Thiruvalla

Tiruvalla (alternatively spelled Thiruvalla) is a City and Taluk located in Pathanamthitta District in the State of Kerala in India. The city is famous for its various religious festivals, schools and as the seat of the Diocese of Tiruvalla for the The Mar Thomas Syrian Christian Community. It is also the location of Nedumpuram Palace and Paliakkara Palace.

The city spans a geographic area of 27.94 Sq.Km with a population of 54780(1991 Census). The nearest port is Alleppey, nearest airport is Chochin and the nearest train station id Tiruvalla. Because of the active promotion of education by the Royal Family of Travancore and by the communist government of 1969, Tiruvalla enjoys a high literacy rate of of 89-91%. The city has a tropical climate with a temperature variation of a high of 34.4C in Summer to a low of 18.5C in winter with a healthy rainfall of 304 cm. The topography of Thiruvalla comprises plains, paddyfields, and small ranges . The major crops grown are rice,tapioca , coconuts, rubber, plantains, sugarcane and a variety of vegetables.

The city was founded somewhere in 800 AD even though there is plenty of evidence that suggests that the area was inhabited since 500 BC. The present day area of Niranam and Kadapra on the western part of Thiruvalla was submerged under the Bay of Bengal before that. The name Tiruvalla is a colloquial form of Shiruvallabhapuram which is the malayalam version of the earlier coinage Srivallabhapuram, named after the chief deity of the central temple complex, Sri Vallabhan. It is interesting to note that the ancient name of Thiruvalla was " Valla vai". This name had some relation with the river Manimala which was known as "Vallapuzha". The mouth ‘vai’ is known as "Valla vai". On the western part of Thiruvalla, rivers, Pampa, Manimala and Achen Kovil join which gives us a panoramic view. As in many other places in India, the culture and heritage of Thiruvalla are tied up with the temples. Historical evidence, including copper plates and proclmations point to Tiruvalla as a flourishing and major center of spiritual and educational prominence in AD 1100. The Sree Vallaba Temple governed a Vedic School with one thousand students and one hundred teachers. The temple also maintained a hospital in the service of the public at large. The rulers of Thiruvalla belonged to the Thekkumkoor Dynasty, which had one of its headquarters at Edathil near Kavil Temple. Today's Paliakara Palace is a branch of Lakshmipuram Palace of Changanacherry which was the branch of Alikottu Kovilakam of Pazhancherry in Malabar. Similarly, Nedumpuram Palace is a branch of Mavelikkara Palace is an heir to the Kolathiri tradition of Udayamangalam.

Christianity arrived in Tiruvalla early through St.Thomas who is believed to have come to Niranam in A.D. 52 through Purakkadu. Tiruvalla Christians were part of the autonomous Church in the unity of the Catholic Church, until the seventeenth century, due to the intervention of the Portuguese fathers, a schism  occurred leading to the formation of Jacobites under the Patriarch of Antioch. On September 20, 1930, the Reunion Movement took shape when the two Jacobite Prelates the late Archbishop Mar Ivanios and late Bishop Mar Theophilos joined hands leading to the establishment of Archdiocese of Trivandrum and the Diocese of Tiruvalla, by Pope Pius XI.

Tiruvalla was never under direct rule and before India's independence from the British rule in 1947, was governed by the Travancore dynasty. Tiruvalla Municipality started functioning in 1919, with Shri. M.K. Kesavan Nair as the first Chairman of the Municipal council. The constitution was officially approved on October 8, 1920. The municipal office has established several public health facilities, libraries and sports facilities. The very famous pilgrim centre of Sabarimala is about 100 km. from Thiruvalla. The spiritual conventions at Maramon and Cherukolpuzha are at a distance of 17 to 20 km. from Thiruvalla.