Kottarakkara (IAST: Koṭṭārakkara), also transliterated as Kottarakara, is a town and municipality in the Kollam district of the Kerala, India.[2] Kottarakkara lies 27 kilometres (17 mi) to the east of Kollam city centre.[3]
Kottarakkara | |
---|---|
Municipal Town | |
Coordinates: 08°59′00″N 76°46′00″E / 8.98333°N 76.76667°E | |
Country | India |
State | Kerala |
District | Kollam |
Government | |
• Type | Council |
• Body | Kottarakkara Municipality |
• MP | Kodikunnil Suresh |
• MLA | K.N.Balagopal |
Area | |
• Total | 17.39 km2 (6.71 sq mi) |
Population | |
• Total | 29,788 |
• Density | 1,700/km2 (4,400/sq mi) |
Languages | |
• Official | Malayalam, English |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
PINCODE | 691506 |
Vehicle registration | KL-24 |
Nearest city | Kollam |
Civic Agency | Kottarakara Municipality |
History
editKottarakkara, also known in the ancient days of the kings as the Elayadathu Swarupam, was a principality ruled by a branch of the Travancore Royal Family. It is the home of Kathakali, a well known dance drama which originated initially as Ramanattam created in the 17th century by Prince Kottarakkara Thampuran and later patronized by the Raja of Kottarakkara in the early 19th century absorbing other dance forms of Krishnanattam with further innovations.
Etymology
editKottarakkara, a compound word made up of the words Kottaram, meaning "palace", and kara meaning "land", literally means "land of palaces". The area which had several palaces was thus named "Kottarakkara."[4]
Geography
editKottarakkara is a small municipality and taluk headquarters, close to Kollam. The taluk has six panchayats and other small towns. It is surrounded by several other towns.
Towns and villages in Kottarakara Taluk
edit- Ampalakkara
- Andoor
- Chadayamangalam
- Chengamanadu
- Chakkuvarakkal
- Cherupoika
- Chithara
- Elamad
- Ezhukone
- Irukunnam
- Ittiva
- Kadakkal
- Kalayapuram
- Kareepra- Edakkidom
- Karickom
- Kottarakkara
- Kottathala
- Kottukkal
- Kudavattor
- Kulakkada
- Kummil
- Malavila
- Mankode
- Melila
- Mylom
- Neduvathur
- Nilamel
- Odanavattam
- Panaveli
- Pavithreswaram
- Pooyappally
- Puthoor
- Sadhanathapuram
- Thrikkannamangal
- Ummannur
- Valakom
- Velinallur
- Veliyam
- Vettikkavala
Climate
editClimate data for Kottarakkara, Kerala | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.4 (86.7) |
31.2 (88.2) |
32.3 (90.1) |
32.4 (90.3) |
32.0 (89.6) |
29.9 (85.8) |
29.3 (84.7) |
29.5 (85.1) |
29.9 (85.8) |
29.8 (85.6) |
29.5 (85.1) |
29.8 (85.6) |
30.5 (86.9) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.4 (72.3) |
23.1 (73.6) |
24.5 (76.1) |
25.3 (77.5) |
25.4 (77.7) |
24.1 (75.4) |
23.6 (74.5) |
23.6 (74.5) |
23.8 (74.8) |
23.8 (74.8) |
23.4 (74.1) |
22.6 (72.7) |
23.8 (74.8) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 17 (0.7) |
34 (1.3) |
67 (2.6) |
166 (6.5) |
261 (10.3) |
477 (18.8) |
411 (16.2) |
277 (10.9) |
228 (9.0) |
311 (12.2) |
214 (8.4) |
54 (2.1) |
2,517 (99) |
Source: Climate-Data.org[6] |
Politics
editKottarakara Assembly Constituency is one among the 11 assembly constituencies in Kollam district. K. N. Balagopal is the present MLA from Kottarakkara constituency. Kottarakkara comes under Mavelikkara (Lok Sabha constituency)(previously it was in Adoor Loksabha constituency) that represents a large area including Kottarakkara, Mavelikkara, Changanasseri, spread in Kollam, Alappuzha and Kottayam districts.[7]
E Chandrasekaran Nair (CPI), D.Damodaran Potti (PSP), R.Balakrishna Pillai (Kerala Congress), E.Chandrasekaran Nair (CPI), C.Achutha Menon (CPI), Kottara Gopalakrishnan (INC) and R.Balakrishna Pillai (Kerala Congress - B),P. Aisha Potty (CPM) are the former elected members represented Kottarakara Assembly Constituency in the past.[8][9]
Transportation
editRoad Network
editNH 744 earlier known as NH 208 (Kollam to Thirumangalam) meets the MC road (Thiruvananthapuram to Angamaly) at Kottarakkara. Kottarakkara is linked with Kollam (the district headquarters), both by road and rail, at a distance of 27 km. It is 66 km to the north of Thiruvananthapuram (the capital of Kerala) and 80 km to the south of Kottayam.[10]
