Palakkad
Palakkad or Palghat is one of the 14 districts of Kerala state in South India. The city of Palakkad is the district headquarters. Palakkad is bordered on the northwest by the Malappuram District, on the southwest by the Thrissur District and on the east by Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The district is 13.62% urbanised. The district is nicknamed "Nellarayude Naadu" or "the granary of Kerala".
In earlier times Palakkad was also known as Palakkattussery. Some etymologists trace the word "Palakkad" from the word Palai nilam, which means "dry lands". The commonly held belief, however, is that the name is a fusion of two Malayalam words, Pala, a tree (Alstonia scholaris) that is found abundantly in Palakkad, and Kadu, which means forest.
To the east lies the Coimbatore District of Tamil Nadu. It is a predominantly rural district. Palakkad is the gateway to Kerala due to the presence of the Palakkad Gap, in the Western Ghats. The total area of the district is 4480 km² which is 11.5% of the state's area. Out of the total area of 4480 km², about 1360 km² of land is covered by forests. Most parts of the district fall in the midland region (elevation 75–250 m), except the Nelliampathy-Parambikulam area in the Chittur taluk in the south and Attappadi-Malampuzha area in the north, which are hilly and fall in the highland region (elevation >250 m). Some of the notable peaks in the district are Anginda (2325 m), Karimala (1998 m), Nellikotta or Padagiri (1585 m) and Karimala Gopuram (1439 m).
Geography
The climate is hot and humid for most part of the year. Palakkad is one of the hottest places in Kerala. There is sufficient rainfall. The district is blessed with many small and medium rivers, which are tributaries of the Bharathapuzha River. A number of dams have been built across these rivers, the largest being Malampuzha dam. The largest in volume capacity is the Parambikulam Dam.
Administration
At present the Palakkad district consists of two revenue divisions, five taluks and 163 villages.The revenue divisions are Palakkad and Ottappalam. Palakkad, Alathur and Chittur taluks form the Palakkad revenue division and Ottappalam and Mannarghat taluks form the Ottappalam revenue division. There are 13 development blocks and 90 panchayats in the district. The total area of the district is 4480 km².
Economy
Agriculture is the main occupation. The most prominent crop is rice. Palakkad is known as the Rice Bowl of Kerala. Rubber is the main crop in the hilly regions.
The retail giant Panthaloons BIGBAZAR opened their first showroom of Kerala in this city.Joby's mall,the biggest mall of the city is one of the biggest of the state itself. All major jeweleries of the state has at least one showroom in the town. Biggest brands such as The Raymond, Woodlands, Reebok, Peter England, Scullers, Indigo nation, John Miller, Basics life, Derby, Cotton County, Koutons, Bombay Dyeing, has their own exclusive showrooms in the city.
Transport
Palakkad Junction is an important station on the Southern Railway.Palakkad has a medium grade network of roads. The Salem-Kanyakumari National Highway 47 and the Palakkad-Kozhikode National Highway 213 pass through the district. Another important road is the Palakkad - Ponnani road which connects NH 47 and NH 17.
Festivals
Valliya Aaraattu - Karnaki Amman Temple - Moothanthara, Velas - In the months of March and April, after the harvests, festivals called Vela are celebrated in many villages. These festivals consist of a parade of caparisoned elephants, a traditional orchestra of percussion instruments (called Panchavadyam, Thayambaka, Pandimelam, etc.) and fireworks.
Nemmara Vallangi Vela, Chinakkathur Pooram of Palappuram and Vayilliamkunnu Pooram of Kadampazhipuram, "Akathethara Thekkethara KARTHIKA VELA" are the most prominent among them. Vishnu Vela of Thumbalamkad is one of the most entertaining festivals in Palakkad. This is celebrated on Vishu day, April 14 (Medam onnu). The Vela season comes to an end with Mangalam Vela, which usually happens in the month of May.
Another important festival is the Kalpathi Ratholsavam. This is a festival of the Tamil Brahmins. The Navrathri Festival celebrated annually in Kodunthirapully Village is also famous.
