Morning under the Valapattanam Bridge (5008507994)

Sand miners in Parassini River, Kerala (November 27, 2001)

Valapattanam is a

census town In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics. India In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...

in the Kannur district, located in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

. It is also the smallest panchayat in Kerala. Its area is 2.04 sqr Km. It is about 7 km north of

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

. Valapattanam is known for its communal harmony. On one side

Kalarivathukkal Temple Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathy Temple, ''Bhadrakali Shrine'' located near Valapattanam river, is the family shrine of ''Chirakkal Royal Family''. The deity of the shrine is the fierce form of ''Bhadrakali''. ''Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathy'' is consi ...

is located and on the other bank there is "Kakkulangara Mosque".

Etymology

This town is also known as Balyapattanam. This town is situated on the banks of the Valapattanam river. Centuries back Valapattanam River (വളപട്ടണം പുഴ ) was the main ship route for trading and Valapattanam was the main town, because of this the town got this referred as "Valya pattanam" which means "big town" in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

language.

History

This town is named after its historical founder Vallabha II of the Mooshika dynasty ( Kolathiri family) and was originally known as Vallabha-Pattanam Ezhimala: the abode of the Naval Academy by Murkot Ramunny in 1993, Northern Book Centre, New Delhi and served as the capital of the Mooshika dynasty during the medieval ages. The fourteenth-century narrative of

Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berber Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, largely in the Muslim ...

refers to the ruler of

Ezhimala Ezhimala, a hill reaching a height of , is located near Payyanur, in Kannur district of Kerala, south India. It is a part of a conspicuous and isolated cluster of hills, forming a promontory, north of Kannur (Cannanore). The Indian Naval Acad ...

as residing at Baliapatanam''The Rehla of Ibn Battuta (India, Maldive Islands and Ceylon)'', tr. and commentary by Mahdi Husain (Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1953), 186. and offers a clue that by this time, the centre of the political authority had shifted from Ezhimala to Baliapatanam. It is also possible that the 'Budfattan' visited by

Abraham Ben Yiju Abraham Ben Yijū was a Jewish merchant and poet born in Ifriqiya, in what is now Tunisia, around 1100. He is known from surviving correspondence between him and others in the Cairo Geniza fragments.Amitav Ghosh, 'The Slave of MS. H.6', ''Subaltern ...

, a Jewish merchant who lived in Mangalore in the 1230s and 1240s, was also Valapattanam.

Amitav Ghosh Amitav Ghosh (born 11 July 1956)Ghosh, Amitav
, ''

, ''In an Antique Land'' (Gurgaon: Penguin Random House India, 2009) irst publ. Ravi Dayal 1992), pp. 233-35; . In the sixteenth century AD, a Portuguese official Duarte Barbosa also mentions Baliapatanam (Baliapatam in European records) as the residence of the ‘king of Cannanore’.

Commerce

Western India Plywoods Ltd., the largest wood-based industry in the country and once Asia's biggest plywood factory is located on the bank of Valapattanam River. Apart from the dense presence of booming plywood and timber based industries, Valapattanam has small scale sand mining and fisheries activities. Warehouses of many prominent industries in Kannur is situated at Valapattanam.

Religion

Known for its communal harmony and tradition of peaceful coexistence, numerous religious centers with centuries of tradition is located here. The

Muthappan temple Parassinikadavu Muthappan temple is a temple, located at Parassinikadavu in Anthoor Municipality on the banks of the Valapattanam river about from Taliparamba and from Kannur City in Kannur District, Kerala, India. Thiyya community urayima ...

is on the bank of Valapattanam river.

Geography

Valapattanam is located at . It has an average elevation of 6 metres (19 feet).

Suburbs and villages

* Manna, Valappattanam Valapattanam Junction (5007898761)

Demographics

The Valapattanam Census Town has population of 7,955 of which 3,677 are males while 4,278 are females as per report released by Census India 2011. Children aged 0 to 6 years number 1077, which is 13.54 % of the population. The female sex ratio is 1163 against state average of 1084. The child sex ratio is around 962 compared to Kerala state average of 964. Literacy rate of Valapattanam city is 95.43%, higher than state average of 94.00%. The male literacy is around 97.15% while female literacy rate is 94.00%. Valapattanam census town has total administration over 1,329 houses to which it supplies basic amenities like water and sewage. It is also authorize to build roads within census town limits and impose taxes on properties coming under its jurisdiction.https://dop.lsgkerala.gov.in › node

Images

File:Valapattanam 16.jpg, Village footpath File:Valapattanam Kerala, India.jpg, Coconut in serenity File:Poithumkadavu.jpg, Poithum Kadavu File:Human God.jpg, Kaliyattam at Valapattanam Valapattanam Panchayath is rated among the best panchayaths in

. The development activities of the panchayat has been commended by both the district and state authorities, as well as the public at large.

References

External links

{{Kannur district Suburbs of Kannur