Chittur-Thathamangalam

For other uses, see Chittoor (disambiguation).

Chittur-Thathamangalam
Municipality
Anikode, Chittur
Chittur-Thathamangalam Location in Kerala, India Show map of Kerala Chittur-Thathamangalam Chittur-Thathamangalam (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 10.70°N 76.75°E / 10.70; 76.75
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Palakkad
Government
• Body	Municipality
Area [1]
• Total	14.71 km^2 (5.68 sq mi)
Elevation	131 m (430 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	32,298
• Density	2,200/km^2 (5,700/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Malayalam, English [2]
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	6781xx
Vehicle registration	KL-70
Parliament constituency	Alathur
Assembly constituency	Chittur

Chittur-Thathamangalam is a town and municipality in Palakkad district of Kerala State, India. It is the headquarters of Chittur taluk, 13 km (8.1 mi) south-east of Palakkad, on the banks of the Kannadipuzha, a major headstream of the Bharathapuzha, the second longest river in Kerala. A Mini Civil Station is also located here which provides government related services. It consists of two areas, Chittur and Thathamangalam which together form the municipality.

Etymology

Temples

Chittur-Thathamangalam town consists of the famous Chittur Bhagavathi temple, which is under the Cochin Devaswom board. The other major temples are the Pazhayannur Bhagavathi temple, Durga temple, and Sivakshethram (in Lankeswaram agraharam).

Andayil temple

Economy and Society

Agriculture is the main occupation of the district's people. The town is home to some of the major Menon tharavads of Kerala. There are also many agraharams (communities of Iyers) and Moothan communities.

History

The Sokanashini river flows through Chittur, and it is on the banks of this river that Thunjathu Ramanujan Ezuthachan, the father of the Malayalam language, spent his last days. His final resting place is famous for Vidyarambham celebrations, where young children are initiated into the world of words and knowledge.

Thathamangalam is sometimes mentioned in history books and maps as Tattamungalum.^[3]

Chittur, Thathamangalam and nearby towns are also mentioned in "Memoir of the Survey of Travancore and Cochin 1816-1820", and in this book the spelling used is "Tattamungalum".^[4]

An old map of the Kingdom of Kochi showing the Thathamangalam and Chittur areas

Festivals

Music is a part of the lifestyle of the people here, with the Government College training students towards higher degrees in music. Kongan Pada is the main festival of Chittur, and it is celebrated in the month of March. Sooranporu, Niramala and Ayyappan Vilakku are also celebrated here. Others include Onam, Pongal, Vishu, Deepavali and Navarathri. At the time of Vishu, Vishu Vela is also celebrated. There are music concerts in Chittur Kavu at the time of Navarathri and Konganpada. Other than these, there is an important festival in Lankeswaram village, called Ardra Dharsanam (Thiruvathira Radholsavam), at the end of December or first of January month every year.

Demographics

As of 2001^[update] India census, Chittur-Thathamangalam had a population of 31,884. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%.^[5]

Chittur-Thathamangalam has an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 84% and female literacy of 74%. 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. Chittur is sometimes called as Kerala's "nellara" along with Alappuzha, meaning the rice bowl.^[6]

Transportation

Chittur-Thathamangalam town connects to other parts of India through Palakkad city. National Highway 544 connects to Coimbatore and Bangalore. Other parts of Kerala are accessed through National Highway 66 going through Thrissur. The nearest major railway station is Palakkad. The nearest airport is Coimbatore.

Kairali & Sree theatre, Chittur

Puthunagaram

Chittur Taluk

The headquarters of Chittur Taluk, one of the six taluks of Palakkad district, is here. Chittur's MLA is K. Krishnan Kutty of Janata Dal (Secular).

Pattambi

Ottapalam

Mannarkkad

Palakkad

Alathur

Chittur

References

1. "Kerala (India): Districts, Cities and Towns - Population Statistics, Charts and Map".
2. "The Kerala Official Language (Legislation) Act, 1969" (PDF). Archived from the original on 11 September 2014.
3. 1793 Faden_Wall_Map_of_India
4. "Memoir of the Survey of Travancore and Cochin 1816-1820". 1891.
5. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
6. "Pin Code of Thathamangalam". citypincode.in. Retrieved 12 May 2014.