottayam. This church is located at Manarcadu, near Kottayam.
The mortal remains of Saint Alphonsa, the first women saint from India is kept in a chapel in Bharananganam is currently considered to be one of the major Christian pilgrimages in India.
Tourist Place
Kottayam has a vast network of rivers and canals which empty into the great expanse of water called the Vembanad Lake, part of the interconnected Kerala Backwaters that run virtually the length of the state. Vembanad Lake is 83.72 km in length and 14.48 km in width. Traditional cargo boats called Kettuvallams are modified into cruise boats and house boats. These boats gracefully move around the back waters, providing facilities to tourist to enjoy the beauty of the Vembanad Lake in a relaxed pace. In the Vembanad Lake there is a small beautiful island called Pathiramanal (the midnight sands). This island is accessible only by boat.