Kottakal

Kottakkal (literally-''Land of the Fort'') is a major municipal town in Malappuram district in Kerala, having 32 wards. It is one of the four municipalities in Tirur Taluk, besides Tirur, Valanchery, and Tanur. It is a part of the Malappuram metropolitan area and a growing city in Kerala. The town is best known for the Arya Vaidya Sala, one of the top Ayurvedic health centres in the world. Kottakkal is also a major growing commercial, educational, and healthcare hub in South Malabar. The town lies on the Mumbai–Kanyakumari National Highway 66.

Kottakkal is located southwest of Malappuram, the district headquarters, and from Tirur railway station.The National Highway 66 separates the municipality from Edarikode grama panchayat on some parts to the west. However, the fast-developing Kottakkal urban area is now spread up to different parts of neighboring panchayats such as Edarikkode.

Kottakkal town became famous after the establishment of Arya Vaidya Sala in 1902. Adding to the cultural heritage, Kottakkal Pooram, The popular temple festival is celebrated over seven days during March–April.

History

An Old Malayalam inscription which dates back to 932 CE found from Indianoor in Kottakkal mention the name of Goda Ravi of Chera dynasty.Narayanan, M. G. S.
Perumals of Kerala: Brahmin Oligarchy and Ritual Monarchy Perumāḷs of Kerala
'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 438-42.

Kottakkal, formerly known as ''Sweta Durgam'' (the White Fort) in Sanskrit, ''Venkalikotta'' and ''Venkita Kotta'' in Malayalam, was a military base of the Kingdom of Valluvanadu earlier.

Two swords, medieval European in style and finish, were discovered in a well from Kottakkal, in the year 2013. The Zamorin of Calicut invaded the Kingdom of Valluvanad in 14th century CE and seized the fort at Kottakkal. The Zamorin captuted the captaincy of Mamankam festival in the same period. Karuvayoor Moosad, who was the minister of ''Valluvakonathiri'', based at Kottakkal and also the chief marshal and preacher of the ''Moopil Nair''s, changed his seat to Puzhakkattiri when Kottakkal came under Zamorin. It may be the forts and castles constructed by the Karuvayoor Moosad that were the origin of the name "Kottakkal".

The ''Kizhakke Kovilakam'', where the eastern branch of the royal family of Zamorin resided, is located at Kottakkal.Gradually, Kottakkal was annexed to the kingdom of the Zamorin of Calicut.K. V. Krishna Iyer ''Zamorins of Calicut: From the Earliest Times to AD 1806''. Calicut: Norman Printing Bureau, 1938 The ''Kizhakke Kovilakam'', which was the eastern palace of the royal family of the Zamorin of Calicut, is present at Kottakkal.

Arya Vaidya Sala was established in 1902. The suburbs of Kottakkal were known as ''Changuvettikkadu'' and ''Eyyakkadu'' (now Changuvetti is developing as a twin town to Kottakkal).

Municipal elections

The United Democratic Front won the first elections (held in October 2010) to the Kottakkal municipality. K. K. Nazar and Paroli Moosakutty Haji of Indian Union Muslim League were elected as the Chairperson and Vice-Chairman respectively of the municipality. Other major Political representatives in the Municipality include TP Subair and Nani of Left Democratic Front.

Kottakkal Municipality Election 2020

Notable people

* U. A. Beeran
* Jayasree Kalathil, researcher
* Kottakkal Madhu, Kathakali singer
* Athippatta Moideen Kutty Musliyar, Islamic scholar
* Sangita Madhavan Nair, actress
* V. C. Balakrishna Panicker
* K. C. Manavedan Raja, founder of Raja's High School, Zamorin of Calicut during 1932-1937
* M. P. Abdussamad Samadani, politician, MLA, former Member of Parliament
* Kottakkal Sivaraman, Kathakali artist
* Najma Thabsheera Lawyer and politician
* Manorama Thampuratti, Sanskrit poet
* Vaidyaratnam P. S. Varier, founder of Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala
* M. K. Vellodi, Indian civil servant, diplomat, former Cabinet Secretary
* P. K. Warrier
* Sachin Warrier, playback singer and composer

Basic information of Kottakkal Municipality

Wards

Kottakkal Municipality is composed of the following 32 wards:

Transportation

* Bus services: Kottakkal Bus station at the heart of the town, links to all rural bus services around Kottakkal locality and Long route services connecting nearby towns like Tirur, Manjeri, Malappuram, Perinthalmanna, Valanchery etc. KSRTC service also available.
* Railway Station: Tirur railway station is one of the major railway stations in the Malabar region. Almost every train stops here, connecting the Malappuram district to the rest of the country. It is located 14 km away from the Kottakkal town. Passengers from Kottakkal can also access Angadippuram railway station which is about 26 km from kottakkal town.
* Nearest Airport: Calicut International Airport is approximately 25 kilometres away.

Nearby places

* Vengara, Oorakam, Cherukulamba, Puthuparamba and Edarikode
* Indianoor, Kavathikalam, Puthanathani Marakkara, Kalpakanchery, Maravattam, Kadampuzha, Puthur, Padapparamba, Chattiparamba
* Pang, Parappur, Pottippara, Venniyoor and Vettichira

See also

* Kottakkal Assembly constituency
* Malappuram district
* Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency
* Kottakkal Municipality

References

External links

GeoHack - Kottakkal

Kottakkal in Wikimapia

Kottakkal Municipality

* Documentary on Arya Vaidya Sala in Malayalam - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuPbz-etmMI

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Cities and towns in Malappuram district