Alathur

Alathur Alathur
town

Alathur is a small town in the Palakkad district of Kerala, South India. It is the headquarters of Alathur Taluk. It is situated at a distance of 24 km from the district headquarters, at the south west end of the district, on the way to Trissur. Alathur taluk is predominantly rural with an agriculture-based economy.

People

The population consists predominantly of Hindus. They belong to many castes like Nair, Ezhava, Iyer, Asari, Kollan, Thattan, Kusavan, Mannan, Ezhuthachan, Telugu Chetty, Kavara etc. Every caste has a traditional profession. But in recent years, the traditional system has lost its relevance and people from different castes are seen in the same field.

One of the famous Nair families is the "Malamal Family" in Alathur which has a large number of people across the world and they had most of the paddy fields and ultimately gave the whole area an economical boost through their wealth and knowledge.

There are many Muslims in the Taluk, a majority among them being traders. Many members of the community have employment in the Arab countries, and this has given a boost to the economic status of the community in general. Now-a-days they run many institutions for children such as Model Central School and Islamiya College.

The Christians are mostly settlers from Kottayam and Idukki districts. They are reputed to be good farmers and have made their homes the areas around Vadakkanchery, Kizhakkanchery, Korenchira, Palakkuzy,Odenthode, Vandazhi and Mangalam Dam. Rubber, pepper and cassava are some of the most prominent crops here and it can be said that the economy greatly depends on the price of rubber.

Occupation

The main occupation is agriculture. The main crop is paddy in the plains and rubber in the hilly areas. There are other crops like ginger, banana and vegetables like pumpkin, bitter gourd and egg plant.

There is no industry worth mentioning in Alathur Taluk. Alathur town was once well known for its Beedi making units. This was a cottage industry, with people making the product from their homes and delivering it to the manufacturing company for packing and labelling. But due to the general campaign against smoking, beedi production has come down drastically. Another cottage industry is the agarbatti (Incense) units found in the area. Recently, some factories like steel smelting plants have come up near Manjalur in Erimayur Panchayat. There used to be a large number of rice mills engaged in parboiling and dehusking of paddy, but with the paddy cultivation becoming unattractive, many of them have been closed down.

Educational institutions

There are a number of schools up to the higher secondary level within Alathur Taluk. There are two colleges for Arts & Science and one Engineering College. A.S.M.M Higher Secondary School is one of the veteran Government-aided educational institution which recently completed 100 years. BSS GHS, popularly known as Gurukulum high shcool is the almamater of many prominent in the society, this is a school which produce best results in acadmic, culture and sports.

Transportation

The National Highway No. 47 passes through the entire length of Alathur Taluk. Hence the place is well connected by road to all parts of Kerala, inclulding the state capital. A number of private and government buses ply on this road between Trissur and Palakkad. Alathur does not find a place in the railway map. This is due to the presence of the mountainous terrain at Kuthiran, on the way to Trissur. But a recent government decision to revive an old plan to construct the Kollengode-Trissur railway line may come as a blessing to Alathur.

Famous people

Alathur has been home to some famous personalities, among whom are K.P.Kesava Menon, the first editor of the Mathrubhumi newspaper; Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar; Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi; Swami Tapovan Maharaj; A. Muhammad Ali, former editor of Madhyamam Daily; Ramakrishnan Nair(District Judge) and K.K.Nair, the late Editor of The Times of India, Bombay.

Farook owner of Modern Software Solutions. he developed so many enterprise software.

Festivals and traditions

The Vela and Pooram festivals of the different villages in the Taluk is a great attraction among the local people. The prominent among them are padoor vela: Kavasseri Pooram, Pudiyankam-Kattusseri Vela, Mangottu Kavu Temple Vela, Kunisseri Kummatti and Karappotta vela (Karappotta Ayappan Kavu Vela). One of the biggest Lord Siva temple in the region is 'Azhakotha ambalam' at Coyalmannam, it is one of the 101 famus Shiva temple in the country. In area and size it is top 5 shiva temple in the state. Every year during December there is a gala festival called as 'Azhakoth Arat' The 'Theruvath Palli Nercha' conducted every year at Chungamannam attracts a lot of people from the local area as well as from Tamil Nadu. People come in bullock carts all the way from Pollachi and other places to witness the event.

