Chempu

Chempu (SH-15, Kochi-Kumarakom road) is a village near Vaikom in Kottayam, Kerala, India. It is bounded by the shores of the Lake Vembanad, and is crossed by various distributaries of the River Muvattupuzha.

Chempu
village
Map of Chempu Panchayath
Coordinates: 9°48′26″N 76°23′49″E
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Kottayam
Government
• Type	Gramapanchayat
Area
• Total	18.42 km2 (7.11 sq mi)
Population
• Total	18,828
• Density	1,022/km2 (2,650/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Malayalam
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	686608
Vehicle registration	KL-36
Nearest city	Kochi
Literacy	90%

Demographics

It is inhabited by people of all communities including Arayans, Christians, Dhewars, Ezhavas, Muslims, Nairs and Namboothiris.

Etymology

The story behind the origin of name of the place is interesting. This place was an area of fishers and most of the population led their livelihood through fishing. The Brahmins who lived here were used to call the fish as 'Champa', consequently developed as Chempu.

History

Chempu is a historically important place, as it is the birthplace of Chempil Arayan. He was the captain of the army of Veluthampi Dalawa, the Travancore king. He was the first martyr from Tranvancore in the Indian Independence Movement. t

The "Illi fort", which starts from the north-western corner of Brahmamangalam to the east owns a key role in the history of the Travancore kingdom. This fort was built during the construction of the Travancore kingdom by Marthandavarma between 1742 and 1756.The fort was used to determine the boundary between the Kochi kingdom and thereby to ensure the protection of Travancore. This was under the supervision of Ramayyan Dalawa, who was the minister of Marthandavarma.

Geography

It lies at the north-western corner of Kottayam district and the Vaikom Taluk. The village is divided into three sections: Chempu, Kattikkunu, and Brahmamangalam. The North of the village is covered by Udayamperoor and Amballoor, the East by Velloor, South with Maravanthuruthu, and the West with Vembanad lake. Murinjapuzha in an intermediator between Chempu and Kattikkunnu.

Although Chempu is not an island, it is considered as a peninsula the Vembanad and Muvattupuzha river cover Chempu. Murinjapuzha bridge as the bridge which connects Kattikkunnu with Murinjapuzha (Chempu) Its distance from Kottayam is 38.4 km and from Vaikom, 6.5 km.

Distance to Chempu

From	Distance(km)	Time
Thiruvananthapuram	194	3 hours 55 minutes
Cochin	26.2	34 minutes
Kottayam	38.4	53 minutes
Vaikom	6.5	11 minutes

Topography

Chempu has cool climatic conditions. The presence of the river and lake make the soil more fertile and yielding. The main crops here are coconut, mango, etc. The topography of Brahmamangalam is entirely different from that of Chempu and Kattikkunnu. This area has more resemblance to Kottayam topography. Here the main crop is Rubber.
The average temperature here is around 27 °C and the humidity is 81%. The wind here blows from the west with an average velocity of 6 kmph

Notable people

Notable people from Chempu includes warrior Chempil Arayan, archbishop Mar Augustine Kandathil, writer Chempil John, Vinod Narayanan, and the film actor Mammootty.