Road
editKottarakara has one of the Kerala's well connected KSRTC Hub, consist of various services across almost all the parts of kerala and interstate services. Local routes are connected by private bus services as well as State Transport. It is well connected to the capital city of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram by KSRTC Fast Passenger, super fast, super deluxe, a/c low floor buses. Buses are also ply to the district headquarters of Kollam and Pathanamthitta and to towns in Tamil Nadu like Coimbatore, Tenkasi and Sengottai and Daily trips to Mookambika, Sullia Munnar, Chennai, Hosur Bangalore, Velankanni, Madurai, Kumily, Mysore, Kanyakumari, Coimbatore, Nagercoil, Thirunelveli, Tuticorin, Palani, Trichy, Ernakulam, Kannur, Palakkad, Thrissur, Mangalore, Sultan Bathery, Kasaragod. Kottarakara depot of ksrtc is one of the top revenue earning depots of the state.
Rail
editKottarakara railway station is located on the Kollam-Sengottai railway line. Kottarakara railway station, which currently connects to Kollam, Trivandrum, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Madurai, Chennai, Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Guruvayur, Varkala and Punalur through the direct passenger, fast passenger and express train services. There are eight pairs of services right now and heard that many more services would be inducted in this route since the Punalur-Schengotta ghat section has been closed for Broad Gauge conversion. Further, a new line from Chengannur to Thiruvananthapuram via Adoor and Pandalam is awaiting survey. Kottarakkara will become a junction once the new line materializes.
Air
editThe nearest airport is Trivandrum International Airport, 70 km (43 mi).
Notable people
edit- Veliyam Bharghavan, Former General Secretary, Communist Party of India
- Bobby Kottarakkara, Malayalam actor
- K. B. Ganesh Kumar, actor and politician
- Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair (1922–1986), actor
- R. Balakrishna Pillai, former Minister, MLA, MP and Panchayat President, Chairman of the Kerala Congress
- P. Aisha Potty, MLA
- Sai Kumar, Malayalam actor
- Salim Yusuf - Physician, cardiologist and epidemiologist
Schools and Colleges
editReferences
edit- ^ "Kerala (India): Districts, Cities and Towns - Population Statistics, Charts and Map".
- ^ "Census of India 2011: Data from the 2011 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
- ^ "Kollam Town". Kollam District officialwebsite National Informatics Centre. Archived from the original on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ "History". kottarakkara.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
- ^ "Places in Kottarakara Taluk". Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "CLIMATE: KOTTARAKARA", Climate-Data.org. Web: [1].
- ^ "Assembly Constituencies - Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies" (PDF). Kerala. Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
- ^ "Kerala Assembly Election - 1957". Elections.in. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ "Kerala Assembly Election - 1980". Elections.in. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ "District Information". Kollam: National Informatics. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
Further reading
edit- Parankamveettil; An ancient Christian Family based from Aippalloor spreads areas at Kizhakketheruvu, Chengamanadu, Kottarakara, Elampal, Ayoor etc. was Engaged in Agricultural Production, Tradings, Religious, Social and Cultural activities.
- K. Ayyappapanicker; Sahitya Akademi (1997). Medieval Indian literature: an anthology. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 317–. ISBN 978-81-260-0365-5.
- M. O. Koshy (1989). The Dutch power in Kerala, 1729–1758. Mittal Publications. pp. 64–. ISBN 978-81-7099-136-6.
- K. Srikumaran (1 January 2005). Theerthayathra: a pilgrimage through various temples. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 129. ISBN 978-81-7276-363-3.