Kottarakkara (IAST: Koṭṭārakkara) is a town located in Kollam District (formerly known as Quilon), in Kerala state, India. It is 72 km to the north of the State Capital,Thiruvananthapuram, on the Main Central Road and 78 km to the south of Kottayam. The town lies 25 km to the east of the District headquarters city of Kollam and 15 km to the west of Punalur on National Highway 208/220.
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[edit]History
For many centuries, the city served as a place of residence for kings, hence the name "Kottarakara", which means "the land of the palaces". (Kottaram means palace and Karameans 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 KingMarthanda Varma (a distant cousin of hers), in the 18th century and she fled to Cochin to seekt asylum with her allies, the Dutch. They pensioned her with 2 rupees and 5 annas. Later, during Tipu Sultan's invasion of Malabar, a Royal family from North Malabar was settled in Kottarakara by Dharma Raja. This family line became extinct in the mid 19th century.
[edit]Demographics & Public Facilities
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The region is primarily agrarian, although it has recently acquired many 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. The Kottarakara Taluk has a population of 5.77 lakhs as per the 2001 census.
There are many educational institutions, including St.Gregorius College affiliated to the Kerala University and the "Engineering College", which is run by the IHRD (a State Government organisation) and is affiliated with the [[Cochin University of Science and Technology] and Divine Public School, Puthoor,(Senior Secondary School) affiliated to the CBSE, Delhi. The Kollam - Chennai railway passes through Kottarakara and there is a railway station.The railway line is being converted intobroad gauge under project Unigauge.
[edit]Governance
Kottarakara, like most areas in India, is in the jurisdictions of several different levels of government, such as the three tiers of Panchayat raj (Village, Block and District), and, of course, the state and central governments. The Kottarakara Block consists of Kottarakara Village Panchayat and five other Panchayats. Revenue and land administration have the village as the basic unit. The KottarakaraTaluk consists of 27 villages. The Taluk is part of the Kollam Revenue Sub-Division, which is conterminous with the Kollam District.
The State Institute of Rural Development, which trains the senior officers of the Rural Development Department, is in 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 in agriculture. Other important government institutions include the Irrigation Chief Engineer's (Kallada) Office, Electricity Superintending Engineer's Office, Transport Corporation's District Office, the District Treasury, the District Education Office, the Taluk office, Taluk supply office, Block Development Office and the Taluk hospital.
[edit]Politics
Kottarakara Assembly Constituency is part of the Mavelikkara (Lok Sabha constituency).[1]
[edit]Famous People from Kottarakkara
- Kottarakkara Thampuran (the King of Kottarakkara in the sixteenth century) was the father of the classical art form of Kathakali. This form of dance drama (which was originally based on stories from the Ramayana and was called Ramanattam), was developed by him to complementKrishnanattam, which had its origin under the Zamorins of Kozhikode.
- Malayalam novelists Lalithambika Antharjanam,Kakkanadan and writer & hypnotist Johnson Eyeroor were born here.
- The late KP Kottarakkara- Kaippallil kuttan Pillai known as KP Kottarakkara was a film story writer, director, producer and actor. KP Kottarakkara played a serious part as a freedom fighter and was confined by the British government. Pasamalar written by him was the first Indian movie which was remade into eight different languages. He had written stories for around 87 movies including malayalam, telugu, kannada, tamil and had produced 59 movies in these languages.Celebrites like , Dilip Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Guru Dutt, MGRamachandran, NT Ramarao, Sivaji Ganeshan, Rajkumar,Akkineni Nageshwara rao, Kamal Haasan, Vijayakanth,Prabhu Ganesan, Waheeda Rehman, Rekha, Sathyan, Prem Nazir, Madhu (actor) etc had done excellent in his movies.
- The late Oyur Kochu Govinda Pillai (1916-2008) was an artiste and a master performer of Kathakali.His character "Hamsam" (the bird character serving as messenger between lovers) very famous.He has taught in many of Kerala’s training centers for Kathakali and has to his credit many disciples who later became well known names in Kathakali. Besides sharing his expertise in Kathakali at home, Kochu Govinda Pillai also got an opportunity in 1966 to visit Singapore and train students there for six months. He also toured some of the European countries like the U.K., Holland and Germany to perform Kathakali, while he was a member of the Kathakali troupe of the FACT in 1970.In recognition of his acting prowess and as an outstanding personality in the world of Kathakali, Oyur Kochu Govinda Pillai has been honored on several occasions, and some of the noted ones include the Kerala Kalamandalam Award and the Sangeetha Nataka Academy Award.
- The late Kottarakara Sreedharan Nair was one of India's best known actors. He portrayed many historical heroes such as 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. His grandson Vinumohan is also a film actor.
- Veteran actor "Bharat" Murali (1954-2009), who was the Chairman of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy, hails from Kudavettoor near Kottarakara.
- R.Balakrishna Pillai, many times minster, MLA, MP and Panchayat President, and Chairman of the Kerala Congress (B) is synonymous with Kottarakara. K. B. Ganesh Kumar, MLA, former Minister and the son of R. Balakrishna Pillai, is also a renowned actor. Other MLAs hailing from Kottarakara are Aisha Potti, B.Raghavan and P.C. Vishnunath.
- Senior civil servants from the place include K.Mohandas IAS, K.P.Somarajan IPS and K. Sukumaran Nair IPS (retired).
[edit]Places of Worship
Kottarakkara is place of pilgrimage 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. The temple festival is the largest in Kottarakara. The Mahadeva temple is almost equally famous. The great temples in the vicinity include the Bhagavathy temples at Pattazhy, Poovattoor and Mannadi and the Mahadeva Temple at Vettikavala, Vadakkathil Sree Bhuvaneshwari Devi Kshethram(Policodu) and the Major Thrimurthi Temple at Thevalappuram, Puthoor.
There are also many churches in the area which is major center for the Malankara orthodox churches, marthoma churches and malankara catholics. The most important churches are Kizhakketheruvu orthodox valiyappalli, Kottapuram orthodox church nad marthoma valiyappalli. roots of the Pentecostal movement in Kerala are here. In hindu family Vazhappallil family is the traditional ancient family.
Kottarakara is also the home town of THE MEDAYIL FOUNDATION.
Kottarakkara also has a large number of Muslims with the main mosque at the Market Junction.
[edit]External links
[edit]References
- ^ "Assembly Constituencies - Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies". Kerala. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
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