Niranam is a village in

Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, () also spelled Tiruvalla, is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of and has a population of 52,883 people, down from 56,837 in 2001. It is also the H ...

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 ...

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

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

. It is almost 7 km from

Tiruvalla Thiruvalla, () also spelled Tiruvalla, is a municipality in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of and has a population of 52,883 people, down from 56,837 in 2001. It is also the Headquarters Of Thiruvalla ...

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 ...

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'' (), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and Roman commerce, trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports lik ...

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

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

Aryan ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...

Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and ...

. Geologists suggest that the sea retracted from this area due to some major geographical changes. 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 (

city).

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 Valiya Palli (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. Malho ...

, India's first woman IAS officer *

Sosamma Iype Sosamma Iype is an Indian animal conservationist from Niranam, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala. She was the former Head of the Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding at the Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala Veterinary University and was ...

, animal conservationist who won

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 2022 *

Zacharias Theophilus Zacharias Mar Theophilus (born Oommen Koruth, 29 August 1938 - 27 December 2015) was the Suffragan Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church. The Mar Thoma Syrian Church is believed to be established by St Thomas, The Apostle of Jesus Christ ...

, Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church

Other places in Tiruvalla west

Kadapra Kadapra (Malayalam: ) is a village in the Thiruvalla taluk, Thiruvalla subdistrict of Pathanamthitta district, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala state, India. It shares an intradistrict river border with Nedumpuram village separated along the Mani ...

* 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