The cattle race conducted at Chithali every year during Onam period is a unique event. There is stiff competition among the owners of the cattle to bring the best pair for the race.

Alathur town is famous for its banana chips, which is made of coconut oil, the most popular being S.N.R. Chips. It is a common sight to see people in passing buses, making purchases when the buses stop in front of the shop. People who are employed outside the state always take a few packets as gifts to their friends and colleagues.

Every Saturday, at the weekly market at Kuzhalmannam, cattle are traded in large numbers. Cattle are brought from Tamil Nadu to be sold to Trissur district and beyond. The southern districts of Kerala are major consumers of beef. The sight of cattle bundled into trucks without any consideration for their safety or comfort is really distressing, but there has been no action from any animal rights group or SPCA so far.

Everyday in the Parakatu temple, there is a deeparathana that is so good and amazing. During the pooram, the village looks like a big Sunday market.

Forest

The forest area near Choolanur called Mayiladumpara has a considerable population of peafowls. The Forest Department has declared the area as a sanctuary.

There is an irrigation dam at Mangalam Dam, which is the main source of water for the crops in areas like Vandazhi, Kizhakkencheri, Mudappallur and Vadakkenchery.

Nearby places

Malamalamukku is .05km from Alathur.

Kunissery is 7 km from Alathur. Kunissery's famous festival is Kummatti. Celebrated on the birthday of Goddess Pookulathi on the Punartham Star of Meenam.

Padur is around 8 km from Alathur. The famous festival of Padur is Padur Vela.

Vanoor is another place in Alathur. There is a big hill called Veezhumala in Vanoor. The legend behind this hill is, in Ramayana, when Hanuman went to take mrithasanjivani, a small part from the hill he was carrying fell down and it become a big hill, which is Veezhumalla (Fallen Mountain in Malayalam language). Paddy and rubber are the main agriculture in Vanoor.

Kavassery is a small villiage, 4 km from Alathur. Parakkattu Kavu a small temple is situated in this village, pooram is the main festival which falls on Pooram star in the Malayalam month Meenam (March/April). Athipotta, 8 km away from Alathur is famous for Mangottu Kavu Temple.

Arangattu Parambu is a small village on the way to Puthiyankam from Alathur. It is a part of Pudiyankam Desam. There are some remnants of an Old Shiva Temple. Legand is that it was a very big temple, demolished during Tippu Sultan's aggression. Interestingly, there is a small mount nearby called as Pallikkunnu, and a pond near to the remnants of the temple called as Pallikkulam. The word "Palli" is always related to some thing royal or religious.

Kattussery: Kattussery village forms part of Alathur and is lying in the middle of Vanoor and Puthiyankam villages. Because of the lack of any employment opportunities, the youth of the village have migrated to far away cities in search of job. The village population is therefore predominantly of older people. Kattussery-Puthiyankam Vela is a famous festival, which falls on the Atham Star in the Malayalam month of Meenam (March/April).

Panchayats in Alathur Taluk

• Alathur
• Erimayur
• Kannambra
• Kavasseri
• Kizhakkancheri
• Kottayi
• Kuthanur
• Kuzhalmannam
• Mathur
• Melarcode
• Peringottukurissi
• Puthucode
• Tarur
• Tenkurissi
• Vadakkencherry
• Vandazhi

Politics

Alathur assembly constituency is part of Palghat (Lok Sabha constituency).

References

[1]District Development Authority,Thanjavur

External links

• http://www.Koduvayur.net - Koduvayur community website. Koduvayur is 10 km west of Alathur.
• http://www.sabsday.blogspot.com -alathur.itz from alathur town