Pattambi Nercha - Celebrated in Pattambi and nearby areas on the second Sunday of February in remembrance of Aloor Valiya Pookoya Thangal.
Another very famous festival is the "Puthur Vela". It is the annual festival held during the month of April by the Puthur "Sree Thirupuraykal Bhagavathy Kshetram" where 15 elephants unite for the famous "Kudamattom" performance. Thayambaka and panchavadhyam provide the music for the festival.
The annual Ultsavam at the Thiruvegappura Maha Kshetram is a large attraction to devotees.
The annual Sivarathri festival in East Vennakkara of the Palakkad municipality is in honor of Shiva.
Places of worship
The Anjaneya (Lord Hanuman) Temple inside Palakkad Fort, Sri Parakkad Bhagavathy Temple in Kavaserry at Alathur is famous for Kavaserry Pooram.
The Kaikkottu Bagavathy Temple is very famous. "Kumbabishekam" is celebrated annually in the month of April.
Devi temples like Manappulli kavu, Pudussery kavu , Chittur kavu, Pallassena kavu, Pudussery kavu.
Lord Shiva (Brahmeeswaran) Temple situated in Karimpuzha village.
Killikkurussi Mahadeva Temple at Killikkurussimangalam.
Mangottu Kavu Temple, Athipotta.
sri Kunnappullikavu Bagavathy Temple ,Ezhakkad - (Near-Kongad).
Sri Thrikana Thevar Kshetram,Kattussery,Near Alathur.
Schools and Colleges
Government Victoria College, NSS College of Engineering, NSS College of Arts & Science - Ottapalam, Chembai Memorial Music College, Government College Chittur, NSS Colleges at Nemmara....
Famous people from Palakkad
Kunchan Nambiar, Punnasseri Nambi Neelakanta Sharma, E. M. S. Namboodiripad, T. N. Seshan, E. Sreedharan, Shiv Shankar Menon, O. V. Vijayan, M. T. Vasudevan Nair, K.P.Narayana Pisharody, P.T.Bhaskara Panicker, Dr.K.N.Ezhuthachan, T N Lakshmi Narayanan, M K Narayanan, Shashi Tharoor, MGR (M G Ramachandran), Prakash Karat, Kalamandalm Ramankutty Nair, Chembai vaidyanatha bhagavathar, Akkitham, C.Radhakrishnan, Olapamanna, Mundur KrishnanKutty(Writer&Ciniartist), Mundur Sedhumadhavan(writer), Mannur rajakumaranunni(singer), O.P.Nair(Lyrics writer), Njaralathu Rama pothuval(sopana sangeetham), Njaralathu Harigovindan(sopana sangeetham), V.Velankutty Master, O. Rajagopal
Film ActorsKalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Madhupal, Kamal Hasan, Sree Dhevika, Kulapully Leela, Priyamani, Revathy, Lal Jose, M.G.Ramachandran (M.G.R), Raghuvaran, Vidya Balan, Priyamani
Film Directors
M.G Sasi - Kathakali, Lal Jose - Meesa Madhavan, Madhupaal, Lohithadas - Nivedyam, Ramnas P.P Ismail
MUSIC
Shankar Mahadevan, Kalamandalam Ramavaryer, Kalamandalam Unnikrishnakkurupp, Kalamandalam Tirur Nambissan, Kalamandalam Rajendran, Kalamandalam Narayanan Nambuthiri, Sadanam Jyothi, Kalamandalam Ananthanarayanan, Kalamandalam Sreekumar, Athippata Ravi, Nedumballi Rammohan
Places of interest
The "Anjumoorthy" temple, Palakkad Fort, Malampuzha dam garden, Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Silent Valley National Park, Killikkurussimangalam, Nelliyampathi, Sholayar, Attappady, Walayar Dam, Chulanur, Sholayar Forest, Dhoni, Jain Temple of Jainimedu.
Official website of Palakkad: http://www.palakkad.nic.in/
Tourism website: http://palakkadtourism.org/
