Poovar is a tourist town in Neyyattinkara (tehsil) in the

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

district of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

state,

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. This village is almost at the southern tip of

while the next village, Pozhiyoor, marks the end of Kerala.

Geography

Poovar lies very close to Vizhinjam, a natural harbour. The beach of Pozhiyoor, named

Pozhikkara Pozhikkara or Pozhikara is the Western border town of the Paravur, Kollam, Paravur municipality in the Kollam district of Kerala state in India. It is located at the South-Western tip of Kollam district, Kollam's coastal area. It is in the Ar ...

is located near Poovar. The 56 km Neyyar River passes through Neyyattinkara Taluk into the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

near Poovar.

History

Poovar was a trading centre of timber,

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...

and spices. It is believed that ships owned by

King Solomon King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

of Israel landed in

Ophir Ophir (; ) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. Its existence is attested to by an inscribed pottery shard found at Tell Qasile (in modern-day Tel Aviv) in 1946, dating to the eighth century BC, which reads "''go ...

, which is identified by some sources as Poovar, The village was one of the ancient Muslim settlements along the western coast of India. The central mosque in Poovar was built by Malik Deenar, an eighth century Muslim preacher. During the reign of the

Chola dynasty The Chola dynasty () was a Tamil dynasty originating from Southern India. At its height, it ruled over the Chola Empire, an expansive maritime empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd cen ...

, Poovar was a major port. The explorer

Megasthenes Megasthenes ( ; , died 290 BCE) was an ancient Greek historian, indologist, diplomat, ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book '' Indica'', which is now lost, but has been partially reconstructe ...

, Roman writer

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

and Venetian traveller

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

mention connections with

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The origin of the name "Poovar" has a story related to Marthanda Varma. Before that it was called Pokkumoosapuram. There were a merchant named Pokku Moosa Maraikkar who lived in Poovar during the 18th century in a house called Kallaraickal Tharavad, which many times gave shelter to

Marthanda Varma Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ; 1706 – 7 July 1758) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") ...

(1706–58), king of

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

from his enemies.Pokku Moosa Maraikkar is believed to have migrated from Malabar somewhere around Kozhikode for trade and finally settled in Poovar.He is believed to be in the lineage of Kunjali Maraikkars.Poovar also had trade relations with international markets at this time as well as a well trained army and some ships. At the Battle of Colachel and Battle of

Kayamkulam Kayamkulam () is a municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kayamkulam has ...

the forces of Kallaraickal assisted the Travancore army against the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

during the Travancore–Dutch War. During internal riots in Travancore and while escaping from the

Ettuveetil Pillamar The Ettuveetil Pillamar (Lords of the Eight Noble Houses) were Nair, Nair nobles from eight ruling Houses in erstwhile Travancore, Travancore Kingdom in the present-day Kerala, India. They were associated with the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Vena ...

(Lords of the Eight Houses), the king reached Poovar. It was a spring season and the trees on both sides of the Neyyar were full of flowers. These flowers fell into the river making it more attractive. On seeing this pleasant scenery, Marthanda Varma commented that this was ''poo-var'', a conjunction of the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

words for "flower" and "river".

Trivandrum shipyard Poovar

Poovar is a location for Trivandrum Shipyard Poovar Project, the nation's significant contribution to the construction and repair of ultra-large vessels in the maritime industry. With a natural depth of 23 meters, the Shipyard project boasts a distinct advantage for the assembly and testing of massive vessels. Its strategic location, merely 10 nautical miles from the international shipping channel and a mere 10 kilometers from the Vizhinjam International Seaport Thiruvananthapuram , ensures seamless connectivity and global accessibility. This combination of deep waters and proximity to key shipping routes positions the Shipyard project as a pivotal hub for the construction, repair, and testing of vessels on a grand scale, solidifying India's standing in the maritime sector.

References

External links

{{Tourism in Kerala History of Kerala Tourist attractions in Thiruvananthapuram district Villages in Thiruvananthapuram district Beaches of Kerala Populated coastal places in India Ophir