Valapattanam is a

census town In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics. India In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...

and a suburb of Kannur city in the

Kannur district Kannur () is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts along the west coast in the state of Kerala, India. The city of Kannur is the district headquarters and gives the district its name. The old name, Cannanore, is the anglicized form of th ...

, located in the

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 ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

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 ...

. It is also the smallest panchayat in Kerala. Its area is . It is about north of

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the maj ...

. Valapattanam is known for its communal harmony. On one side is Kalarivathukkal Temple and on the other bank there is "Kakkulangara Mosque".

Etymology

This town is also known as Balyapattanam. This town is situated on the banks of the

Valapattanam river The Valapattanam River is a 110 km long river which flows through the Kannur district in North Kerala. It is the longest river in the Kannur district. Course The Valapattanam River originates from the Brahmagiri hills of Western Ghats in ...

. Centuries back

Valapattanam River The Valapattanam River is a 110 km long river which flows through the Kannur district in North Kerala. It is the longest river in the Kannur district. Course The Valapattanam River originates from the Brahmagiri hills of Western Ghats in ...

(വളപട്ടണം പുഴ ) was the main ship route for trading and Valapattanam was the main town, because of this the town got this referred as "Valya pattanam" which means "big town" in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

language.

History

This town is named after its historical founder Vallabha II of the Mooshika dynasty (

Kolathiri Kolathiri or Kolathiri Rājā () (King of KolathunāduA. Shreedhara Menon (2007), ''A brief History of Kerala'', DC Books, Kottayam or King of Cannanore in foreign accounts) was the title by which the senior-most male along the matrilineal lin ...

family) and was originally known as Vallabha-Pattanam Ezhimala: the abode of the Naval Academy by Murkot Ramunny in 1993, Northern Book Centre, New Delhi and served as the capital of the Mooshika dynasty during the medieval ages. The fourteenth-century narrative of

Ibn Battuta Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...

refers to the ruler of

Ezhimala Ezhimala, a hill reaching a height of , is located near Payyanur, in Kannur district of Kerala, South India. It is a part of a conspicuous and isolated cluster of hills, forming a promontory, north of Kannur (Cannanore). The Indian Naval Acad ...

as residing at Baliapatanam''The Rehla of Ibn Battuta (India, Maldive Islands and Ceylon)'', tr. and commentary by Mahdi Husain (Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1953), 186. and offers a clue that by this time, the centre of the political authority had shifted from Ezhimala to Baliapatanam. It is also possible that the 'Budfattan' visited by Abraham Ben Yiju, a Jewish merchant who lived in Mangalore in the 1230s and 1240s, was also Valapattanam.

Amitav Ghosh Amitav Ghosh (born 11 July 1956)Ghosh, Amitav
, ''

, ''In an Antique Land'' (Gurgaon: Penguin Random House India, 2009) irst publ. Ravi Dayal 1992), pp. 233-35; . In the sixteenth century AD, a Portuguese official Duarte Barbosa also mentions Baliapatanam (Baliapatam in European records) as the residence of the ‘king of Cannanore’.

Commerce

Western India Plywoods Ltd., the largest wood-based industry in the country and once Asia's biggest plywood factory is located on the bank of Valapattanam River. Apart from the dense presence of booming plywood and timber based industries, Valapattanam has small scale sand mining and fisheries activities. Warehouses of many prominent industries in Kannur is situated at Valapattanam.

Religion

Known for its communal harmony and tradition of peaceful coexistence, numerous religious centers with centuries of tradition is located here. The

Muthappan temple Parassini Madappura Sree Muthappan temple is a temple located at Parassinikadavu in Anthoor municipality on the banks of the Valapattanam River, Valapattanam river about from Taliparamba and from Kannur town in Kannur district, Kerala, India. ...

is on the bank of Valapattanam river.

Geography

Valapattanam is located at . It has an average elevation of 6 metres (19 feet).

Suburbs and villages

* Manna, Valappattanam

Demographics

The Valapattanam Census Town has population of 7,955 of which 3,677 are males while 4,278 are females as per report released by Census India 2011. Children aged 0 to 6 years number 1077, which is 13.54 % of the population. The female sex ratio is 1163 against state average of 1084. The child sex ratio is around 962 compared to Kerala state average of 964. Literacy rate of Valapattanam city is 95.43%, higher than state average of 94.00%. The male literacy is around 97.15% while female literacy rate is 94.00%. Valapattanam census town has total administration over 1,329 houses to which it supplies basic amenities like water and sewage. It is also authorize to build roads within census town limits and impose taxes on properties coming under its jurisdiction.https://dop.lsgkerala.gov.in › node

Images

File:Valapattanam 16.jpg, Village footpath File:Valapattanam Kerala, India.jpg, Coconut in serenity File:Poithumkadavu.jpg, Poithum Kadavu File:Muchilottu Bhagavathi Theyyam Performance.jpg, Kaliyattam at Valapattanam Valapattanam Panchayath is rated among the best panchayaths in

. The development activities of the panchayat has been commended by both the district and state authorities, as well as the public at large.

References

External links

{{Kannur district Suburbs of Kannur