Chengalam is a village situated in the east of

Kottayam District Kottayam () is one of List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Kerala, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettu ...

in India.

Location

The town is on the border of

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

Kanjirappally Kanjirappally is a taluk and a town in Kottayam district situated about away from the district capital, in the state of Kerala, in southwestern India. Etymology Climate Kanjirappally has the highest number of rainy days in Kerala. It receiv ...

and

Pala Pala may refer to: Places Chad *Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest Estonia * Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County * Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County * Pala, Järva County, ...

Taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

. Chengalam is well connected by road to urban areas like

(15 km),

(14 km),

Ponkunnam Ponkunnam is a town in Kerala, India, part of Kottayam district under Kanjirappally taluk. Nearby towns are Kanjirappalli, Pampady, Manimala and Pala. Ponkunnam literally means ''golden mountain'' (''ponn'' = gold, ''kunn'' = mountain). Po ...

(9 km),

Paika Paika is a small town from Palai on the Pala-Ponkunnam road of Muvattupuzha - Punalur SH:08, in Kottayam district, Kerala, India. It is part of Meenachil Taluka, known as one of the most fertile agricultural regions of Travancore. This region ...

(5 km) and

Pallickathode Pallickathodu, also spelled ''Pallikkathodu'' which includes Anickadu village, is a town in eastern Kottayam district, Kerala, India. It falls under the Kanjirappally assembly constituency. Economy Pallickathodu has a predominantly agricultural ...

(4 km). It is located 26 km from

, the district capital. The nearby district capitals are

Idukki Idukki (ഇടുക്കി; ) is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala in the southwest of the country. It is the largest district in Kerala and lies amid the Cardamom Hills of Western Ghats in Kerala. Idukki district co ...

(85 km),

Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality, city in southern Kerala, India, spread over an area of . It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 37,538 (as of 2011 census). The Hindu pilgrim centre Sab ...

(50 km),

Alappuzha Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...

(63 km),

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the central business district of the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. It is the namesake of Ernakulam district. The eastern part of Kochi city is mainly known as Ernakulam, while the western part of it after the Venduruthy Bridge ...

(78 km).

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 ...

, the state capital is located (156 km) from Chengalam.

Economy

Chengalam is predominantly an

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

and

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

based economy with a few industrial areas.https://www.nabard.org/auth/writereaddata/tender/2511200029KER_Kottayam.pdf

Demographics

Chengalam is a village is part of the

and

Meenachil Meenachil is the north-eastern region of Kottayam district in Kerala, south India. The name originates from Meenakshi, the Hindu Goddess. Pala is the main city in Meenachil. The arterial river of the district is also named Meenachil. Geogra ...

Kottayam district Kottayam () is one of List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Kerala, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettu ...

, Kerala with total 1215 families residing there. Population of Chengalam is predominantly

Saint Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...

(Syrian Catholics/ Syro Malabar) who trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of

Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle (; , meaning 'the Twin'), also known as Didymus ( 'twin'), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "doubting Thomas" because he initially doubted the resurrection of ...

in the 1st century. As of 2011 India census, Chengalam had a population of 5226 of which 2519 are males and 2707 are females. In Chengalam village population of children with age 0–6 is 446 which makes up 8.53% of total population of village. Average Sex Ratio of Chengalam village is 1075 which is lower than

Kerala state 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 ...

average of 1084. Child Sex Ratio for Chengalam as per census is 1046, higher than Kerala average of 964. Chengalam village has higher literacy rate compared to

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 ...

. In 2011, literacy rate of Chengalam village was 97.51% compared to 94.00% of Kerala. In Chengalam Male literacy stands at 97.35% while female literacy rate was 97.66%.

History

The present village of Chengalam was once inhabited by

wild animals Wildlife refers to undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also ...

. People from the neighbouring villages of

Cherpunkal Cherpunkal is a small town in the Kottayam district of Kerala State in India on the Kottayam-Palai Road, seven kilometers from Pala, Kerala, Pala city. Cherpunkal is famous for Mar Sleeva Forane Catholic Church, believed to have been establis ...

, Poovarany,

, Kozhuvanal and

Anickadu Anickadu (a.k.a. Anicad or Anickad) is a village in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. Demographics India census, Anickadu had a population of 12733 with 6204 males and 6529 females. References

Villages in Kottayam distr ...

started occupying the area in the 18th century. The area belonged to the then Thiruvarppu Devasm and was known as " Chenkalkulam" as there was a pond hewn out of "Chenkal". It is believed that the pond was built to gather water needed for the annual '' homam'', rituals to appease the deities. Later the term Chenkalkulam became "Chenkulam" and finally Chengalam. This is the story behind the

etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...

of the local name Chengalam. Before 50–60 years the church here St Antony's Church was very much famous. The church is in the name of

Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua, Order of Friars Minor, OFM, (; ; ) or Anthony of Lisbon (; ; ; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic priest and member of the Order of Friars Minor. ...

. The

foundation stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

of this church has laid in 1913. Also the Chengalam market was very famous. The place is very calm and quiet. The climate is nice with enough rainfall and moderate temperatures. This place is also known as

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

References

Villages in Kottayam district {{India-geo-stub