Niranam is a village in

Tiruvalla Thiruvalla, alternately spelled Tiruvalla, is a town in Kerala and the Headquarters of the Taluk of the same name located in Pathanamthitta district in the State of Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of . It lies on the banks of ...

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 ...

, India. It was a port in ancient Kerala, on the confluence of the

Manimala Manimala is a small town and a village in Kottayam district in the Indian state of Kerala, situated about from the nearest town Kanjirappally. It's declared as a folklore village since 2011 by the central government to promote folklore. Ge ...

and

Pamba River The Pamba River (also called Pampa River) is the longest river in the Indian state of Kerala after Periyar and Bharathappuzha, and the longest river in the erstwhile former princely state of Travancore. Sabarimala temple dedicated to Lord Ayy ...

. It is almost 7 km from

SCS Junction in Pathanamthitta District of Kerala, lies to the western part of Tiruvalla, identified as Upper Kuttanad region. It Is Part Of Thiruvalla Sub-District.Also Comes Under Thiruvalla Constituency.It is identified with Nelcynda in

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' ( grc, Περίπλους τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς Θαλάσσης, ', modern Greek '), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and ...

Demographics

Niranam is a large village located in the west of Tiruvalla, with 2837 families residing. The population of Niranam area is 10070, average sex ratio is 1118, higher than the state average of 1084. Niranam has a high literacy rate, 96.01%, higher than the state average of 94%.

History

Niranam is mentioned in the writings of

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

and ''Cosmas Indicopleustes'' as a trade centre where pepper grows and is known to have a variety of different settlers from

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

to Aryan

Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

. Geologists suggest that the sea retracted from this area due to some major geographical changes. The community were probably

Jewish settlers Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

and

Brahmins Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

who received baptism and became Christians. Due to the

Coonan Cross Oath The Coonan Cross Oath ( mal, കൂനൻ കുരിശ് സത്യം, Kūnan Kuriśŭ Satiaṁ), also known as the Great Oath of Bent Cross, the Leaning Cross Oath or the Oath of the Slanting Cross, taken on 3 January 1653 in Mattanch ...

the Malankara Orthodox Church probably received more Christians from Cochin.Niranam St Mary's Orthodox Church
/ref> Niranam St Mary's Orthodox Cathedral has been the seat of the various Malankara metropolitans. The

Niranam poets The Niranam poets, also known as the Kannassan poets, were three poets from the same family by the names of Madhava Panikkar, Sankara Panikkar, and Rama Panikkar. They hailed from Niranam, a small village in southern Kerala, India, near the town ...

, the "Kannassas" are credited to be pioneers in Malayalam bhakti literature, they authored Bhagavata, Ramayana, and Bharata in Malayalam. They lived in the 14th century CE. The great flood of 1341 AD helped to shift the sea westwards from silt filling in the direct sea route from Niranam.

Transport

Niranam is a quiet place, lying between Kadapra to East and Neerettupuram to North. It can be approached through both the State Highway 12, and State Highway 6. The village lies west to Tiruvalla city centre, about 7 kilometres. The railway station is about 8 km from Niranam, in

city, adjacent to the Mallappally Road, near Kuttappuzha RSPO.

The Thrikkapaleeshvara Temple

Niranam, being an old settlement of both Brahmanic and Christian people, has a composite culture and historical buildings. This is a very old Shiva temple. Like the Sree Vallabha Temple, it also housed a Vedic school system. The temple is in a very old condition, and measures are taken to renovate it. It is believed to be one of the "108 Shiva Temples" established by Parasurama in Kerala by tradition.

Niranam Church (St Marys Orthodox church

It is believed to be one of the oldest churches in Kerala and thus in India as well as among the oldest ones in the world. The architecture shows striking similarities to ancient temple architecture. It is a very important place for the Christians. Pattamukkil Tharavad at niranam is surrounded from three sides of niranam church. Priests From Pattamukkil families used to stay there and done priesthood and governed niranam church and its properties at the ancient days.

Geography

As a result of the flood of 1341, the soil of nearby areas of Niranam is still sandy and resembles beaches, though not close to the Arabian sea.

Notable people

Anna Rajam Malhotra Anna Rajam Malhotra (née George; 17 July 1927 – 17 September 2018) was an Indian Administrative Service officer. She was the first woman in India to hold this position. Anna Rajam belonged to the 1951 batch of the IAS and married R. N. Malhotr ...

Indian Administrative Service officer. *

* Sosamma Iype, animal conservationist who won

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

in 2022

Other places in Tiruvalla west

* Kadapra * Peringara * Nedumpuram * Neerettupuram * Chathenkery * Erathodu

References

External links

St Thomas Art GallerySt. Thomas Chapel (A congregational wing (Prayer Group) of St. Mary’s Orthodox church, Niranam)
{{Pathanamthitta district Villages in Pathanamthitta district Villages in Thiruvalla taluk Christian missions in India