Elanji is a village in

Ernakulam district Ernakulam (; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'') is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, and takes its name from the Ernakulam, eponymous city division in Kochi. ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state 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 ...

Demographics

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Elanji had a population of 16,995 with 8,455 males and 8,540 females. The majority of people living in Elanji are Syro Malabar Catholic Christians. There are three main churches and more than 13 temples in Elanji. Mudhevar temple, located at Mutholapuram is the oldest one. It is more than 900 years old. The Chief among the churches is the St Peter's and St Paul's Syro Malabar Catholic church established in AD 1300 belonging to the Diocese of Pala. Mutholapuram church and the other one being Xavierpuram (Kooru) church. The St. Peter's and Paul's church is also a forane church. The nearest are

Piravom Piravom () is a town and Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. It is located 30 km from Ernakulam, the nearest city and south of the district collectorate in Thrikkakara.The Piravom Road Railway Sta ...

, Kuravilangad,

Koothattukulam Koothattukulam is a municipalityhttps://lsgkerala.gov.in/system/files/2017-10/localbodies.pdf in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. It is located south of the district collectorate in Thrikkakara and about north of the state capital ...

, Peruva and Thalayolaparambu . The taluk headquarters at

Muvattupuzha Muvattupuzha () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipalityhttps://lsgkerala.gov.in/system/files/2017-10/localbodies.pdf in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. It is located east of the district headquarters in Thrikkakara and a ...

is 27 km away. The village lies about 42 km southeast of Kochi and there are a number of buses that ply between Pala and Ernakulam, which connects Elanji with Kochi. Elanji is almost the mid-way point on the

Vaikom Vaikom () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in the Kottayam district of Kerala. It is located north of the district headquarters in Kottayam and about north of the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, V ...

–

Thodupuzha Thodupuzha () is a municipality and taluk in the Idukki district of Kerala, India. It is located west of the district headquarters in Painavu and about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Thodupu ...

bus route. Elanji lies about 32 km east of Kottayam town. There is a Panchayath bus stand in the heart of the Elanji town itself. Elanji is located in Ernakulam district and the last grama panchayth towards the eastern border (towards Kottayam side) of Ernakulam district. The Vijnan Institute of Science and Technology (VISAT), an engineering college established in the year 2011, is 2 km away from this town. The engineering college is AICTE approved and affiliated to APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University(KTU). This college comes under the Vinjyan Charitable Trust. Most inhabitants are engaged in agriculture, farming and trading, with the main cash crops being rubber, paddy, coconut, areca nut, ginger, turmeric, 'kacholam' and pepper. The Malayalam poet Sister Mary Benigna was born in Elanji.The Malayalam novelist Sri

Perumbadavam Sreedharan Perumbadavam Sreedharan (born 12 February 1938) is a Malayalam author from Kerala, India. He is former chairman of Kerala Sahitya Akademi. He has written several novels and short stories. One of his best known novels is ''Oru Sankeerthanam Pole' ...

was born in Elanji. He is also known as Perumbadavam. Malayalam director

Jeethu Joseph Jeethu Joseph (born 10 November 1972) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also worked in a few Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu Cinema, Telugu films. Jeethu made his d ...

(of

Drishyam ''Drishyam'' () is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. It stars Mohanlal alongside Meena, Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Asha Sharath, Siddique, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Roshan Basheer and ...

fame) is also from Elanji. There is also a famous Hindu temple in the name of Shiva; the speciality of this temple is that the main door opens to the west direction. This type of Shiva temples is rare in Kerala state. The name Elanji was believed to be derived from the word Elavanjiyoor d-e-s-am. During the passage of time desam has been dropped off and Elavanjiyoor became Elanji. Elanji is also the name of a tree with fragrant blooms commonly found in Elanji village area. One of the oldest and famous high schools in and around Elanji (Monippally, Neezhoor, etc.) is St. Peter's High Secondary School Elanji, which used to be known as St. Peter's High School Elanji.

References

{{Ernakulam district Villages in Ernakulam district