Pandanadu (also known as Pandavar Nadu) is a village in

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

taluk 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 ...

Alappuzha district Alappuzha district (), is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It was formed as Alleppey district on 17 August 1957, the name of the district being changed to ''Alapp ...

, in

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.Alapuzha Taluk Census
, alappuzha.gov.in Census 2001. According to the 2001

Indian census The decennial census of India has been conducted 15 times, as of 2011. While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1872. Post 1949, it has been conducted by the Reg ...

, Pandanad has a population of 12,466 people.

Geography

A major portion of the village is located on the banks of the Pampa River. The river divides the village into two; Pandanad North and Pandanad West. Pandanad West is from

, the nearest town, and from Mannar. Pandanad North is from

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 ...

Constituent villages

*Muthavazhy *Vanmazhy *Keezhvanmazhy *Pandanad West *Pandanad North *Prayar *Premattakara

Flora

Sugarcane is cultivated in most of the area. However, there are many farms that cultivate pepper, banana, tapioca and coconut palm. Much of the land is rural, and has a rich undergrowth. The more common trees are coconut palms, mahogany and teak.

Boat racing

Pandanadu has 5 Palliyodams (Snake Boats) owned by different "Karas" (locality) viz Pandanad, Keezhvanmazhy, Vanmazhy, Muthavazhy and Prayar. Among which Keezhvanmazhy has the biggest one . Keezhvanmazhy palliyodam was awarded the mannam trophy in 1996, 2015 and second prize in 2008 aranmula utharattati boat race.

Schools

A number of schools are located at both parts of the Pandanad Panchayat. They are Swami Vivekanda Higher Secondary School, R.K.V. L.P. School, M.A.M. School, Govt. JBS Pandanad, Keezhvanmazhy.

Demographics

In 2001, the Pandanad Panchayat had a total population of 12,466,Population of Pandanad Village
http://alappuzha.gov.in/ 2001 Survey. of which males constituted 47.03% of the population and females 52.97%. Pandanad has an average literacy rate of 85.27%, which is higher than the national average
censusindia.gov.in Census 2011 of 74.02%; with a male literacy of 85% and female literacy of 77%. There are no scheduled tribes in the Pandanad Village, but there are 1921 people belonging to scheduled caste in the village. Pandanad's two most common religions are Hinduism and Christianity. Pandanad, being a part of Middle

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

, has been influenced by the Travancore family and the Pandalam royal family, which led to the development of a number of temples in the area, which attracts many devotees from within and outside the state.

Temples

Legends tell of how Pandanad was formed by the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

s, hence the name Pandava Nadu. Pandanad had many

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

that claim origins from the

. Many of these temples attract residents from surrounding states and are believed to be powerful temples.

List of Temples in and around Pandanad

Kumaramanglam Subramanyaswami Temple

Kumaramanglam Subramanyaswami Temple in Muthavazhy, Pandanad,

, India is dedicated to

Murugan Kartikeya (/ kɑɾt̪ɪkejə/; ), also known as Skanda ( /skən̪d̪ə/), Subrahmanya (/ sʊbɾəɦməɲjə/, /ɕʊ-/), Shanmukha ( /ɕɑnmʊkʰə/) and Murugan (/ mʊɾʊgən/), is the Hindu god of war. He is generally described as the ...

and has great historic and architectural importance. The temple dome is believed to be over 2000 years old and is made from

iridium Iridium is a chemical element; it has the symbol Ir and atomic number 77. This very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum group, is considered the second-densest naturally occurring metal (after osmium) with a density ...

.Kumaramanglam Subramanyaswami Temple
Sifi News Thivananthapuram 2008 This temple had been added to the list of protected memorials in India. This temple also claims an ancient snake boat that could hold over 80 people. Cheruvally Bhgavathy Temple also called Pulipra temple located at the easternmost part of pandanad in Muthavazhy,

Churches

The Churches in the region hold

parentage A parent is either the progenitor of a child or, in humans, it can refer to a caregiver or legal guardian, generally called an adoptive parent or step-parent. Parents who are progenitors are first-degree relatives and have 50% genetic meet. A fe ...

in the arrival of St.

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 AD 52. There are a various

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

s in the area that maintain more than one church in the region.

Maramon Convention The Maramon Convention, is the largest Christian Convention (meeting), convention in Asia, held at Maramon,Thiruvalla,Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India annually in February on the vast sand-bed of the Pampa River next to the Kozhencherry Bridge. I ...

(a Christian Convention) was started in Kallissery, a town near the Kadavil Malika. With the rise of the Pentecostal Movement in India, many Marthoma, Orthodox, Pentecostal denominations and churches were also started in the region.

References

External links

* http://alappuzha.gov.in/ {{Alappuzha district Villages in Alappuzha district